Dayton-Xavier Recap

First of all, let me say that I'm never very happy after a loss and that I don't really do moral victories. That said, I think there are a lot of encouraging things about today's game. I'm so used to watching the Flyers come out sluggish, especially on the road. It almost always seems like UD is content to let its opponent be the aggressor. Dayton's opposition acts while the Flyers spend the opening minutes of a game reacting. This morning at the Cintas Center that was not the case. UD dictated play to Xavier instead of vice versa. The Flyers came to play, and the Muskies came out flat (but not for very long). If UD could knock down free throws, it would have been a 6-0 lead for the good guys right off the bat.

The bottom line, however, is another loss to Xavier in Cincinnati. You all know the drill: Dayton has not won at XU since 1981 before I (and probably most of you) was even born. Let's recap it:

• As a Flyers fan you're probably saying, "If we make just one or two more shots, either from the field or at the line, we win this game." If you're a Xavier fan (and why would you be?) you're probably saying, "If we could get a freakin' rebound, we beat those guys by 15." Both sides are probably right.
• The rebounding, the hustle, and the energy were phenomenal. The boys in red played as hard as I've seen them play all year long. They beat Xavier's players to loose ball after loose ball and dominated on the glass. In case you've yet to see the numbers, the Flyers outrebounded XU 51-34 and had a ridiculous 25 offensive rebounds. This allowed UD to attempt an equally ridiculous 70 field goals.
• Chris Johnson's jumper wasn't falling today, which is shame because the dude played an incredible game. Not sure how it comes across on TV but after being there in person, I can tell you that CJ was absolutely everywhere on the court today. He had 10 points and 16 boards, 10 of which came on the offensive end. Ten offensive rebounds is unheard of; I'm surprised he didn't play more than 26 minutes.
• Speaking of minutes, Luke Fab continues to make the most of his. 2-4 from downtown for 6 points and 3 rebounds on the afternoon. Maybe more importantly, he didn't force any bad shots. He did pick up two first half fouls, but I didn't see him playing much more than 12 minutes anyway.
• Hopefully Marcus Johnson is officially out of his funk. He played great today on both ends of the floor. He continues to be a tenacious defender and was taking the ball strong to the bucket on O. MJ led the Flyers with 17 points and 3 steals. He also went 4-for-4 from the stripe which was a welcome surprise.
• I didn't think Chris Wright played all that well. Why CW was on the floor with 8:00 left in the first half to even have the opportunity to pick up his third foul is beyond me, but that's another story. It looked like Jason Love went to the Cole Aldrich/Kansas school of defending Chris Wright: play way off of him daring Wright to shoot jumpers, favor his right hand, let him dribble into your chest and then swat his shot. Love had six blocks while Wright was just 2-7 from the floor.
• For a guy who is supposed to be UD's "energy guy," its "spark plug," London Warren was virtually nonexistent today. LW only played 11 minutes while Rob Lowery continues to try to make up for lost time by chucking it early and often. The numbers show a solid game for Rob Low (13 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 0 TO's), and he did have a really nice floor game. But 3-17 FG (0-9 inside the arc) shooting just won't do.
• Honestly, all that analysis (okay, rambling) is moot because this game came down to two key possessions. On the first, Jordan Crawford hit a back breaking 3 from about 30 feet out with the shot clock winding down. On the second, the same Crawford hit a fadeaway J from 15 with about 12 seconds left to put Xavier ahead by five and virtually end the game. I'm not mad about either one because, in both instances, UD got exactly what it wanted. If the fadeaway 2-pointer doesn't drop, UD is a defensive rebound away from having the ball and needing a 3 to send it to overtime. Sometimes good players just make superior plays. Crawford did that, and the Flyers came up just two plays short.
• UD continued its trend of letting one of XU's less heralded role players have a career game. In the week in review post, I highlighted Will Caudle's game in '05. In 2010 it was Dante Jackson scoring a career high 19 points on five made 3-balls.
• Kurt Huelsman's breakaway slam and the foul and the hang on the rim was nasty. Wouldn't have believed if I wasn't in the building.
• Josh Benson was forced to play a dozen minutes due to foul trouble by Wright and Devin Searcy, and the freshman acquitted himself nicely. He had 8 points on 4-7 including a dunk in traffic over Kenny Frease. Didn't see that one coming.
• I was in the third row under the hoop (opposite of XU's students section). If you were watching ESPN2 and saw a guy who had painted his entire upper body blue except for a white "X" across the top of his bald head, then you probably saw me as well. I was one of the dudes standing behind him wearing a red Flyers t-shirt. At one point early in the second half, the Musketeers were on a little run and they showed that guy on TV. I immediately got two texts, one of which read, "Slap the X off that douche bag's head." Good advice that I just didn't take.
• I didn't think the officiating was bad. There were some tough calls on both teams, and I still think travelling should be called way more frequently than it is; however, there is just no excuse for all of the timekeeping issues. I can't argue that affected the outcome of the game, but it makes it really hard for the game to have any flow whatsoever. If you're Xavier and you had to endure that debacle against Butler, wouldn't you be extremely sensitive to this? The game was stopped at least four times for clock issues (including twice in the final 4:00 of the game).
• It's been an interesting season in that the Flyers have really won every game they're supposed to and lost all of the ones they weren't expected to win. In recent memory, we've been treated to a few UD upsets (Pitt, Louisville, Marquette) as well as a game or two where the Flyers lay an egg and lose to an inferior opponent. This year, it's been pretty much all chalk (with Ga. Tech as the lone possible exception because nobody, including Paul Hewitt, knows what to expect out of the Jackets).

Conclusion: I'm not thrilled but it's hard to be too upset about losing at a place where you haven't won since 1981. Especially since the Flyers manhandled X on the glass and did not back down at any point.

Prediction: Your Dayton Flyers reel off five straight wins culminating with a W in the rematch against XU at UD Arena. This moves the good guys to 18-4 and back into the top 25 come Monday, February 8th.