Friday, March 20, 2009
Early Friday First Round Results
In the East region, in what figured to be a close call, Oklahoma State (8) got by Tennessee (9) by just two points, 77-75, as Tyler Smith missed a potential game-winning three at the buzzer. #1 seed Pitt escaped a scare from East Tennessee State, the 16 seed. The Bucs pulled to within 2 points in the waning moments, and the Panthers were sweating, but managed to step up the defense, hit a number of key shots and move on, 72-62, in the closest call yet for a #1 or #2 seed. DeJuan Blair was his usual unstoppable self, with 27 points and 15 rebounds.
Pitt squares off with Oklahoma State in the next round, and by all appearances, the Panthers will not be exactly waltzing into the regionals. With Kansas' win today, the Big 12 is 5-0, the best record of any conference.
There were just two afternoon games in the Midwest region, but one was the upset of the day.
Dayton led West Virginia (5) almost the entire game, eventually winning 68-60. The Flyers' Chris Wright led the way for the #12 seed with 27 points and 9 boards. The Flyers are a solid team with upset potential against anyone. They meet Kansas on Sunday, and that game has the potential to be a real treat. The Jayhawks are sound, but unspectacular. Dayton is gunning for more as the first small conference winner.
#14 North Dakota State hung with the Jayhawks most of the way, but eventually fell, 82-72. Kansas' big two, Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich led the Jayhawks. Collins had 32 points and 8 assists; Aldrich finished with 23 points and 15 boards.
In the South, Syracuse dominated Stephen F. Austin, 59-44 and #6 Arizona State slipped past Temple, 66-57, without breaking much of a sweat. The Sun Devils and Orangemen have a showdown set for Sunday.
6 seed Marquette's survival in the West was put to the test against the 11 seed, Utah State, as the Golden Eagles won by just a point, 58-57. Marquette's shelf life is down to minute by minute status, as they have to face up to Missouri in the next round, Sunday.
The Mizzou bumped off the Big Red of Cornell, 78-59. Leo Lyons scored 23 points and hauled in 11 rebounds.
Labels: Dayton Flyers, Friday games, NCAA Tournament
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Top 25 Roundball Roundup
(1) Connecticut 63, Syracuse 49 - Top-ranked Connecticut buried Syracuse, sending the Orangemen to their 6th loss in their last 8 games. The Huskies won their 12th straight, and are now 23-1 overall and 11-1 in the Big East. UConn looks to be the #1 overall seed in the NCAA tourney, though they have to navigate the remainder of their Big East schedule and the conference tournament. They have six regular season games left, two with Pitt and one with Marquette.
(2) Oklahoma 78 Baylor 63 - Blake Griffin recorded his 21st double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Oklahoma improved to 24-1.
North Carolina State 82 (7) Wake Forest 76 - Unranked NC State knocked off a serious ACC foe in the night's biggest upset. The Wolfpack improved to just 3-6 in the conference and 13-9 overall, while the Demon Deacons lost for the 4th time in their last 6, looking very vulnerable as the season progresses.
(8) Memphis 63 Tulsa 37 - Robert Dozier scored 23 points, as the Tigers humiliated Tulsa. Memphis is 21-3 and undefeated in Conference-USA at 9-0.
Dayton 71 (14) Xavier 58 - Eleven different players scored for Dayton, as the Flyers overmatched #14 Xavier and tightened the Atlantic-10 race. St. Joseph's leads the conference at 7-1, with unappreciated Dayton and Xavier tied at 8-2. Dayton already holds a 69-58 win over St. Joseph's. The Flyers are flying just beneath the national radar, but could make a good deal of noise in March.
Labels: AP Top 25, Connecticut Huskies, Dayton Flyers, Oklahoma Sooners
Thursday, January 10, 2008
A Few Facts about the Dayton Flyers
The Flyers are 13-1 on the season and 1-0 in the conference, with wins over three ranked teams: Louisville (70-65), Pittsburgh (80-55) and Rhode Island (92-83). The only loss suffered by the Flyers was in their second game of the season, on November 17, at George Mason, 67-56. They've since won 12 straight.
The University of Dayton was founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary (the Marianists). It is a Catholic school which evolved from a boarding school for boys (St. Mary's School for Boys) built on 125 acres of farmland and became the University of Dayton in 1920. It is the largest private college in the state of Ohio.
Over the last nine years, UD has had 23 conference championships and 17 teams reach the post-season. The basketball program rates as one of the best in the nation, in an elite group graduating basketball athletes at a rate of better than 85%.
The basketball program has incredible fan acceptance. For seven straight years Dayton basketball has finished in the top 25 in the nation in attendance.
Conference: Atlantic-10
Head coach: Brian Gregory
Top Players:
Brian Roberts, 6'2" senior guard, leads the team with 4.6 assists and 19.4 points per game.
Chris Wright, 6'8" freshman forward, 6 rebounds (leads team), 10.4 points per game.
Marcus Johnson, 6'3" sophomore guard, 9.6 ppg.
Forwards Charles Little (6'6" junior) and Kurt Huelsman (6'10" sophomore) each average 4.9 rebounds per game and are the 4th and 5th leading scorers on the team.
Only six of the players on the team are from Ohio, but four of them - Roberts, Johnson, Wright and Huelsman - are starters. Oddly enough, Little, the other starter, hails from Cleveland... Tennessee.
Team colors: Red and Blue
Official website: www.udayton.edu
Labels: Atlantic-10, Dayton Flyers