Division I regional track finals
Fenwick graduation 2012
Ponitz graduation 2012
Home > Blogs > Flyer Connection: University of Dayton sports > Archives > 2009 > January > 10 > Entry
Flyers fouls take bite out of defense
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Dayton is a team that relies on physical, in-your-mug defense and needs the officials not to call ticky-tack fouls to flourish. But the refs were calling everything Saturday (at least against the visitors), and that took away one advantage the Flyers had on UMass.
We’re not saying the Flyers got a raw deal — they took a slew of bonehead shots that had no chance of going in — but they were whistled for 27 fouls compared to just 10 for UMass. The Minutemen made 22-of-27 free throws, the Flyers 6-of-8.
The UD staff went berserk when officials disagreed on a drive by UMass’ Ricky Harris with 49 seconds left in the first half. One was getting ready to signal traveling, but he was overruled by another who called a foul on the Flyers and counted Harris’ basket.
The quick whistles seemed to take away the Flyers’ defensive aggression in the 75-62 loss, but UD coach Brian Gregory refused to pin the defeat on the officials.
“We’re a team that’s very good defensively and very good rebounding-wise, and we didn’t do either one today,” he said. “When you go on the road, you have to stick to the things you’re good at — you can’t be good at everything — and we weren’t very good at those.”
A-10 commish scouts site: New Atlantic 10 commissioner Bernadette McGlade attended the UMass-Dayton game to check out the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass., as a possible site to host the league tourney.
“Springfield has a great facility,” she said.
Actually, it’s a drab, aged multi-purpose building (a minor-league hockey game was held there the previous night) and holds only 6,700 fans. The game drew just 5,485.
McGlade has only been on the job a few months, but she pulled off a coup in getting the A-10 tourney championship game on CBS-TV at 1 p.m. on Selection Sunday, a spot previously filled by the SEC title game.
“We’re excited,” she said. “That’s a great opportunity to be on a network we know at 1 o’clock on Selection Sunday. The championship game for the men’s basketball tournament deserves an opportunity like that.
“We were fortunate. CBS is a great partner, and at the end of the day, the league and student-athletes and coaches are going to benefit a lot.”
Permalink | Comments (16) | Post your comment |
Comments
By Harry
January 10, 2009 6:46 PM | Link to this
Excuses, excuses. Doug, your first paragraph is just a bunch of excuses. We got beat, be a man and face the facts.By Matt
January 10, 2009 7:39 PM | Link to this
This is a typical UD article for a loss. Make excuses and mock the attendance. Wake up man and write about how this program continues to schedule cream puffs and doesn’t get ready for league play. This is an awful UMASS squad who has lost by 30 several times. I fully expect to see your article in the Sunday paper about how the big boys won’t come to the Arena. Get a clue.By Matt
January 10, 2009 8:28 PM | Link to this
Not sure what to make of UMass. Talented, but inconsistent. Won at Kansas, lost at Toledo shrug Hoping that this was Umass playing up to UD…By Trent
January 11, 2009 8:14 AM | Link to this
UMass got blistered by 30 by Vandy at home. They got smoked by Wisconsin-Green Bay. They only had 5 wins on the season. Maybe Kansas is not very good.By Tim
January 11, 2009 9:43 AM | Link to this
I love the Flyers but I hope they don’t do another swan song in the A-10 this year. It’s so disheartening.By Ray Zev
January 11, 2009 11:50 AM | Link to this
Once again this program goes belly up when it goes up against a better coached, somewhat talented team on the road. Gregory never has his teams ready for road games and is being unmasked as a fraud offensive coach. It looks like the Dayton Flyers will be also rans in the A10 this year too. Once again the university administration is pushing UD arena for tournaments but can’t get a team in them.By TT
January 11, 2009 12:05 PM | Link to this
Please spare us the ticky tack stuff. we got beat today because they were quicker off the dribble and caused the fouls. Why did Gregory switch to an extended zone? Stop making excuses.By muskieman
January 11, 2009 12:23 PM | Link to this
Doug, you will be happy to know that Xavier fans are constantly linking your articles to our board. We don’t get local coverage, so we like to come here to see what it is like.By Flyer Fan
January 11, 2009 2:27 PM | Link to this
muskieman, no one really takes Doug seriously because he is just a “cheer-leader”. You really don’t get any unbaised opinions from him. Enjoy the Enquier, at least when they say something, it is has some meaning.By Concerned Fan
January 11, 2009 3:09 PM | Link to this
Our coaching staff has 7 more road games to prove themselves. This is year 6. This team has more talent than in previous years. We have not won on the road in A10 play in 5 years, and the only thing constant through that timeframe is the coaching staff. At some point they have to be considered the problem. You are NOT going to beat teams that have good offenses 55-52 in their own building. Just does not happen for many reasons. Forgiven if we can come back and get the next two on the road. But someone tell me how we will beat a Duquesne team on the road, a team that scores in the 70s consistently? I’m just not seeing it.By Kent V
January 11, 2009 6:17 PM | Link to this
Luckily the A10 is god awful this year. The A10 is about as bad as our non-conference schedule so we should not lose more than 2 more games.By Duke
January 11, 2009 9:31 PM | Link to this
This kind of a loss is a why the Flyers will have to be happy with playing in the NIT if they can get that lucky. I don’t care who UMass beat earlier. This is unacceptable if the Flyers want to move forward.By RogerBrown
January 12, 2009 6:56 AM | Link to this
Does any player ever work up a sweat in Gregory’s substitution system? Granted, you have to have depth, but how does a player establish any kind of rhythm when he’s in and out of the game every few minutes?By loyal flyer fan
January 12, 2009 9:44 AM | Link to this
UMass beat the flyers because they had a game plan that was designed to thrawrt Dayton’s strenghts. Good scouting paid off. Why don’t the flyers ever have a game plan to stop their opponents strengths? It comes down to good scouting and coaching strategy, and unfortunately Coach Gregory just doesn’t get it done.. He’s been at Dayton long enough to show that he can at least win the games that the flyers should win, but he doesn’t. Other than an occasional win against a quality team, Gregory’s flyer teams only beat the patsies on their schedule, and even have trouble beating some of them.By joe philips
January 12, 2009 11:10 AM | Link to this
Loyal flyer fan makes a good point. I watched the UMass/Kansas game on TV. I wonder if BG and his staff watch their future opponents play on TV when the games are on the tube? It’s easy to see who their best players are and where they score from on the floor.That should help devise a game strategy to play that team. The other part of Dayton’s problem is that they can’t seem to make adjustments at halftime!By Joe Pyne
January 12, 2009 12:35 PM | Link to this
I cannot figure this team out. They go on the road and beat a very good Marquette team in their own back yard and then we lose on the road to a mediocre Creighton and a sub standard UMass. Good teams find a way to win, period. I’m not saying this team isn’t good but there is one constant….Coaching. Seems to me that after 5 seasons at the helm BG should be farther along. With the recruiting classes UD has had, UD should be looked upon as a team feared by opponents and as a team contending year in and year out for the A-10 championship. WHY ISN’T UD THERE YET? Why can Sean Miller and his XU teams be world beaters and not UD? WHY??? Is it the quality of the players UD recruits? Or is it coaching? All I know is Xavier is there year in and year out and UD isn’t. WHY? These questions need to be asked and the sooner the better.