THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 31, 1996 TAG: 9601310415
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
The Colonial Athletic Association reached the midway point of conference play Monday night, and one thing stands out about the league's top tier: only the strong survive.
The four most physical teams sit atop the standings, led by Virginia Commonwealth. The Rams have a plus-14.8 rebound margin in league play.
``I think that physical thing is an over-used thing,'' VCU coach Sonny Smith said. ``We're one of the shorter teams in the league, but every week it seems we get taller. We might actually get wider because our guys do eat a lot.''
VCU was picked to finish second in the preseason behind Old Dominion, which is currently tied for second place with East Carolina. The Pirates, picked to finish eighth, are one of two big surprises.
``We haven't thought too much about where we are, all we've thought about is what we need to do,'' ECU coach Joe Dooley said.
The other surprise is last-place James Madison, picked third.
D-FENCE: Two of Old Dominion's last three opponents have shot below 30 percent from the field, including an ODU defensive school-record 25.9 percent by American Monday.
``We're just staying in touch with people and not letting them get easy shots, and our interior players are really doing a good job,'' coach Jeff Capel said. ``When we do get beat on the perimeter, people are not getting lanes to the basket.''
CAMERA SHY: When you're down 20 points at half on the road, it's tough to figure out what adjustments to make. Just ask American coach Chris Knoche.
``One of the adjustments I should have made was going to the folks at Home Team Sports and seeing if they had any reruns of Home Run Derby they could put on,'' Knoche said.
CAA TICKETS: ODU's ticket office has ticket books available for the CAA men's and women's tournament.
Ticket books to all eight games of the men's tournament March 1-4 in Richmond cost $45, while books for the women's tournament March 6-9 at the ODU field house are $15.
To purchase tickets within the ODU section, call the school's ticket office at 683-4444 by Feb. 15 for the men's tournament, and by March 4 for the women's.
TIP-INS: Prior to this season, James Madison had lost just three CAA home games in six seasons. The Dukes have lost three already this season. ... Capel said senior forward Mario Mullen's ailing back was not sore after playing six minutes against American. It was only Mullen's second appearance in the Monarchs' last nine games. by CNB