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Flyers too athletic for Illinois
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois coach Bruce Weber had an unsettling feeling watching Dayton on film. The Illini may play in a premier league, but he could think of only one other opponent that had similar athleticsm — perennial power Michigan State.
The Flyers put all their inate running and jumping skills on full display, and they even added another twist. They made shots.
They finished 8-for-18 from 3-point land and shot 48.1 percent from the field in the 77-71 win in the NIT quarterfinals.
“Kudos to them,” Weber said. “I think going into it our staff felt it would be a tough match-up for us — their style of play, their quickness, their athletic ability, their (seven) seniors, how hard they play.
“I was hoping it took a little out of them with the Cincinnati game (Monday) and then they traveled over, but, obviously, it didn’t. It seemed like a team much more on their toes than we were. They kicked us in the face right from the start.”
Weber had to burn almost his full arsenal of timeouts to try to stop the onslaught as UD (23-12) built its lead as big as 17 points.
“We were struggling,” he said. “They were making runs at us, and we were getting our butts kicked. We were trying to control it. One time we had three guys asking out. Before they went down and dunked on us, we called timeout.”
Luke Fabrizius made a trio of 3-pointers, while Rob Lowery went 2-for-2 from the arc. Chris Johnson, who had a game-high 18 points, went 9-for-10 from the foul line.
“I thought possibly that our speed and athletic ability might be effective,” UD coach Brian Gregory said. “I thought maybe if we could get them moving, our speed and athletic ability would kind of be highlighted. With the great effort our guys gave, it even increased that.
“We wanted to push the ball, and we were able to get some dribble drives and kick-outs. … When our guards make shots, we’re pretty good. We’ve proven that.”
Next up is Mississippi (24-10) in the NIT semifinals at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Madison Square Garden.
Rhode Island will play North Carolina in the other semifinal at 9 p.m.
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Comments
By Kurt
March 25, 2010 2:33 AM | Link to this
Chirp…Chirp…kind of quiet when the Flyers do well. I am on the West Coast so slack will be cut, but had UD lost..there would be 20 posts by now. Way to go Flyers! Good Luck in NYC!
By The Duke
March 25, 2010 4:09 AM | Link to this
The team actually showed a little swagger at Illinois. They played on the road with the kind of confidence they usually show only at home. It would have been nice if they had played this way in January, but they’re redeeming themselves now.
By The Duke
March 25, 2010 4:10 AM | Link to this
The team actually showed a little swagger at Illinois. They played on the road with the kind of confidence they usually show only at home. It would have been nice if they had played this way in January, but they’re redeeming themselves now.
By DJ
March 25, 2010 6:49 AM | Link to this
Saw the Cincy game in person and last night on TV. This is the way we knew they could and should play…better late than never. Other than the last 3 minutes a GREAT game.
By sec314
March 25, 2010 8:16 AM | Link to this
I am actually extremely proud of the players right now. However, its still bittersweet as i wonder where that determination and intensity was during A10 play. The way they are playing right now, they could be an elite 8 team with a real shot at the final 4 in NCAA. Im sad that they missed that opportunity, but happy they are taking advantage of this one.
By sec314
March 25, 2010 8:18 AM | Link to this
I am actually extremely proud of the players right now. However, its still bittersweet as i wonder where that determination and intensity was during A10 play.
By joe
March 25, 2010 8:35 AM | Link to this
I think fans don’t always realize how hard it is to beat league opponents. The league teams see UD play a lot and they see what works and what doesn’t against them based on the common opponents. To beat UD you can’t let them beat you down the floor. Every A10 team knows this but Ill looked like they had never seen UD play. I think it would really help UD to schedule an out of conference game (or two) in mid to late February against the best opponent that will take them. Xavier did that against Florida this year and was able to quickly remove the blasting they received from UD from everyone’s minds. UD is playing great right now and it looks like they are having fun. Maybe we should opt into the bracket buster tournament next year or something.
By UD '88
March 25, 2010 9:50 AM | Link to this
If you would’ve predicted last week that UD would beat teams from the Big East and Big 10 on their home courts — two games in three days, no less — I would not have been too hopeful. Color me wrong…UD did not just win, they CONTROLLED these games like a well-oiled machine. Extremely impressive, and they deserve a lot of recognition and respect. Way to go, Flyers…true fans are very proud.
By FlyerOne
March 25, 2010 10:51 AM | Link to this
Struck me as a bit sad when BG said he wanted Dayton to be “proud” of their Flyers again. We’re ALWAYS proud of them, how they conduct themselves, graduate and last night they gave us what they’ve given us all year: Everything they’ve got. How great was it to see our men RUNNING to the free throw line in the final moments? Weber says his guys were “asking out.” I’m going jogging. These guys inspire me … We’re all Flyers!
By Marineman
March 25, 2010 12:56 PM | Link to this
London and Marcus about gave me a heart attach (FREE THROWS, fellas), and the full court pressure issues, but a great game. Too bad it only looked like a 6 point win. Until the last few minutes, it felt like a flogging!
By outsider
March 25, 2010 1:02 PM | Link to this
Great win but they did their to blow it with turnovers and missed FTs in crunch time. In the past, those lapses cost them a lot.
By Flyer faithful ?
March 25, 2010 5:10 PM | Link to this
I hope most of these Blogs are not written by recent UD Alumni If you are a recent Alum - what are you comparing these BG coached teams to when you think their talent and wins are not good enough - Please let me know when you were on a Flyer team or in school in the last 30 years where you had a Flyer team more prepared to take on Top 20 teams. There is going to come a time where you wish Flyer teams worked as hard and competed like the Flyer teams of the last few years Good thing the Flyers coaching staff anbd players have more heart and ability then your average & expert blogger One last point to Flyer Fans Plenty of empty seats at U of I last night (Less than 100 Flyer faithful in attendance…….. so please don’t use Flyer faithful so loosely to describe yourselves) - Many Flyer faithful in Chicago area and expert Bloggers to lazy or did not think Dayton would win GO Flyers!!! Go Flyers
By Tim65
March 25, 2010 5:16 PM | Link to this
It was great for the Flyers to win another. Even all my X buddies are happy for the Flyers and want to see them win it all. I must admit that I almost couldn’t watch when the lead got to 4. To Sec 314, I don’t think the Flyers A-10 play lacked determination and intensity but rather the ability to execute, especially from the free-throw line.
By Faith Full
March 25, 2010 6:26 PM | Link to this
UD’s second final 4. We are back on top. What I can’t figuare out is why espn and others are not talking about the final 4. This is huge huge news. I am barely old enough the last time UD made the final 4. Heck, we made the final game. You think we can win it all this time. I love them flyer faithful….
By tp
March 25, 2010 8:42 PM | Link to this
I agree with Kurt, not much to say with them winning. I was in attendance last night and even though there wasn’t a lot of us there,the ones that were, let it be known. Good Job! The Illinois fans were very grascious though. Plenty of them came up to us and told us what a great team we have and good luck in NYC. Lets hope BG sticks around!
By Borges
March 29, 2010 5:15 PM | Link to this
We looked liked a legitimate contender for a final four appearance in both post season tournaments. If we could play like this all the time, we could beat most of those NCAA teams. We beat West Virginia last year, didn’t we? Whatever the outcome is to be in this NIT, these past 3 games have been hopeful and inspiring. I’m just ecstatic! We looke great! Go Flyers!