We Beat Xavier, Weeeeeee!

The Dayton Flyers dismantled Xavier 90-65 yesterday at UD Arena in what was Dayton's most dominant and complete performance since a 25-point rout of Pitt back in December 2007.

Two things about this game stuck out to me. First, Xavier's supporting cast did nothing. Down in Cincinnati three weeks prior, Dante Jackson shined with 19 points and Terrell Halloway came up big going 13-14 at the free throw line. Yesterday those role players failed to come through. Jordan Crawford got his, shooting 8-14 from the field and scoring a game-high 24. The rest of Xaiver's team shot just 13-42 including 5-17 from beyond the arc. Xavier's bench was outscored 37-6.

The second thing is something every UD fan has been harping on all season long: shoot less 3's! The Flyers attempted just 13 shots from way downtown yesterday afternoon, and guess what. Dayton made 7 of those attempts. Now I'm not naive enough to think the Flyers can shoot 50% or more from 3 just by taking fewer shots. However, I do know this: fewer 3-pointers taken in a given game does correlate to a higher percentage made for the red and blue. I'd also love to see a stat with UD's record in games in which it has shot 15 or fewer 3-point shots. The problem is it happens so rarely, so I'd bet it's like 3-0 or something.

Oh and just for fun, in two games against Xavier, Dayton has outrebounded the Muskies by a whopping 93-58. That's called making someone your bitch.

I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I'm not going to be able to enjoy this win for too long. The road ahead really doesn't get any easier for the Flyers as they still have to play what are, in my mind, the three best teams in the league not named Xavier (sorry Rhode Island). The final half of A10 play includes three games in which UD should handle its business: La Salle, UMass, and Saint Louis all at home. It contains two games I cannot see our beloved Flyers winning under almost any circumstances: at Temple and at Richmond. And it includes three toss-up games: Charlotte, at Saint Louis, and at Duquesne. The problem is that with the atrocious loss to St. Joe's, UD has put itself in a position where it must win all three of those toss-up games. (Seriously, have you seen what the Hawks are doing? They're 2-6 in A10 play with the only other win coming against Fordham.)

Now if you've been a college basketball fan for any length of time, there are two games that you should (and probably do) fear more than all the others -- especially if your team has a propensity for blowing games it should definitely win. The trap game and the let down game.

The trap game is simple. It can come either right before a very big game for your team, or it can come in between two games of the utmost importance. Georgetown fell prey to the classic trap game scenario just this past week when it beat a top ten Duke team last Saturday and knocked off #2 Villanova in impressive fashion yesterday. The Hoyas, however, lost to a middle of the road South Florida team mid-week in the obvious trap game.

The let down game is different in that it comes after a huge game, often a rivalry game where emotions run high and there is a lot at stake. Back on January 18 Kansas State knocked off then-#1 Texas only to suffer a let down in its next outing and lose at home to Oklahoma State. Butler knocked off Xavier in a big non-conference match up earlier this season (someone told me that had a controversial ending, but I don't remember hearing anything about it) only to lay an egg in its next game. Cincinnati's Bearcats actually lost to XU in what is also a pretty big rivalry and still suffered a major let down in their next contest. Coincidentally, both Butler and Cincinnati's let down games came against UAB.

The Flyers played their best game of the season, of that there is no question. Now the challenge is to avoid the dreaded let down, but this game Wednesday against Charlotte is not your typical let down situation for two reasons:

1) The 49ers come to Dayton all alone in first place atop the A10 standings. They are playing as well as anybody in the league right now, and if the Flyers don't know Charlotte can ball, you can be sure somebody is going to beat it into their heads over the next three days. A let down game usually involves overlooking one's opponent, and it's pretty tough to overlook a first place team.

2) The game before the let down game tends to be a taxing one both physically and emotionally. It tends to "drain" a team or take a lot out of them. Cincinnati and Xavier went to double overtime to settle their match up back in December. Yesterday's blowout is not something I would describe as a mental grind, and -- other than Chris Wright -- no Flyer played more than 23 minutes of action. So there should be no excuse for physical fatigue come Wednesday.

As a Dayton fan, though, it's tough for me not to see the potential for a major let down against the 49ers. Plus, you have to factor in just how well The Leprechaun has Charlotte playing right now. Derrio Green is a guy I'd never even heard of three weeks ago, and suddenly he is just torching people. In three of his last four games, Green has put 26, 34, and 24 point efforts. I really can't think of a word to describe Shamari Spears other than beast. Spears dropped 31 on George Washington and piled up 15 points and 13 rebounds in a win yesteday. The Flyers will have their hands full with those two to be sure.

Can UD avoid the dreaded let down game and in doing so climb within one game of first in the Atlantic 10? My feel for this team has been off all season long. After Puerto Rico and the Towson near-debacle, I predicted doom and gloom. Then I predicted a five game winning streak during which the Flyers dropped back-to-back one-point losses. So, to be honest, I have no clue how Dayton responds after throttling Xavier. Just have to wait until Wednesday and see.

P.S. This has nothing to do with anything ... but if you want a good laugh, check out Archdeacon's column from the DDN web site after yesterday's game.