The Flyers (8-6) will play in front of no fans three days after playing in front of 13,407 fans. George Washington (4-8) has closed games to spectators through Jan. 17 because of a rising number of COVID-19 cases on campus. It hasn’t played a game home or away since making that decision Dec. 26 because of its own issues with the virus. This will be its first game since Dec. 13.
Fordham has also closed its home games to fans. Other colleges across the country have made similar decisions or other adjustments. Ohio State announced this week it won’t open concession stands at athletic events. Xavier will require fans to be vaccinated to provide proof of negative COVID-19 tests.
When asked earlier this week if Dayton had any plans to limit spectators, Athletic Director Neil Sullivan said, “As has been the case throughout the pandemic, conditions can change rapidly and we will continue to carefully monitor pandemic conditions, but we have no current plans to limit UD Arena capacity. We strongly encourage fans to be vaccinated and boosted to attend games this season and to wear a face covering throughout their time in UD Arena . Anyone exhibiting symptoms or who feels uncomfortable attending games at UD Arena for any reason is encouraged to make alternative arrangements with their tickets.”
Dayton played a number of games in empty arenas last season and played all season in a near-empty UD Arena. Going back to that atmosphere could be a big adjustment — just as playing Wednesday after a 16-day break was.
Dayton had its first two A-10 games postponed before playing Wednesday for the first time since a 69-60 victory against Southern on Dec. 21.
“We’ve been practicing a lot,” Holmes II said, “but it’s been kind of hard because games have been getting cancelled the day before. We’re starting to see all these games getting cancelled. We don’t know what’s coming, so it’s harder to prepare for games to come in the future.”
“It was a lot to handle mentally,” Dayton forward Toumani Camara said, “because you get prepared and then you get canceled and you get prepared again and you get canceled. So I think it took a toll on us. It was hard, but this is the situation we’re in and we’ll try to make the most out of it.”
The A-10 confirmed Thursday Dayton would get to play its game at George Washington, while postponing three more games scheduled for Saturday. Assuming there are no more postponements, only 11 of the first 28 scheduled A-10 games will have been played through Saturday.
The preseason favorite, St. Bonaventure, has yet to play a league game and won’t play until at least Tuesday, and that’s when George Mason is also scheduled to play its first league game at Richmond. Rhode Island, which had its postponed home game against Dayton rescheduled for 9 p.m. Feb. 14, is scheduled to play its first A-10 game Saturday at Davidson. Duquesne, which plays Dayton in Pittsburgh on Jan. 15, opens A-10 play Saturday at Massachusetts after three postponements.
Dayton and VCU looked as if they were starting a new season Wednesday, especially in the first half when Dayton committed 12 of its 15 turnovers. Neither team found an offensive rhythm in the second half, either. The 105 combined points was the lowest total in series history, topping the 66-43 game won by VCU in 2021 in Richmond and the 59-55 game won by Dayton at VCU in 2015.
Dayton didn’t use the long layoff as an excuse. VCU had an even longer break between games (21 days) and played Dayton, which was at full strength, without two starters.
“The virus is kind of messing everybody up right now,” Camara said. “It’s about being able to stay focused and know what we have to do and keep working and get better every day and try to not repeat the same mistake we made early on during the season and then come back stronger and learn from the mistakes.”
SATURDAY’S GAME
Dayton at George Washington, Noon, USA Network, 1290, 95.7
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