Dayton would like to create a frame-worthy moment Sunday in the 2023 championship game. First, it has to beat the biggest A-10 Cinderella in years.
No. 2 seed Dayton (21-11) plays No. 3 Fordham (25-7), a program that has finished last four times in the last 10 seasons, in the semifinals at 3:30 p.m. today.
“We know that they made history this year with all that they’ve accomplished,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said Friday. “They have some outstanding talent on their team and outstanding coaches. Last night, just seeing the fan support, we understand that it’s going to be a great challenge for us and a great opportunity, and we’re looking forward to it.”
Dayton beat No. 10 seed Saint Joseph’s 60-54 in the quarterfinals Thursday. Fordham followed with a 69-61 victory against No. 11 La Salle. There was a typical A-10 crowd for the Dayton game and the biggest crowd in years (8,595) for a quarterfinal game as fans traveled south from the Fordham campus in the Bronx to Brooklyn.
Fordham rode that support to its first quarterfinal victory since 2006. First-year Fordham coach Keith Urgo, the A-10 Coach of the Year, wants to see an even bigger crowd Saturday.
“I don’t know how many fans we had, but it felt like the whole place,” Urgo said. “I know we sold maybe 2,200 student tickets. We need more than that, so I want them to hear that. I know spring break is starting today, but we’ll do whatever it takes to help with the cancellation of your flights. We’ll make this Cabo of the North.”
Dayton has won 18 of its last 19 games against Fordham, with a 2021 loss at Rose Hill Gym being the only defeat since 2007. The Flyers won 82-58 on Jan. 10 at Fordham. DaRon Holmes II scored 32 points on 12-of-15 shooting. Toumani Camara scored 15 points. Koby Brea made 4 of 4 3-pointers in his hometown and scored 12 points.
“We’ve just got to be a lot more physical,” Urgo said. “We’ve got to do our work early. Holmes and Camara, they’re so talented. I think both of them are two of the best players in the country, let alone in the Atlantic 10. I think Camara right now is playing as well as anybody in the nation. The kid is so versatile. He’s phenomenal, both off the ball and on the ball. I think they combined for 14 offensive rebounds together yesterday. That’s outrageous.
“We have to physically wear them out over the course of 40 minutes, make them play on both ends. I think we were a little timid the first time. We weren’t used to the moment and maybe gave them a little too much respect. We’ve got to make it hard for them. We can’t let them catch it where they want to catch it.”
Dayton held Wayne grad Darius Quisenberry, Fordham’s leading scorer on the season with 17.2 points per game, to three points on 1-of-7 shooting. Fordham shot 39.4%, its fourth-worst total of the season, from 2-point range.
After losing to Dayton, Fordham won five games in a row. It is 12-3 since that game.
“I would just say we’re a totally different team,” Quisenberry said.
Fordham is one victory away from tying the school record for victories in a season (26-3 in 1970-71) and two victories from its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1992. Dayton is two victories away from its first tournament berth since 2017 and its first A-10 tournament championship since 2003. No. 1 seed Virginia Commonwealth plays No. 4 Saint Louis in the other semifinal at 1 p.m.
The Flyers beat Saint Joseph’s by playing their starters almost the entire game Thursday. Walk-on Brady Uhl played seven minutes. R.J. Blakney played only four minutes. Zimi Nwokeji didn’t play at all.
Blakney’s role has steadily diminished since he missed four games in a seven-game stretch in January and February because of an injury and because, in Grant’s words, he was going through some personal things. He has missed his last nine 3-point attempts in his last eight appearances. He committed a turnover after being stripped in the paint soon after entering the game Thursday and then threw up an airball on a 3-point attempt on the next possession.
Uhl replaced Blakney at the 8:43 mark and started a 14-0 run with a 3-pointer. Blakney did not return to the game. Asked about Blakney’s situation Friday, Grant said only, “I’m the coach, so I’m going to make those decisions.”
If Blakney doesn’t see more minutes and if Mike Sharavjamts can’t play Saturday, Dayton will rely on its starters to play the bulk of the minutes once again. That’s why the Friday off day between games was beneficial.
“I think it’s a good opportunity to let everybody rest a little bit from that last game,” Brea said, “and mostly just go through our game plan for Fordham. I think we all understand that it’s not the same Fordham team we played earlier in the year. We’ve got to have a better game. They’re going to have a good atmosphere at the game tomorrow. Just watching the game yesterday, they had a championship atmosphere. So that’s something we have to take into account.”
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