NORFOLK — If things go the way Robert Davis Jr. expects them to, popcorn sales at Chartway Arena could hit an all-time high Tuesday.
The Old Dominion guard expects a show that’s nothing short of cinematic. Whether the genre is thriller, adventure or comedy remains to be seen.
And the city’s basketball fans are gearing up to provide quite a soundtrack.
Norfolk State’s 4½-mile drive to face Old Dominion represents far more than just another nonconference game for both schools. The first meeting between the programs in nearly three calendar years, it’s proving to be the toughest ticket in town.
Just a smattering of dots representing empty seats remained on ODU’s ticketing website as of Monday afternoon. The arena’s basketball capacity of 8,600 could be pushed to its limits.
Davis, the Preseason Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, pointed out that the Monarchs’ seven newcomers have yet to experience all Chartway has to offer.
“And with opposing (fans) being able to come and this place being nearly sold out, it’s going to be a movie,” Davis said. “It’s going to be a night to remember. And to be able to come out on top is what we’re focused on, but it’s going to be an unbelievable experience for us.”
Not to mention a rather novel one. Despite their proximity, the teams have met just 21 times since they first got together in 1965-66.
The Monarchs have won 15 of them, including a 68-62 nail-biter in December 2022 that resulted in shouting players nearly coming to blows in a hallway outside Chartway’s seating bowl.
NSU (2-1) is a perennial title contender in the MEAC, wining three league tournaments in the past five seasons.
The Monarchs (1-1), who joined the Sun Belt in 2022, last made the NCAA Tournament in 2019.
Second-year ODU coach Mike Jones, who took his team four games into the Sun Belt Tournament last season, said playing local teams just makes sense.
Future regular-season games against NSU, Hampton and William & Mary, he said, could be in the works.
Tuesday’s contest offers a glimpse of what could lie ahead.
“I think it’s just literally a celebration of the great basketball tradition that this community has,” Jones said. “I’m very happy to be able to do it. I hope that it’s something that can be sustained. Just looking forward to a great environment, great game, great competition.”
ODU will visit the Spartans next season as part of a home-and-home agreement announced over the summer.
The Monarchs last made the short trip early in the truncated 2020-21 season. A COVID-trimmed crowd of just 250 watched ODU win 80-66 at Echols Hall.
NSU coach Robert Jones, a New York City native who has a 238-160 record in his 13th season leading the program, recalled growing up with natural regional rivalries in the Northeast.
“Every rival game is a 50/50 game, right?” Robert Jones said. “You know, it’s no matter what the resources are, no matter what the players are … it’s all a 50/50 game. So I think people are interested in those games, because anything can happen. You just don’t know who’s going to show up, who’s going to win those games, you know? So I think it’s exciting for the city, exciting for the area, especially for an area that doesn’t have a pro team yet.”
Because they live so close together, players from both teams have bumped into each other around town.
Though the chatter has been minimal, it has been existent.
“I mean, there’s always going to be,” ODU forward Caelum Swanton-Rodger said. “We’re in the same city. It’s who can be the big dog in town, you know?”
Davis, who has been out with a quadriceps injury, said he plans to play against the Spartans.
He also plans to compete in what he expects to be a hard-fought game.
“You never want to get punked on the court,” Davis said. “But when it comes to an in-city rival who is literally down the street, you definitely don’t want to lose that game.”
David Hall, david.hall@pilotonline.com.
Staff Writer Trevyn Gray contributed to this report.
