I think many of us who follow the league and this series knew what was coming, aside from some hopeful Xavier fans (which is how all fans should think). The game went exactly as I expected. Dayton had its back to the wall and X has been coasting for a few games. You could see the slap coming.
Hopefully it means an excellent X performance vs. Florida. The Muskies need that game more than the Dayton one. The Dayton loss will get the attention of the players and give Mack some reason to get on their case good.
What I wonder about Dayton is whether the players and the fans can sustain the momentum vs. Charlotte. Everyone in Dayton used up a lot of energy on Saturday. Yet the Flyers need the win against Charlotte as much as the win over Xavier.
I am more concerned with the Flyer's game at Saint Louis than I am with their game at home against Charlotte.
I expected Dayton to win, even win by double digits after watching the first matchup at the Cintas. That team was built to beat Xavier. I think the Flyers will take the rest of their home games at the Arena. On the road is another question.
What I wonder about Dayton is whether the players and the fans can sustain the momentum vs. Charlotte. Everyone in Dayton used up a lot of energy on Saturday. Yet the Flyers need the win against Charlotte as much as the win over Xavier.
Sure hope they are spent. Bobby better have those guys watching that game on repeat for the next couple of days. Xavier beat us by 12 at their place, and Dayton just mauled XU. But, we're a much better road team than we were at the start of the season.
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Originally Posted by Knobby
Do the same thing against Charlotte and you should be able to secure the NCAA bid and probably seal Charlotte's fate at the same time.
The Charlotte game will be interesting. The buzz from the Xavier game and Charlotte's place in the standings should have the arena a little more pumped up than normal, but nowhere near what it was yesterday. I think you may even see Charlotte jump out early with UD fighting back to around even at half. Second half will be fun. It's gonna be close. Snipe is right, this Dayton team was tailor made to beat Xavier. They match up so well. Charlotte has a matchup nightmare in Spears, a big in Jones that can step outside a bit, and a ton of quick guards.
I think Xavier and Charlotte are really one big game for UD. Xavier was the first half, set a tone that must be there vs the Niners. Beat Charlotte and UD still has hope for a regular season title, as amazing as that sounds. The standings would be a jumbled mess.
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Sure, I've been called a xenophobe, but the truth is, I'm not. I honestly just feel that America is the best country and the other countries aren't as good. That used to be called patriotism.
That game yesterday reminded me of the old saying --- Okay, Son, now I've got to take you on a "trip to the woodshed"!
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I just want the team I support to be in a stronger conference. I'd prefer it to be a stronger A-10! To me that would mean every member would have at least 2 trips to the NCAA Tourney and 5 winning seasons during each 10-year cycle. It would also be great for every program to seriously challenge for a league title (either regular season or Tourney) at least once during that same period of time.
This game is a landmark for UD. It's a statement about how far we have come under Gregory. I'm not suprised that this could happen. I think those two one point losses, even though deserved, had us extremely undervalued by most observers. It's time to get beyond the X smack and set the sites on making a bid for the league lead.
X went through a tough off-season, and it left them in a very vulnerable position at power forward. I think that is really hurting them this year. If you put a 2nd decent power forward on their team, they would be a much better rounded team. It hurts them a lot in the areas of rebounding and physical toughness in the lane. Love is asked to do too much now, and Frease is not up to the task. They were fortunate to win at X. This very easily could have been a season sweep. Crawford is to thank for that preservation of face.
Gregory doesn't get the "coaching" credit he deserves for putting together a system that matches his teams ability to out-hustle the opponents in rebounding and defense. We hit rock-bottom with the consecutive heart-breakers to Saint Joe's and Rhode Island. I think getting that low can sometimes lead to a big rebound and a possible run for us. This team came face-to-face with their own tournament mortality already. That is important for our mentality the rest of the season.
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The two homer reasons that Xavier fans are delusional in their evaluation of the Muskies: 1. Byron Larkin 2. Brian Snow
Last edited by SquidLegs : 02-07-2010 at 10:30 AM.
Expecting Adam Taylor to guard Chris Wright is a recipe for disaster. Put that on the floor at the same time that his brother Opie Taylor is trying to guard Paul Williams, and you are better off playing zone. Mack has a lot to learn. He got abused yesterday.
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This time it was Xavier, the No. 3 seed with an attitude, that got Bruin-ized, 76-57. XU was so intense that when a flag-waving, UCLA cheerleader planted himself at halfcourt during the pregame warm-ups, Musketeers senior guard Stanley Burrell told him to get off the floor. When the cheerleader didn't budge, Burrell gave him a baby forearm shiver.
"He was cursing me," the cheerleader said. "Most disrespectful thing I've ever seen. But no big deal."
The Charlotte game will be interesting. The buzz from the Xavier game and Charlotte's place in the standings should have the arena a little more pumped up than normal, but nowhere near what it was yesterday. I think you may even see Charlotte jump out early with UD fighting back to around even at half. Second half will be fun. It's gonna be close. Snipe is right, this Dayton team was tailor made to beat Xavier. They match up so well. Charlotte has a matchup nightmare in Spears, a big in Jones that can step outside a bit, and a ton of quick guards.
I think Xavier and Charlotte are really one big game for UD. Xavier was the first half, set a tone that must be there vs the Niners. Beat Charlotte and UD still has hope for a regular season title, as amazing as that sounds. The standings would be a jumbled mess.
It's gonna be an electric game. I think UD will be up for it, but I'm hoping they are overconfident after beating Xavier.
We're a slugfest team this year. This team has really gelled since Bobby got it into his head to stop trying to score in bunches. We may not win pretty, but we're winning a lot. The Fordham game was a great example of that. Previous teams under Lutz would have fired away and hoped to outscore the Rams. This team kept playing their game, got Gaston in foul trouble, evened the score and outplayed Fordham to close out the game.
I don't think there is any chance Charlottle finds UD in any less than the same mood X found them...Charlotte is next up and they're in the Flyers way...that has been the mo of this team. Charlotte, is a fine team I just think they're headed down the belt toward a buzz saw...very confident and aggressive team are the Flyers or as the saying goes they're all arses and elbows.
Congrats to the Flyers. X took one for the league - win that and it costs the whole league a lot of money. Other than throwing the game, I sure didn't see that.
Flyer fans gotta stop being so Jeckyl & Hyde. Going in to the game, the 'can Gregory' momentum was unprecedented - afterwards its all love - he is so great and showed Mack how a great coach works the court.
Actually, i only turned on the game for about 2 minutes - saw Love get blindsided with a right roundhouse. Can't believe Dayton got so cheap with such a big lead. Complete lack of class imo. I'm sure you'll have a lot of excuses for what happened, I'm sorry 'reasons' but it was pretty bad - NBA would fine the guy. That was all i could take and I turned it off.
Really hope we get you all again in the tourney. I'd get a picture of that slug and post it on the wall. Can't take a swing at the leagues best big man and get away with it.
Actually, i only turned on the game for about 2 minutes - saw Love get blindsided with a right roundhouse. Can't believe Dayton got so cheap with such a big lead. Complete lack of class imo. I'm sure you'll have a lot of excuses for what happened, I'm sorry 'reasons' but it was pretty bad - NBA would fine the guy. That was all i could take and I turned it off.
Really hope we get you all again in the tourney. I'd get a picture of that slug and post it on the wall. Can't take a swing at the leagues best big man and get away with it.
At what point did this happen? I was there and did not see it. I would like to see it on my DVR...
It was with about 4-5 minutes left or so. Love got a steal and London tracked him down, went up for a block, and his forearm caught Love right across the face. He may have given Love the business, but keep in mind Dante Jackson did the same thing to Warren about 5 minutes earlier. And to London's credit he went over to make sure Love was ok, both right after (and Holloway shoved him away) and after Love was up and composing himself. Hard fouls in the open court is part of the game. I don't think Jackson or Warren were trying to hurt the opponent. Just making sure no easy buckets were scored.
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Sure, I've been called a xenophobe, but the truth is, I'm not. I honestly just feel that America is the best country and the other countries aren't as good. That used to be called patriotism.
REF, after your first 2 paragraphs that was a poor post that is something you would see from a Dayton fan.
The fould on Love was flagrant and not going for the ball, but that doesn't show a lack of class during the heat of battle. The game was at about 12 points at that point, you don't give up 2 if you can prevent it. Class is a silly thing to discuss, while some UD fans have failed to show it, that Dayton team has never shown a lack of it. It's hard to judge 'class' during the heat of battle too. Class is a personal characteristic (sometimes that of a team), but it's hard to base class off a single situation or so.
Dayton outplayed X in every facet yesterday. I would agree UD fans crack me up with their ever changing thoughts on Gregory. When your players shoot like UD's did yesterday anybody looks good. Speedy Morris once beat X AT X by 30. It was an abberation. It's not an abberation that UD won, I'd say they do that 8 out of 10 times in Dayton, but the 25 point deal was a case of perfect storm. I think the teams are pretty even. Dayton is more talented, but X has better baskeball players. I think Xavier is a little better overall because of Crawford's ability to consistently put points on the board, and Love's (though foul trouble didn't allow this to be the case yesterday)consistency anchoring the lane.
This game is a landmark for UD. It's a statement about how far we have come under Gregory. I'm not suprised that this could happen. I think those two one point losses, even though deserved, had us extremely undervalued by most observers.
Gregory doesn't get the "coaching" credit he deserves for putting together a system that matches his teams ability to out-hustle the opponents in rebounding and defense. We hit rock-bottom with the consecutive heart-breakers to Saint Joe's and Rhode Island. I think getting that low can sometimes lead to a big rebound and a possible run for us. This team came face-to-face with their own tournament mortality already. That is important for our mentality the rest of the season.
Gregory was a loss away yesterday from being burned at the stake. A fourth loss in this league with a team that was a preseason favorite would have been too much to swallow by the Flyer faithful. To their credit, they played great like people expected at the start of the year. Now, can they keep it up and win on the road as well as at UD areana? That's the question.......
Xavier vs. Dayton - Part Deux
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