The ACC Review

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Alex Montgomery, Georgia Tech

Why Alex: The senior posted two double-doubles en route to helping Georgia Tech to a 3-0 week over squads that were a combined 17-2 entering the contests. Tacoma, Wash., native, hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 12.6 seconds left to put Tech up 65-63 over Northwestern, then grabbed a defensive rebound and hit two free throws with 1.0 second left to secure the win for the Jackets. Montgomery tallied a career-best 28 points on only 10 made field goals against Northwestern for an incredibly efficient performance. The reigning ACC Sixth Player of the Year also tied a season-high with 11 rebounds against Northwestern.

Against Middle Tennessee State and in-state rival Georgia, Montgomery registered 16 points on only five made shots and 18 points on six made field goals, respectively. For the week, she led the team with averages of 20.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, and was second on the team with 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game. She converted 58 percent of her field goal attempts and 57.1 percent of her three-point field goal attempts for the week.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Ty Marshall, Georgia Tech

Why Ty (say that five times fast):  The Yellow Jackets rookie was second on the team with a scoring average of 12.3 points per game, and added averages of 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Marshall posted her second-career 20-plus point performance against 21st-ranked Georgia as well as hit her first career three-pointer. Against Northwestern, the Upper Marlboro, Md., native, was second in the game with 13 points and four assists, and versus Middle Tennessee State, the rookie tallied 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting in only 19 minutes. Marshall is earning this award for the third time this season.

TWEET, TWEET

Woke up this morning happy and excited about the future of this team!...also feel like a bus ran over me...lol long stretch! Time for r/r - Georgia Tech coach MaChelle Joseph, a day after the Yellow Jackets' feel-good pounding of ranked rival Georgia.

26B -middle seat for red-eye flight from Portland. Desk lady asks me if i wuld mind taking window exit row instead.. I think i luv her!! - Boston College assistant Geoff Lanier

NEW MEDIA NUGGET

I got you...babe?

Believe it or not, that's Debbie Ryan (left) channeling Sonny Bono during her annual promotion for Toy Lift, a local initiative that provides toys and bikes for thousands of less fortunate children in the Central Virginia area. Pretty interesting, Coach. But while we get the whole vertically challenged thing, we still would have liked to have seen you as Cher.

ON THE MARQUEE

Tonight - Texas A&M at Duke, 7 p.m. (ESPN2). Two gritty, defense-first teams. Let's just say we're not expecting a shootout.

Tuesday - Georgetown at Miami. Can Miami's "Big Three" handle the Hoyas' vaunted pressure?

Sunday - Rutgers at Boston College. Irresistible force (B.C.'s high-powered offense) meets immovable object (Rutgers' traditionally stingy defense).

By the way, not sure how stoked people really get about the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, but in case anyone's interested, the ACC won for the fourth straight year with a 6-5 advantage.

OUR PECKING ORDER

1. Duke (8-0) - It hasn't always been pretty, but the Blue Devils have avoided any slip-ups despite a demanding, road-heavy schedule.

2. North Carolina (8-0) - Italee Lucas' 34 points helped the Tar Heels ace their first significant test last week vs. then-No. 18 Iowa.

3. Florida State (7-1) - Turnovers (24, leading to 28 Michigan State points) doomed the Seminoles to their first loss of the season.

4. Boston College (8-0) - The Eagles have scored at least 83 points in every game this season, with a high of 113 in last week's overtime shootout with Penn State.

5. Maryland (7-1): How do you make 8,698 Purdue fans quiet down? Rally from 11 down over the final 5-plus minutes to stun their beloved Boilermakers right in front of them. The Terps have now won six straight.

6. Georgia Tech (7-4) - The Yellow Jackets finally reaps some dividends from their brutal early season schedule with Sunday's win over Georgia. And don't overlook last week's 20-point pasting of a good Middle Tennessee State team, either.

7. Miami (7-1) - Not sure what she did in the offseason, but we love the "new" Morgan Stroman. As for her team, the Hurricanes' six-game winning streak has us eager to see how they'll perform against upper-tier opposition. Guess we'll find out Tuesday when Georgetown visits Coral Gables.

8. Virginia (5-4) - The Cavaliers responded well after getting rolled at Ohio State and beat a good - and tricky to defend - Drexel team less than 48 hours later. Consistent offense remains a concern.

10. Clemson (6-2) - The Tigers notched the program's 350th victory in Littlejohn Coliseum with 61-49 victory over improved Presbyterian. Now let's see how well Clemson's act travels - so far all but one game - a 73-59 loss at South Carolina - has been at home.

10. Virginia Tech (5-3) - The Hokies improved to 5-0 at home with Sunday's 53-48 decision over Winthrop, but we remain a bit concerned over why there isn't more separation between Tech and teams of this caliber.

11. N.C. State (4-5): Props to Bonae Holston (18 points) and Co. for a nice win over Illinois. Still, Sunday's 84-75 home loss to USC was the Wolfpack's fifth setback in their last seven games.

12. Wake Forest (5-3) - Poor shooting doomed the Deacons during a forgettable trip to Michigan - the Wolverines' 66 percent shooting didn't help, either - and again at home against Georgetown.



ESPNW - it's alive!

Have you seen the ESPNW website yet? Don't kick yourself if you haven't; it just launched today. As followers of this blog may remember, we were initially skeptical of the thinking behind creating a sports site dedicated to women. But it's here anyway, and we don't question the credentials of the team they've assembled. So let's give it a chance and see how this boat floats.

Richmond, Tech, JMU are winners

TODAY'S STAR

ABBY OLIVER


-Abby Oliver's 22 points and eight boards paced the Spiders past their crosstown rival.

-ODU's Jasmine Parker scores her 1,000th point with a 3-pointer in the second half. Parker scored 16 in the 30-point loss to Tennessee.

-No Evans? No problem for James Madison behind Courtney Hamner (14 points), Lauren Jimenez (12 points) and Tarik Hislop (12 points). 

Richmond 68, VCU 53: The Spiders (5-4) led by as many as 24 behind Oliver's great day, a season-best 14 points from Crystal Goring and 13 from Brittani Shells. As predicted Courtney Hurt got hers with 24 points, but no other Ram managed double figures. Only 593 turned out in the capital city to watch the Spiders snap a three-game losing skid.

James Madison 54, Liberty 51: On one hand, the Dukes (5-3) have to feel pretty good, earning the win with star guard Dawn Evans sidelined with illness. But a late 9-0 run turned routine into questionable when the Flames cut it to two with 2:56 remaining. Liberty even had a chance to win it, but the 3 from Devon Brown didn't fall. Hey, did you say Devon Brown? How great that the sophomore is on the floor for the first time all season after missing most of the semester with a knee injury. Brown played just 17 minutes but notched 14 points as maybe Liberty (3-5) is back in business with conference season approaching. Kudos to JMU's Courtney Hamner (14 points, seven boards) and Lauren Jimenez (12 points, nine boards) for picking up the slack in Evans' absence.

Virginia Tech 53, Winthrop 48: A win's a win, but we doubt the Hokies (5-3) will want to send highlights of this one out with the holiday cards. A late 11-0 Tech run helped Tech snap a three-game losing streak, but as coach Beth Dunkenberger noted, "We wait until the last eight minutes before we play hard."

No. 9 Tennessee 74, Old Dominion 44: The biggest crowd for women's basketball at the Constant Center (7,774, though we saw lots of empty seats) got to see a dud. There's never any shame in losing to the Lady Vols, who towered over the undersized Lady Monarchs (3-3), but we would have liked to see ODU attack with abandon and that wasn't the case. We watched the Lady Monarchs pass up shot after shot in favor of an extra dribble or an extra pass, which too often turned into a turnover. Old Reliable Jasmine Parker scored 16, but the Lady Monarchs need more players willing to take it to the hoop uninhibited. The Lady Vols went to the line 25 times compared to ODU's eight, and while there have been far better Tennessee teams to pass through here, this one was good enough to do pretty much whatever it wanted for the final 30 minutes. 

George Washington 67, George Mason 58: Another capital (or should we say capitol) matchup that didn't go the Patriots' way due to a 23-12 run in the final 7:53. GWU (4-3) shot 64 percent in the second half, as once again Mason (2-5) faded down the stretch. The bright spot: Brittany Poindexter scored a season-high 22, helping the Patriots to build a 13-point advantage. Only 457 turned out in D.C.  Guess too many folks stayed home to tune into the Redskins, speaking of disappointments.

Seton Hall 73, William and Mary 67 OT: We don't have a vote in Big East Player of the Week honors, but forget the voting. Just hand this week's award to Kandice Green, who scored 31 points and pulled down 23 rebounds in 43 minutes. The one-woman wrecking crew marred otherwise splendid efforts by Taysha Pye (21 points) and Kaitlyn Mathieu (10 points, 13 boards), and W&M is 0-6.

Gardner-Webb 68, Longwood 58: The Lancers' Brittani Billups scored 17, including 13 of 14 from the foul line, but it's awfully hard to win when you shoot 29 percent from the field.

Tennessee/ODU, Richmond/VCU, Donovan in town among day's treats

    Think it's an NFL Sunday? We beg to differ. It's a women's basketball Sunday, and if you're headed to ODU, wear your blue. Here's what's on tap.

Tennessee (7-1) at Old Dominion (3-2), 2 p.m.
The largest crowd to ever see the Lady Monarchs at the Constant Center is expected today, and while Tennessee has matchup advantages all over the place - and history clearly doesn't favor ODU in this series - there are reasons to believe the Lady Monarchs can at least keep things competitive. Chief among those reasons is an active ODU defense. The Lady Vols have committed 29 turnovers twice this season. One of those games was against Louisville, and ODU appeared to be more tenacious defensively than the Cardinals when the two teams met nine days ago. The Lady Monarchs are going to need a particularly active 3-point defense if the Lady Vols start hitting that shot. Twice Tennessee has drained 15 3s in a game, and just a few days ago freshman Meighan Simmons hit 8 of her 13 attempts from long range. Here's some news to sink upir teeth into: For the first time since the 2008 NCAA tournament second round against Virginia, a Constant Center game involving the Lady Monarchs is a major event in Hampton Roads. So no matter what happens out there today, be sure to thank the Lady Vols for stopping by. Tennessee 77, ODU 62

Liberty (3-4) at James Madison (4-3), 2 p.m.
Encouraging news - Devin Brown's homecoming game - Harrisonburg is about 40 miles from her hometown of Waynesboro - may actually feature Devin Brown. The Big South's Preseason Player of the Year has missed hasn't played this season because of injury, but she may make her season debut today. The Lady Flames could certainly use her, especially against a JMU team that, with forward Lauren Jimenez continuing to stack quality games together, is starting to look more and more like the quality team we've been expecting. JMU leads this series 5-1 and we imagine at buzzer it will be 6-1. James Madison 65, Liberty 53

VCU at Richmond (4-4), 2 p.m.
We'd love to see a nice turnout here, but the "Battle of Richmond" didn't seem to excite too many people last year when the teams played at VCU. Despite three consecutive losses, these Spiders are worth watching, though, and they're coming off a white-hot shooting performance of the season in a 65-64 loss at Georgetown. As for the Rams, Courtney Hurt is flat-out carrying this team; they'll almost certainly need a couple of others to raise the play a level or two to keep up with what is probably the best team they've faced so far.Richmond has won the last three and nine of its last 11 over VCU. Hurt will get hers, but given how much firepower the Spiders have, we give them the nod. Richmond 62, VCU 58

Seton Hall (4-4) at William and Mary (0-5), 2 p.m.
The Tribe's long-awaited home opener features the Hampton Roads return of former ODU great and Hall of Famer Anne Donovan, Seton Hall's new head coach, who has tried out seven different starting lineups in eight games. We're eager to see new Tribe forward and reigning CAA Rookie of the Week Kaitlyn Mathieu, who had a breakout two-game series (averaging 19 ppg) during the Cancun Thanksgiving Classic. As much as we'd love it, we're not convinced win No. 1 will come today. Seton Hall 55, W&M 50

George Mason (2-4) at George Washington (3-3), 1 p.m.
Not sure if it's fatigue or simply a matter of not understanding how to close games out, but in their last two games the Patriots have lost control of winnable contests over the final 10 minutes. The Colonials had won three in a row until Thursday's 64-61 double-overtime loss to Marshall, a game that featured a career-high 17 points from point guard and former Forest Park High star Danni Jackson. The Patriots have won the last three between the teams, but we like an improved GWU team to wrap up city honors. George Washington 66, George Mason 60

Winthrop (2-4) at Virginia Tech (4-3), 2 p.m.
After three losses on the road against tough competition (Iowa, under-the-radar Florida Gulf Coast and at Minnesota), the Hokies to a Cassell Coliseum in which they are 4-0 this season. Tech looks like a huge favorite here, and while they struggled against similarly rebuilding teams early in the season, their strong finish at Minnesota Thursday suggests they may be ready to put this team in trouble from the jump today. A last second basket gave the Eagles their first road win in their last game at North Carolina Central. Scoring points hasn't come easily for this team -- the Eagles average 54.2 -- and we suspect they won't score enough to defeat Tech. Virginia Tech 70, Winthrop 58

Gardner-Webb (4-3) at Longwood (1-5), 2 p.m.
Longwood remains without its coach, who was suspended indefinitely for a personnel matter and will have trouble contending with the Runnin' Bulldogs, whose coach Rick Reeves looks to pick up his 100th win at the school today. The Lancers have dropped their last five after a season-opening win against High Point. Gardner-Webb 71, Longwood 50

Virginia, Hampton prevail, NSU, Radford fall

Virginia recovers well after a quick turnaround while Hampton regains its point guard and its mojo.

Saturday's games

Virginia 63, Drexel 54: The Dragons run their stuff well and force teams to defend for the entire shot clock, so it's to the Cavaliers' credit that they were able to lock these guys down after having just played Ohio State Thursday night. Chelsea Shine had 17 points (14 in the first half) and 9 rebounds for the Cavs (5-1), who shot 50 percent from the field and had only 11 turnovers. Drexel fell for the first time this season; the Dragons' 5-0 start was the best in program history.

North Carolina A&T 74, Norfolk State 58: For the most part a closer game than that score indicates, as the Spartans led 35-33 at the half and were still ahead by two early in the second half before A&T's Jaleesa Sams (26 points) and Crystal Murdaugh (17) took over. The Spartans (4-2) also shot just 26.3 percent in the second half. On the plus side, NSU got another big game from MEAC Rookie of the Week Rae Corbo (17 points), and Sarah Daily added 13. But freshman Rachel Gordon, who scored 20 points in NSU's season opener and is capable of making a huge impact on this team, logged only 8 minutes and did not score.

Davidson 71, Radford 62: Told ya Sophia Aleksandravicius was no joke. The 6-4 sophomore finished with 31 points (of 11 of 16 shooting), 9 rebounds and 6 blocks as the Wildcats pulled away in the second half. The Highlanders actually shot 51 percent after intermission. They simply had no answer for Sophia A. But let's also give it up for Radford's Da'Naria Erwin Spencer, the reigning Big South Player of the Week who followed up games of 17 and 18 points with a career-high 21 Saturday. A lot of players have one big scoring game. But when you do it three times in a row, that must be who you are.

Hampton 68, Howard 52: While we thought Hampton would find a way to win, we frankly weren't expecting a whole lot of the injury-riddled Lady Pirates. But that's because we didn't know that Jericka Jenkins, the player coach David Six calls his most important, was good to go again. The 5-4 point guard, who has been sidelined by an ankle injury since the first half of Hampton's second game, had 17 points and 6 assists Saturday in a robust 40 minutes (that ankle really must be OK). And just like that, Hampton looks like Hampton again. Bet Six would like to call South Dakota State, Charlotte, Richmond and Jacksonville - the teams that beat Hampton when Fortune was unavailable - and say, hey, how 'bout a do-over? Saturday's game also marked the return, albeit briefly, of Bernadette Fortune, Hampton's other 5-4 starting guard and a preseason All-MEAC selection. Fortune logged just 7 minutes, though, so it appears as though her foot problems remain an issue.

Virginia takes on Drexel; NSU, Hampton begin MEAC play

Virginia gets a potentially opponent in its first home game since Nov. 21 and Norfolk State travels to the Tar Heel State in hopes of making a MEAC statement. 

Norfolk State (4-1) at North Carolina A&T (1-4), 2 p.m.
The Spartans were winless in conference play last season, and a trip to the defending MEAC regular season champions isn't the ideal way to snap that streak. Then again, as they've proven many times already this year, these aren't last year's Spartans. Don't be fooled by A&T's record; the Aggies have played a rigorous schedule. We're not expecting NSU to pull this off, but they've made us look silly before. Besides, NSU-A&T games haven't even really been competitive the last few years. Just staying in it against these guys would be a statement of sorts.  North Carolina A&T 72, Norfolk State 62

Howard (3-6) at Hampton (2-4), 6 p.m.
The MEAC opener for both. The Lady Pirates snapped a four-game losing streak on Monday with a 52-51 victory over Radford. As that score suggests, Hampton is having trouble finding enough offense. But the Bison may be even more offensively challenged, as they're averaging just 45.1 ppg. Howard has one of the MEAC's best in sophomore forward Saadia Doyle (16.4 ppg), but even if Doyle gets her numbers, the Bison may struggle to get 50 points. The question then becomes, can Hampton get 50?  Hampton 55, Howard 52

Drexel (5-0) at Virginia (4-4), 7 p.m.
No ranked team this time, but hardly a breather for the Cavaliers. The Dragons' motion offense can be tricky to prepare for, particularly since Virginia was at Ohio State Thursday and has had little time to prepare for it. But the Cavaliers should be able to cause Drexel some problems of its own, particularly if they move the ball and get multiple players involved.  Virginia 69, Drexel 59

Radford (2-3) at Davidson (3-3), 7 p.m.
The Highlanders are coming off a pair of solid efforts - a come-from-behind win at George Mason and a near-miss one-point loss at Hampton. Reigning Big South Player of the Week Da'Naria Erwin Spencer averaged 17.5 ppg in those contests. To prevail today, the Highlanders must do something about Davidson star/statsheet stuffer Sophia Aleksandravicius, who is averaging a team-best 16.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.2 blocks per game.  Davidson 66, Radford 56

Losses pile up for Virginia schools

Tough night for the state's teams as only James Madison was able to prevail, and that was at the expense of an understandably distracted Longwood.

#6 Ohio State 74, Virginia 46: The Cavaliers drew the toughest of the ACC's matchups in the fourth annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge, and it showed as the Buckeyes cruised after closing the first half on a 15-4 run while Virginia scored in the 40s for the third time in four games.

James Madison 66, Longwood 41: Lauren Jimenez was solid again with 12 points and 9 rebounds in just 16 minutes. Tarik Hislop led JMU's balanced attack with 13 points and Kiara Francisco added 12 on a night when the Dukes didn't need much from Dawn Evans. Evans finished with just 8 points on 2-of-12 shooting (0 of 4 from 3-point range) in 26 minutes. Chelsea Coward scored 12 points to lead the Lancers, who shot just 22.9 percent from the field. Earlier in the day, the school announced that Lancers head coach Kristin Caruso had been suspended indefinitely pending the resolution of a personnel matter.

American 46, George Mason 43: In their previous game, the Patriots (2-4) led Radford by eight points with 5:35 to play, only to get outscored 19-4 the rest of the way in a 63-56 loss. On Thursday, the Pats were up eight with 7:28 left. This time, they were outscored 13-3 the rest of the way. Gotta finish, guys.

Minnesota 63, Virginia Tech 58: Unlike Mason, the Hokies got better as the game went on and really made things interesting in the final minutes. It was falling behind 23-6 that proved a bit too much to overcome. Aerial Wilson led the Hokies with 14 points and Alyssa Fenyn added 12. Brittni Montgomery had 10 rebounds, and Elizabeth Basham chipped in 9 points.

East Carolina 77, VCU 72: Courtney Hurt was immense with 34 points (on 12-of-18 shooting, 2-of-3 from 3-point range and 10 rebounds. But the Pirates pulled away in the second half when, with VCU leading 63-61, Ariana Jackson and Kim Gay hit back-to-back 3-pointers to send ECU off on the decisive 12-1 run. Jackie Brewer (10 points) was the only other Ram in double figures. VCU (2-2) also hurt itself by missing 15 of its 37 free throw attempts, including 10 of the 21 in the second half.

Longwood coach suspended indefinitely

For the second time in 2010, Longwood coach Kristin Caruso has been suspended indefinitely pending resolution of a personnel matter. Assistant Gayle Coats will lead the Lancers tonight against James Madison. No other details are available at present.

On Jan. 5, Caruso was also suspended indefinitely. She resumed her duties on Jan. 12.

As for tonight's games, we're racing against deadline here (games start in about a half hour), but it's too nice a night of women's hoops for us not to weigh-in. So welcome to our lightning round:

George Mason at American, 7 p.m.
We're usually leery of expecting too much of the Patriots on the road, but a visit to American covers an awfully short road.  George Mason 58, American 52


James Madison at Longwood, 7 p.m.
The Dukes have played two nationally ranked teams in their last three games and should be more than ready for this one. Plus the internal situation surrounding Caruso doesn't figure to have a positive effect on the Lancers. JMU 75, Longwood 55

East Carolina at Virginia Commonwealth, 7 p.m.
The Rams can't ask Courtney Hurt to do everything, but we think she'll get enough help tonight. VCU 67, ECU 63

Finally, in tonight's ACC/Big Ten Challenge:

Virginia at Ohio State, 7 p.m.
The fifth ranked team the Cavaliers have played in their last six games, and with all due respect to Tennessee, this one might be the best of the group. At least until the postseason. Ohio State 82, Virginia 67

Virginia Tech at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Minnesota is always a tough place to play and we're not convinced about the Hokies' road chops yet. Minnesota 70, Virgnia Tech 63

Richmond excels, Georgetown escapes

They don't give credit for moral victories, and it has to sting that Richmond narrowly missed the kind of top-of-the-resume victory that would have resonated even louder in March when the NCAA selection committee started handing out at-large bids. Still, the Spiders should have left Washington brimming with the confidence that their "A" game can cause problems for just about anyone. Next time, all they need to do is seal the deal.

#12 Georgetown 65, Richmond 64: Not sure who those guys were in Florida last week, but these are Spiders that got us so excited most of November. Styles make fights, and we suspect the Spiders (4-4) may have felt especially comfortable against a Georgetown team that (we think) plays similarly to Richmond. Whatever the case, check out these numbers: 56 percent shooting (63.6 in the first half); 26 points for Brittani Shells; a return-to-form 22 from Abby Oliver (she's scored 20 in her previous three games combined); 10-of-15 shooting from 3-point range.... What a minute, how did they lose? What? Twenty-five turnovers that led to 20 G-town points? Oh. Even with those, the Spiders were up 6 with 6:35 left in the game before the Hoyas (6-1) surged back in front. And they still nearly pulled it out - or rather, Georgetown nearly handed it back - in a crazy final minute that included the Hoyas fouling a 3-point shooting Oliver with a four-point lead and just three seconds to go. Georgetown star Sugar Rodgers, formerly of King's Fork High in Suffolk, led the Hoyas with 22 points and put them ahead for good by banking in a short jumper with 1:05 remaining to make it 63-61. One final note - the game drew just 543 fans. The good folks at Georgetown are sleeping on one heck of a team, and Wednesday night, they missed one heck of a game.

Richmond's Shells on the fast track

Brittani Shells, preseason Atlantic 10 second team selection?

It doesn't exactly ring, does it?

That didn't sit too well with the Richmond senior, the leading returning scorer in the conference, either.

"Was that motivation?" asked Shells, whose Spiders (4-3) tackle No. 12 Georgetown (5-1) on Wednesday night. "I'm trying to choose my words wisely. It was very disappointing to know that I gave the A-10 everything I had and to know I was selected second team. I was shocked. But I'm not playing for accolades; I'm playing to win. I'm just going to play hard and whatever they decide, they decide."

We don't know if the snub fueled Shells' fast start or not, but nobody is overlooking her these days. Averaging 21.4 ppg, she is shooting 50 percent from the field and has nailed 25 of her 30 free throws. She set a new career high of 34 points in the Spiders' opener against Western Carolina and has already nabbed conference Player of the Week honors.

"It's a different story when it's your last year," she said. "A lot of people say play every game like it's your last because you never know. But this is really it. It's my senior year. I've never gone to the NCAAs. Ever. I can only go on other people's experiences, but I know it's a great thing. That's why you play college basketball.. And that's what I want to do. I want to win and take this team as far as it can go."

Richmond hasn't beaten a ranked opponent since  the 2008-09 season. Let's hope that changes tonight.