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Home > Blogs > Flyer Connection: University of Dayton sports > Archives > 2009 > February > 13 > Entry
Flyers have tough path to A-10 title
Temple’s win over Saint Joseph’s on Thursday means Dayton has moved into a first-place tie in the Atlantic 10 with Xavier at 8-2 in the conference, a half-game ahead of St. Joe’s.
The league title chase appears to be coming down to a three-horse race, but the Flyers have by far the toughest finishing stretch of that trio.
Their six remaining opponents have a combined 93-50 record. Whew! The Musketeers’ foes are a collective 66-71, while the seven St. Joe’s opponents are 86-74.
Part of the reason for the imbalance is that UD played its easier games in the first half of the conference season — but that’s not the whole explanation.
The Flyers also have the most grueling “pod” — that is, the three foes they play twice — of the league contenders.
UD’s trio is Xavier (20-4), Duquesne (15-8) and Saint Louis (15-9). Xavier’s three are Dayton (22-3), Fordham (3-18) and Charlotte (8-15), while St. Joe’s plays home and away with St. Bonaventure (12-11), UMass (9-13) and Temple (14-9).
The Flyers seek out a tougher pod because it makes their home schedule more attractive, but that makes winning a league crown more of a challenge.
“We’ve put ourselves in a good position, but we’re going to have to earn it, and our guys have understood nothing is going to be given to them,” UD coach Brian Gregory said. “You have to play who’s on your schedule. Again, we have been less about the wins and losses as opposed to the process of continually getting better and continuing to build this program’s identity. If we keep concentrating on those two things, the rest will take care of itself.”
The remaining schedules:
Dayton: home against Richmond (12-12), at Saint Louis (15-9), at Rhode Island (17-8), home against Temple (14-9), at Xavier (20-4), home against Duquesne (15-8).
Xavier: home against Fordham (3-18), at Charlotte (8-15), home against George Washington (7-14), at Saint Joseph’s (14-9), home against Dayton (22-3), at Richmond (12-12).
Saint Joseph’s: at La Salle (13-10), at Saint Louis (15-9), home against UMass (9-13), Xavier (20-4) and St. Bonaventure (12-11), at Temple (14-9) and at Fordham (3-18).
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Comments
By Jim O'Hora
February 13, 2009 7:39 AM | Link to this
I beleive this tough finishing schedule bodes well for the Flyers. It will show the pollsters who have ignored us all year and the Selection committee how tough we really are and we will come into the tournament ready and confident!By Bhoops
February 13, 2009 8:08 AM | Link to this
If they stick to the formula, Defense, Rebounding, and deep bench, it doesn’t matter who they play. With the emergence of Steezy Thomas, the FLYERS have the ability to take advantage of a new offensive element. A PG who controls the tempo in the half court set. Steezy will distribute the ball and make his teamates better. Having a PG who can do this will only give CW, MJ, and CJ more opportunities. This offensive element combined with their rebounding and stifling D, will create problems for whomever they play. Intensity and effort will be key…By sec 312
February 13, 2009 8:18 AM | Link to this
D-UP!! And Board!By doug
February 13, 2009 9:53 AM | Link to this
Tougher the better! The intensity of the games and the pressure to win the confrence will really help focus this team and prepare them for the big dance!By chris
February 13, 2009 10:57 AM | Link to this
I agree with Doug. If this team has shown anything this year, it is that we play to the level of our competition. Our biggest wins have been against some of the best competition (13 points X, 13? points Marquette, 11? points St. Joes); whereas we beat Fordham, LaSalle, Wofford, and SLU by 1-3 points. We need the big tough games to get up. Looking ahead, I think Richmond could be atrap, coming off the high of the XU win, SLU and RI are always tough road tests, and Temple and Duquesne will be good home battles. That last game against X could be hairy as well. Let’s go Flyers, and hopefully we keep the intensity up, I would say we clearly need to get 4 of these last 6 and a solid conference tourney performance.By RogerBrown
February 13, 2009 2:11 PM | Link to this
Though I hate to see any player hurt like Lowery, I actually am looking forward to seeing what Thomas can do. Lowery was alot of the time out of control on offense with wild drives to the basket and an inability to effectively penetrate and dish off. I think Thomas will be a needed stabilizer for the offense.By chris
February 13, 2009 2:29 PM | Link to this
roger - i think you bring up a good observation about ST’s poise, maturity and composure. Although I dont think RL was as bad about being out of control as Warren, he definitely had a tendency to play too fast. I think Thomas will be a nice pace changer, RL and LW definitely created a lot of chances, but also blew a lot of opportunities. ST is more of an actual point guard, bringing the ball up the court, and setting up the offense. All year we have lacked a half-court game, I was amazed that with ST at the point the half court actually came together some and we got some nice penetrations and kick outs. It will definitely be interesting to see what he will bring to the mix. I would never have wished this injury to occur, but you are right in that it forces BG’s hand to play ST and ultimately that may work out for the better. Even though given the choice I would rather have RL in the lineup.By tds70
February 13, 2009 3:29 PM | Link to this
I agree with sec 312, D -UP. That is what has brought the Flyers this far. As St Joe’s Coach PM says Frenzy defense . It may not be pertty , but it gets the juices flowing, you got to love it. In reading Richmonds site, they have as a strength limiting break out baskets off turnovers, and posession changes. I believe they play a match up zone mostly. It should be interesting see the clash of styles. Rebounding may again be key a key. But you gotta love the D. Go FlyersBy doug
February 13, 2009 8:00 PM | Link to this
I have a great nick name - THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE!By jon
February 14, 2009 9:20 AM | Link to this
A-10 officiating is horrible! Folks stand up for the Flyers or the refs are going to take everything from us.The fix was in against Xavier but the Flyers played so good not even the refs could take that victory away!By Greg E
February 14, 2009 9:40 AM | Link to this
I’ve heard BG say it a couple of times this year, “when you concentrate on defense, the offense comes easily”. This point was especially true in the X game. Making them work for their shots took a lot out of X. When he played a little larger role ST did an outstanding job running the half court. He had good games against Auburn and Marquette. The team gave a performance Wednesday night that showed they are capable of running the table in the A10.By brunnegd
February 14, 2009 11:37 AM | Link to this
Due to stupid NCAA rules, the only way to guarantee a spot in the tournament is to win the A-10 tournament. A conference win is only good for pride and a good seed in the tournament. The only way to make the conference crown meaningful is to get rid of the tournament. This would also allow UD to add games to their schedule, play some strong opponents and enhance their rating.By Rob Lowery
February 14, 2009 11:45 AM | Link to this
It is not an NCAA rule, the conference decides who they will send (either regular season champ or tournament champ.) UD will not make it, mainly bc I am out. But if we do make it then we will be one and done.By matt
February 14, 2009 3:33 PM | Link to this
If you have a conference tournament (every but Ivy league does), the winner gets the bid. In the ivy, the regular season winner gets it.