ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, February 19, 1996 TAG: 9602200010
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
At an Old Dominion Athletic Conference basketball tournament that has been played tighter than a coach's innards, they've been talking about four letters other than the league acronym.
For the first time in its 20-year history, the ODAC has a real chance at three NCAA Tournament bids. When the NCAA Division III field is selected in six days, Sunday's ODAC semifinals certainly will have helped decide who's in and who's out.
Tonight's ODAC finalists - Roanoke (21-4) and Bridgewater (18-8) - will be playing again Feb.29 when the NCAA starts with a 64-team field playing toward a Final Four on March 15-16 at the ODAC's longtime hoops home - the Salem Civic Center.
Roanoke knew it had an NCAA berth before the ODAC tournament began, thanks to the regular-season champion Maroons' record and No.2 spot in last week's South Region rankings.
Hampden-Sydney, however, knew it needed to at least reach the ODAC's 7 p.m. title tip-off to have an NCAA chance.
When Roanoke nudged the Tigers 77-73 in Sunday's semifinal opener in the brightened and scrubbed-up civic center, the Maroons not only clinched a first-round NCAA home date at the Bast Center, but also assured the nightcap foes that neither was eliminated from an NCAA opportunity.
It's unlikely Hampden-Sydney (17-9) would move ahead of Randolph-Macon (18-8) or Bridgewater on the NCAA fence. Bridgewater's 72-68 semifinal victory over R-MC made it even less likely, with the third-seeded Eagles solidifying their hopes.
The Tigers also lost twice to Macon and Bridgewater during the ODAC regular season, and each already was in the South Region's eight-team poll.
``I do think the league deserves three [NCAA] bids this year,'' said Hal Nunnally, Randolph-Macon's coach. ``I'm not just saying that because we're in the running.
``Heck, there have been years when I didn't even think we deserved our automatic bid. This time, I think we've played well enough to get three. Mostly, we've beaten one another.''
In every season but one since 1988, the ODAC has gotten two NCAA berths. The Division III field went from 32 to 64 teams last year.
However, unlike the Division I tournament, the Division III bracket is filled without moving teams from their geographical regions.
``Our problem always has been that we knock each other off all season,'' Nunnally said of the ODAC's 18-game league schedule. ``We should be playing in two divisions, so we could play more non-conference games.
Nunnally's notion on divisional play in the 10-team league never has made it past a meeting room, although one time in the late '80s, the coaches did vote for it. The athletic directors didn't.
Roanoke coach Page Moir told his team it ``could take care of the NCAA'' by running off several victories before the ODAC tourney. He was correct.
Now, the Maroons have a nine-game streak, have clinched at least one home NCAA game, and could seal the regional No.2 seed - and a potential second NCAA home game - with a ninth ODAC title.
The ODAC, Dixie and Southern Collegiate Athletic conferences and about 10 independents make up the Division III South Region for basketball. SCAC member Millsaps (Miss.) is the likely No.1 seed.
``One problem is there's very little competition between us in the ODAC and the SCAC,'' with schools spreading from Kentucky to Texas, Moir said. ``It's tough to tell who's better. One of those leagues will get three. The other won't.''
The four ODAC semifinalists were a combined 18-3 against Division III non-conference opponents this season. ``Other than Millsaps, our records are right there with everybody else's'' in the region, Nunnally said.
The NCAA bracket should reflect that.
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY/Staff. The Roanoke bench celebrates its ODACby CNBtournament semifinal win over Hampden-Sydney. color.