# 2024–25 Old Dominion Monarchs men's basketball team

The 2024–25 Old Dominion Monarchs men's basketball team represented Old Dominion University during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Monarchs, led by first-year head coach Mike Jones, played their home games at Chartway Arena in Norfolk, Virginia as members of the Sun Belt Conference.

## Previous season

The Monarchs finished the 2023–24 season 7–25, 3–15 in Sun Belt play to finish in last place among conference opponents. The Monarchs would lose to Texas State in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference tournament.

## Offseason
### Coaching changes

Following the mid-season departure of eleven-year head coach Jeff Jones, former Monarchs player Mike Jones was hired to assume the role of head coach. Jones retained assistant coach Jamal Robinson and hired new assistant coaches Ryan Nadeau and James Robinson for the 2024–25 season.

## Preseason
### Preseason Sun Belt Conference poll

Along with Georgia Southern, the Monarchs were picked to finish eighth place in the conference's preseason poll.
Coaches poll :
| Predicted finish | Team (1st-place votes) |
| 1 | Arkansas State – 193 (12) |
| 2 | James Madison – 170 (1) |
| 3 | Troy – 155 (1) |
| 4 | Louisiana – 144 |
| 5 | Southern Miss – 133 |
| 6 | App State – 122 |
| 7 | Texas State – 89 |
| T8 | Georgia Southern – 85 |
| T8 | Old Dominion – 85 |
| 10 | Marshall – 79 |
| 11 | South Alabama – 78 |
| 12 | Georgia State – 75 |
| 13 | Coastal Carolina – 34 |
| 14 | ULM – 28 |

## Schedule and results

On November 4, guard Imo Essien announced he would forgo playing in his senior season due to recurrent health issues.
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 4, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Buffalo MAC-SBC Challenge | L 82–83 | 0–1 | 25 – Davis Jr. | 13 – Walker | 5 – Johnson | Chartway Arena (5,455) Norfolk, VA |
| November 9, 2024* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at No. 10 Arizona | L 44–102 | 0–2 | 12 – Ceaser | 4 – Tied | 1 – Tied | McKale Center (13,982) Tucson, AZ |
| November 12, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Radford | L 75–87 | 0–3 | 23 – Ceaser | 11 – Durugordon | 2 – Tied | Dedmon Center (1,731) Radford, VA |
| November 15, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Maryland Eastern Shore | W 73–71 | 1–3 | 23 – Ceaser | 14 – Swanton-Rodger | 4 – Davis Jr. | Chartway Arena (5,300) Norfolk, VA |
| November 19, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Randolph–Macon | W 71–55 | 2–3 | 17 – Durugordon | 10 – Durugordon | 1 – Tied | Chartway Arena (4,438) Norfolk, VA |
| November 24, 2024* 7:30 p.m., FloHoops | | vs. Boston College Cayman Islands Classic quarterfinals | L 52–82 | 2–4 | 19 – Davis Jr. | 6 – Walker | 2 – Davis Jr. | John Gray Gymnasium George Town, Cayman Islands |
| November 25, 2024* 5:00 p.m., FloHoops | | vs. High Point Cayman Islands Classic consolation game | L 67–73 | 2–5 | 16 – Durugordon | 9 – Durugordon | 6 – Johnson | John Gray Gymnasium (915) George Town, Cayman Islands |
| November 26, 2024* 11:00 a.m., FloHoops | | vs. Duquesne Cayman Islands Classic 7th place game | L 54–67 | 2–6 | 23 – Ceaser | 10 – Walker | 2 – Tied | John Gray Gymnasium (920) George Town, Cayman Islands |
| December 2, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | William & Mary Rivalry | W 88–83 | 3–6 | 24 – Durugordon | 13 – Walker | 8 – Johnson | Chartway Arena (4,563) Norfolk, VA |
| December 7, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | George Washington | L 70–78 | 3–7 | 16 – Tied | 11 – Tied | 7 – Johnson | Chartway Arena (5,109) Norfolk, VA |
| December 15, 2024* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Northeastern | L 71–75 | 3–8 | 17 – Davis Jr. | 14 – Walker | 8 – Johnson | Chartway Arena (4,050) Norfolk, VA |
| December 21, 2024 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Louisiana–Monroe | W 80–75 $^{OT}$ | 4–8 (1–0) | 32 – Davis Jr. | 13 – Blakney | 9 – Johnson | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,058) Monroe, LA |
| December 28, 2024* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Virginia Wesleyan | W 82–44 | 5–8 | 19 – Davis Jr. | 11 – Walker | 4 – Tied | Chartway Arena (4,851) Norfolk, VA |
| January 2, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Arkansas State | L 59–78 | 5–9 (1–1) | 21 – Durugordon | 10 – Walker | 3 – Durugordon | Chartway Arena (3,918) Norfolk, VA |
| January 4, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Southern Miss | W 74–71 | 6–9 (2–1) | 18 – Davis Jr. | 9 – Durugordon | 9 – Johnson | Chartway Arena (5,069) Norfolk, VA |
| January 9, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Louisiana | W 71–60 | 7–9 (3–1) | 20 – Durugordon | 7 – Durugordon | 6 – Johnson | Cajundome (1,235) Lafayette, LA |
| January 11, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at South Alabama | W 71–63 $^{OT}$ | 8–9 (4–1) | 27 – Durugordon | 18 – Durugordon | 8 – Johnson | Mitchell Center (2,089) Mobile, AL |
| January 16, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Appalachian State | L 43–62 | 8–10 (4–2) | 11 – Davis Jr. | 7 – Tied | 1 – Tied | Chartway Arena (4,529) Norfolk, VA |
| January 18, 2025 3:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Georgia Southern | L 63–67 | 8–11 (4–3) | 20 – Davis Jr. | 17 – Durugordon | 1 – Tied | Chartway Arena (5,739) Norfolk, VA |
| January 22, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | James Madison Royal Rivalry | L 60–74 | 8–12 (4–4) | 23 – Davis Jr. | 10 – Durugordon | 2 – Swanton-Rodger | Chartway Arena (6,008) Norfolk, VA |
| January 25, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Coastal Carolina | W 74–52 | 9–12 (5–4) | 23 – Davis Jr. | 10 – Durugordon | 5 – Davis Jr. | Chartway Arena (6,684) Norfolk, VA |
| January 29, 2025 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Appalachian State | W 78–77 | 10–12 (6–4) | 25 – Durugordon | 12 – Durugordon | 7 – Johnson | Holmes Center (3,249) Boone, NC |
| February 1, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at James Madison Royal Rivalry | L 54–68 | 10–13 (6–5) | 18 – Durugordon | 8 – Durugordon | 7 – Johnson | Atlantic Union Bank Center (6,192) Harrisonburg, VA |
| February 5, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Texas State | W 75–64 | 11–13 (7–5) | 20 – Durugordon | 13 – Durugordon | 3 – Johnson | Chartway Arena (5,474) Norfolk, VA |
| February 8, 2025* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Eastern Michigan MAC-SBC Challenge | L 70–76 | 11–14 | 18 – Davis Jr. | 12 – Durugordon | 2 – Tied | George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,673) Ypsilanti, MI |
| February 13, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Georgia State | L 75–97 | 11–15 (7–6) | 21 – Durugordon | 7 – Tied | 2 – Tied | GSU Convocation Center (1,579) Atlanta, GA |
| February 15, 2025 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Georgia Southern | L 75–78 | 11–16 (7–7) | 24 – Durugordon | 10 – Durugordon | 3 – Tied | Hill Convocation Center (2,144) Statesboro, GA |
| February 20, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Marshall | L 77–81 | 11–17 (7–8) | 19 – Durugordon | 6 – Tied | 2 – Tied | Chartway Arena (3,839) Norfolk, VA |
| February 22, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Georgia State | L 70–76 | 11–18 (7–9) | 16 – Durugordon | 14 – Durugordon | 7 – Johnson | Chartway Arena (6,805) Norfolk, VA |
| February 25, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Marshall | L 66–83 | 11–19 (7–10) | 23 – Davis Jr. | 6 – Swanton-Rodger | 5 – Swanton-Rodger | Cam Henderson Center (5,133) Huntington, WV |
| February 28, 2025 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Coastal Carolina | W 61–59 | 12–19 (8–10) | 14 – Davis Jr. | 12 – Durugordon | 3 – Davis Jr. | HTC Center (1,570) Conway, SC |
| Sun Belt tournament |||||||||
| March 5, 2025 8:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (10) | vs. (11) Louisiana Second round | W 67–49 | 13–19 | 21 – Durugordon | 10 – Tied | 9 – Johnson | Pensacola Bay Center (838) Pensacola, FL |
| March 6, 2025 8:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (10) | vs. (7) Texas State Third round | W 64–61 | 14–19 | 23 – Davis Jr. | 12 – Durugordon | 3 – Tied | Pensacola Bay Center (1,064) Pensacola, FL |
| March 7, 2025 8:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (10) | vs. (6) Appalachian State Fourth round | W 61–56 | 15–19 | 21 – Durugordon | 12 – Durugordon | 3 – Johnson | Pensacola Bay Center (1,469) Pensacola, FL |
| March 8, 2025 9:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (10) | vs. (3) Troy Quarterfinals | L 59–75 | 15–20 | 20 – Blakney | 16 – Durugordon | 4 – Tied | Pensacola Bay Center (2,669) Pensacola, FL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. |||||||||
Sources