DaytonDailyNews.com

OXFORD — Miami University men's basketball associate head coach Jermaine Henderson can't explain it, he just accepts it. And, later tonight, he hopes to enjoy it.

"It" is the home-court dominance in the Miami-Dayton series.

The RedHawks and Flyers will meet for the 125th time tonight at Millett Hall, where Miami is 9-1 against Dayton since 1988. The lone loss in that stretch was a 55-54 decision in 2000.

The home team has won the last five games in this rivalry, and 15 of the previous 19. Of the four wins recorded by the visitors during that stretch, one was the one-pointer in 2000, and two others were double-overtime affairs that Miami pulled out at UD Arena.

"I played in some of these games, going back a few years, and the home crowds are always strong and there is so much energy built up when you're at home," Henderson said. "I don't know how else to explain it. I mean, it's not like there's a lot of travel involved.

"It's just Dayton-Miami," he continued. "Ever since way back before I was even born, this has been a great rivalry."

Adding spice to the flavor of the rivalry is the fact that both teams are off to 3-1 starts this season. Each squad, however, has used a different formula for winning.

The Flyers are doing it with offense, scoring at least 76 points in each of their three victories. The RedHawks, on the other hand, are getting it done with defense. Miami has held each of its first four opponents to 60 or fewer points, and it hasn't allowed a team to break 70 in the last 38 games, dating back to the 2005-06 season.

"Tempo is part of it, but if you look at Dayton, they run great half-court sets," Henderson said. "They have the beginning and the end, meaning they have a tremendous freshman in Chris Wright, and they have a tremendous senior in Brian Roberts. And everybody in between is pretty good, too."

Roberts is a 6-foot-2 guard who is averaging 23 points per game while shooting 58 percent from 3-point range.

Wright, a 6-8 true freshman forward from Trotwood-Madison, is averaging 16.8 points and a team-best 8.0 rebounds. And he's a big reason why the Flyers are averaging 14 offensive rebounds per game.

"We have got to play to play defense and try to allow them just one shot (per possession)," Henderson said. "We have a lot of respect for what they do and who they are, and we're just happy to be at home this year.

"We hope the trend continues and the home team is successful."

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2193 or jmorrison@coxohio.com.