Division I regional track finals
Fenwick graduation 2012
Ponitz graduation 2012
Home > Blogs > Flyer Connection: University of Dayton sports > Archives > 2009 > March > 15
Sunday, March 15, 2009
UD will meet West Virginia in first round of NCAA tournament
Dayton is in the Big Dance. UD will take on West Virginia in the first round of the NCAA tournament Friday in Minneapolis.
The game, which will be played at the spacious Metrodome, tips off at approximately 3 p.m.
UD is a No. 11 seed and takes a 26-7 record into the tourney. West Virginia, out of the Big East, is a No. 6 seed. The winner takes on either Kansas or North Dakota State in the second round. The Jayhawks and Bison play at 12:30 p.m.
The Flyers, as it turned out, were “on the bubble.” UD was one of the last three at-large teams to be selected for the tourney. The last two: No. 12 seeds Arizona and Wisconsin.
UD was one of only four at-large teams from the non-power conferences. The other three: Xavier (A-10), Butler (Horizon) and BYU (Mountain West).
This marks UD’s 14th NCAA tourney appearance. The Flyers have lost their last four tourney games, their last win coming in the first round of the 1990 tourney, 88-86 over Illinois in Austin, Texas.
UD is 13-15 all-time in the tournament.
The Flyers were a No. 10 seed in their last tourney appearance, losing to DePaul 76-69 in double overtime in 2004 in Buffalo, N.Y.
Permalink | Comments (109) | Post your comment |
Mock NCAA brackets have Flyers in
Jerry Palm has Dayton as one of his last four teams in the NCAA tournament as an 11 seed today, which has to be at least a little disconcerting for Flyer fans. After all, the creator of collegerpi.com batted 1.000 last year in picking at-large teams, and that’s cutting it a little bit close.
But the news is good elsewhere. Joe Lunardi, who is probably the foremost expert in predicting NCAA brackets, has the Flyers as a 10 seed along with Texas A&M, Boston College and Michigan. There are four at-large 11 seeds on Lunardi’s bracket (Minnesota, Maryland, Creighton and St. Mary’s) and one 12 seed (Wisconsin), which means the Flyers have a little cushion there.
Foxsports.com has an even more favorable outlook for the Flyers, making them a nine seed.
Still, UD fans should be rooting for Tennessee to beat Mississippi State in the SEC championship today to preserve a bid for the bubble teams.
For what it’s worth, Palm has the Flyers playing sixth-seeded Butler in Philadelphia, Lunardi has them going against seventh-seeded Utah in Greensboro, and Fox has them facing eighth-seeded Maryland in Miami.
• UD president Daniel Curran relayed a compliment the Flyers received from a staff person at the Seaview Resort, where 10 teams stayed for the Atlantic 10 tournament:
“I was just at the desk, and the woman said, ‘The University of Dayton team was the nicest team here. They’re real gentlemen.’ As a president, you not only see the performance on the court, but you see what representatives they are for the entire university.
“I’m proud of their athletic performance. But stepping up and showing what UD is all about, they do it every day. And Brian (Gregory) and the whole coaching staff do the same thing.”
• The Flyers (26-7) have the third-most wins in school history, but the players are eager to make amends after ending the A-10 tourney on a sour note.
“I think we’ve grown a lot from last year, progressing one game at a time,” junior guard Mickey Perry said. “We have to learn from this (loss) and learn that it takes more than playing hard. What Dayton basketball is all about is fighting, scrapping and clawing, but it also takes poise out there. I think we’re making steps in the right direction.”
