Conference Scuttlebutt

With Temple's decision to upgrade to the Big East in the near future, the Atlantic Ten has been hard at work to find a suitable replacement. Butler is considered a guarantee to fill the void left by the Owls, but there have been rumors that further expansion may be on the horizon.

Check this shit out:

VCU, George Mason and Butler have had discussions with the Atlantic 10 and indicated to the league they have potential interest in joining for the 2013-14 school year, sources told CBSSports.com.

VCU and George Mason are currently in the Colonial Athletic Association and Butler is in the Horizon League. All three schools would need approval from their respective school boards to make the move.

Sources told CBSSports.com that VCU's Board of Visitors already has had at least two meetings about making the move, while Butler has negotiated with representatives of the Atlantic 10 for the league to assist financially for the Bulldogs to change leagues.

The three schools would help replace schools that are leaving the A-10. Temple is headed to the Big East and sources told CBSSports.com that Charlotte has received an “informal invitation” to the Sun Belt. The 49ers are starting up a football program in 2013 at the FCS level, but couldn't make a move to the FBS until 2015.

Creighton, of the Missouri Valley Conference, also has been mentioned as a possibility for the Atlantic 10. Father Timothy Lannon, Creighton's president since 2011, was previously president for eight years at St. Joseph's, so there's a political connection between the league and the school. However, Creighton – the only Catholic university in the MVC – is a poor geographical fit, so the Blue Jays might be a long shot.

Duquesne president Charles J. Dougherty mentioned the A-10's plans for expansion in an email he sent to his board of trustees explaining his decision to fire basketball coach Ron Everhart. The email was obtained by CBSSports.com.

“The A10 conference itself is on the verge of a major improvement with the addition of new high quality university programs,” Dougherty wrote. “All of this amounts to an exciting professional opportunity for a new coach.”

The addition of VCU, George Mason and Butler would be huge for the A-10. The league would be getting three schools that have made a combined four Final Four appearances since 2006. VCU went to the 2011 Final Four and George Mason to the 2006 Final Four.

Butler went to consecutive Final Fours in 2010 and 2011, losing in the title game each season to Duke and UConn, respectively. The Bulldogs are members of the Horizon League in all sports but football. Butler's football team competes in the FCS level in the Pioneer Football League.

One reason VCU, George Mason and Butler are interested in a move to the Atlantic 10 is that those programs currently reside in “one-bid” leagues. Most seasons if they don't win their conference tournament, they usually don't earn an NCAA tournament at-large berth. However, the A-10 has received multiple NCAA bids for five consecutive seasons.

The Future is...the Future

Now that we’ve all gladly turned the page on the 2011-12 Flyer campaign, let’s take a quick look at what UD’s incoming freshmen accomplished this past season (We already know that Matt Derenbecker and Vee Sanford have been doing nothing but studying and drinking Muscle Milk, no need to even wonder what they’ve been up to since arriving on campus last fall).

Devon Scott and Jalen Robinson – Scott and Robinson, a pair of 6’8” forwards, had a fairly successful senior season at Northland (Columbus) yet closed their 2012 tour with a disappointingly early exit from the state tournament. Northland lost in the Division I district final, ending the season with a 22-2 record. The Vikings were the state runners-up last season and entered this year’s postseason ranked first in the state poll.

Scott, a first-team all-district selection, didn’t play in Northland’s district semifinal win due to “an off-court issue” and was benched for the first quarter of the final – tallying just three points and six rebounds in the loss. Robinson, District 1 Player of the Year, scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in his final prep game.

Scott averaged 17.2 points per game on the year, while Robinson scored 19.1 points per contest. They will provide some athleticism to a front line that desperately needs it.

Jevon Thomas – Can barely find any information on how Thomas’ season went. I guess when you attend “school” in a strip mall and your coach was previsouly arrested for robbing a gas station, current stats and up to date news are not to be expected. I’m sure Thomas had a great year and will improve under the astute tutelage of senior Kevin Dillard.

Recon: University of Iowa

 

I was going to Italian boat captain this season and completely abandon ship, but that’s not what we do here. We finish the drill and go down in flames, unintelligible flames.

The Flyers took the ultimate punch to the chin, losing to their Overlords last Friday night in Atlantic City. The loss to the Muskies was the final cruel nail in UD’s coffin and now the Flyers return to their all too familiar comfort zone: the National Invitational Tournament.

Involvement in the NIT is a great test of a coach’s ability to act like a used car salesman (which is basically what a college basketball coach is when you get down to it). They have to convince their team that the next best thing, relatively speaking, is not only good enough, but worth winning and exerting maximum effort. That’s a hard sell. (“Listen, I know Daddy promised you a Jeep Cherokee, but here’s a “newsed” Chevy Corsica. It has a spoiler on the back, just like the car our gardener drives. Why are you crying? It has a spoiler!”)

In an odd way, losing early on in the NIT is a positive sign of a team’s resolve. An early exit indicates that the team was so disgusted with itself it simply chose to bow out prematurely, refusing to further associate itself with a group of lessers. Like Bartleby, the Scrivener, the best option is to choose not to do something you feel is beneath you – even if the reason for doing so is untreated clinical depression. Let’s digress.

Attempting to actually win the NIT serves as notice that you are not only content with your current lot, but you are resolved to climb to the top of the mediocrity mountain. Sometimes in life it’s better to act like you are too cool for the room. The NIT is one of those incidences. It's best to participate with disillusionment. 

As BR scribe Adam puts it:

I think the perfect way to do the NIT is to win the first two and then lose in the quarters. Kinda like banging a big girl. Yeah, you wanted an 8, but do the deed with the 2 and get out before people see you, then pretend you got a 6. If you make it to NYC, people see you because hardcore fans watch and SportsCenter actually covers the games. You don't want that walk of shame. Get out and be back home before the sun rises.

Nevertheless, let’s give Iowa credit for credit’s worth, as they seem to be taking this shitshow about as serious as one possibly can:

As of 5:30 PM yesterday the Iowa ticket office said there were 9,300 tickets sold for tonight's game against Dayton. That's good news for the Hawks that face a team that was (3-7) on the road this year. Of Dayton's 10 road games only two were played in front of crowds of 10,000 or more (St. Louis, Xavier). The average attendance for Dayton's road games was 5,235. Six of those games were played in front of an announced attendance of 3,900 or less.

Overview: Like most of the country, I haven’t thought about Iowa basketball in a long time. Roy Marble, Luke Recker, Acie Earl, Jeff Horner, Dr. Tom Davis, Tom Arnold, Ashton Kutcher – that’s pretty much all I can regurgitate about the Hawkeyes without resorting to the Google.  

The NIT isn’t necessarily a negative occasion for Fran McCaffery’s squad. Picked by some prognosticators to finish in the basement of the Big Ten, Iowa was able to turn in a more than respectable 8-10 conference mark (17-16 overall) and return to the postseason for the first time since 2006.

Although the Hawkeyes get lost in the Big Ten shuffle, the program is trending up, which is certainly a positive development after having survived the doldrums of the Steve Alford era and the inanity that was the Todd Lickliter regime. McCaffery has provided Iowa fans with at least some hope and encouragement, which is certainly something Dayton fans can relate to.  

Meet and Greet: Matt Gatens? He is that dude. The senior guard is pale, has a sunken chest, closely cropped hair – basically the face of America’s heartland/serial killers. Gatens has started every game since arriving in Iowa City four long years ago. A local boy, he was named second-team All-Big Ten by the media, third-team by the coaches. This is probably going to come as a pretty big shock to most of you, but Matty Gatens can shoot the ball a lil’ bit. Currently averaging around 15 points per game, he’s second on Iowa’s all-time three-pointers made list and is deadly accurate from the foul-line.

Speaking of Roy Marble, his kid, Roy Marble Jr., elected to follow the old man’s footsteps and attend the University of Iowa. The sophomore wing is the team’s second leading scorer (11.0 ppg) and the Hawkeyes’ most “athletic” player. Marble Jr. does a little bit of everything – can score, rebound, pass, and defend. Essentially plays the role that Chris Johnson theoretically plays for Dayton.

Freshman big man Aaron White is a load in the middle. Named to the Big Ten’s All-Freshman team, White averages just over ten points a contest and leads Iowa in rebounding (5.4 rpg). White and Kavanaugh have battled before, in David Duke’s dreams.

Prediction: We kinda want this season to end, right? 

London Warren, Doing UD Proud

London Warren, doing things his way:

From AJC.com:

In an incident stemming from a gunshot fired from a car, Georgia Tech basketball player Glen Rice Jr. was charged with permitting unlawful operation last Wednesday. A Tech graduate assistant who played for coach Brian Gregory at Dayton, London Warren, was charged with DUI-less safe.

In a statement issued Monday, Gregory said Warren has been dismissed from the program. The status of Rice, who has been suspended from the team since Feb. 17, will be reviewed in the near future.

“I’m deeply disappointed in the actions of these two individuals associated with our basketball program,” Gregory said in the statement.

According to an Atlanta Police Department incident report, Rice was a passenger in a Cadillac Escalade leaving Halo Lounge in Midtown near the Tech campus early Wednesday, one day before Tech played its opening-round game of the ACC tournament at Philips Arena. Police responded to a shots fired call and pulled over the Escalade at the intersection of West Peachtree and 10^th streets. The incident report stated that Warren, the driver, was glossy-eyed with the odor of alcohol on his breath and was unable to stand, swaying back and forth.

Another passenger in the car, Steven Pryor, admitted to firing the gunshot from a 9-millimeter Ruger pistol. Pryor, who had a firearms license in his wallet, told police it was an accident as he tried to remove the gun from between the seats. Pryor, who is not a part of the basketball team, was arrested and charged with discharge of a firearm while under the influence. Police searched the club for victims or property damage and did not find anything.

The only mention of Rice in the incident report was his charge of permitting unlawful operation.

Tech’s season, Gregory’s first, ended Thursday night with a loss to Miami. Warren was suspended for the game and dismissed afterwards.

Rice, Tech’s leading scorer and rebounder this season, was on shaky ground with the team even prior to Gregory’s hire last March. Previous coach Paul Hewitt benched Rice for the final five games of the 2010-11 season for disciplinary reasons. Gregory suspended him for the first three games of this season for violating team rules and then suspended him following the Wake Forest game Feb. 15. He did not practice or play with the team from that point forward.

How Gregory thought bringing London to Atlanta in the first place was a good idea says a lot about BG's decision-making. Terrible season, player and grad-assistant in an Escalade firing guns out the window. Good luck, Coach!

What? Iona?

Now that the Flyers have their coveted NIT #2 seed, we can all move on with our lives and fill out brackets without the temptation of putting them on some dream VCU or GMU run.
 

You only wish this was an NIT bracket challenge

Here is how it will work:

• Yahoo Hosted
• $15 buy-in
• Scoring: 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12. 
• Payouts: 1st: 60%, 2nd: 30%, 3rd: 10%

If you are interested and want to join or have any questions, email: milano.timothy@gmail.com for the group ID and password.

Otherwise, stay tuned for a Preview of Iowa... 

Xavier Recap: Not In Time

Give Xavier’s big three all the credit in the world. They all took turns stepping up and providing the Muskies with buckets when needed. After falling behind by ten points at halftime, the Xavier trio combined for 33 of the Muskie’s 42 second-half points. Good enough for a one-point victory over Dayton, 70-69.

Tu Holloway was Xavier’s lone offensive threat in the first half, scoring ten points and keeping the Muskies within striking distance as they struggled from the foul line (a ghastly 6-of-16). He picked up where he left off in the second half, coming out hot and single-handedly wiping away UD’s lead before three minutes had even ticked off the clock. Chris Mack needed someone to take control of the game and the most likely suspect did just that, erasing a significant Flyer margin and completely changing the complexion of the game.

Frease was instrumental as well, scoring some easy baskets after the break and going 7-of-7 from the charity stripe in the second frame. I felt that the Frease/Kavanaugh matchup would dictate the outcome and certainly Kenny came out on top in that battle. The senior had 17 points and 7 rebounds, playing with an intensity that was sorely absent in the previous two matchups between the schools.

Mark Lyons acted as Xavier’s closer down the stretch. When the Musketeers needed points to close the gap late in the game, it was Lyons, not Holloway, who provided them.

For Dayton it was all Kevin Dillard, all of the time. Although Paul Williams chipped in some much needed threes in the first half, it was the Dayton point-guard that once against put the team on his back. The junior scored 18 crucial points and dished out 6 assists in the loss.  

Whether it was flawed play-calling or run of the mill uneasiness, UD choked away the game over their final possessions. After taking a 69-63 lead on two Matt Kavanaugh free throws with 3:02 left on the clock, the Flyers failed to score a single point from that point forward. Mark Lyons tallied the game’s last seven points and the Muskies pulled out the one-point victory.

The Flyers last four possessions were pure buffoonery:

(1) After a pair of Lyons free throws, UD runs the shotclock down to the wire before Paul Williams turns it over. UD 69, XU 65.

(2) Lyons hits a layup and is fouled by Kav on the drive, he converts the freebie and suddenly X is within one. UD calls a timeout (!) and somehow ends up losing track of the shot clock. Dillard is forced to unload a desperation 35 footer that caroms off the backboard. Muskie ball. UD 69, XU 68.

(3) Holloway misses a tough three-pointer and UD gains possession. After calling another timeout (!), Chris Johnson misses a fairly clean look from behind the arc. Frease rebounds and Xavier has a chance to finally take the lead. UD 69, XU 68. (By the way, I’m pretty sure Fabrizius was in on this possession. The fuck, Archie?)

(4) Mack wisely elects to ride the momentum, passing on a timeout, and Lyons once again responds. He drives around Paul Willie and Kav, laying it off the glass shrewdly with his left hand. The ball meets twine and X has the lead back. UD calls a timeout (!), gets the ball in Dillard’s hands – who in turn penetrates and fires a great pass to an open Kavanaugh under the basket. Kav misses the easy shot and the ball bounces out of bounds off X. After another timeout (!), followed by a 30-second X timeout, CJ launches a forced three from the left corner. Game over, season over. XU 70, UD 69.  

Archie took the blame after the contest, as a man getting paid an obscene amount of money coaching semi-pros should, but he can’t possibly shoulder all the accountability for what occurred over the final three minutes. You can’t get a better look than the one Kavanaugh had at the end of the game. After a nice feed from Dillard, Kav had an excellent opportunity a few feet from the hoop. The ball played “just the tip” with the rim and implausibly bounced out. Although Chris Johnson’s rushed fall away three-point chuck was farcically predictable, there were just five seconds on the clock, clearly not enough time to work the ball around for an open look (and why not let the senior go out shooting?).

Still, a team gets its cues and composure from their leader, their coach. Dayton burned four timeouts over the game’s final two minutes and didn’t look any better for it. They appeared tentative on defense and, outside of Dillard’s dump down to Kav, downright clueless on offense. It’s clear that Archie, like all coaches just 31 games into their career, still needs a bit of seasoning. That will come, assuredly, sooner rather than later.   

I don’t want to spend any time rehashing the season, looking ahead to next year or recapping Dayton’s hits and misses (I don’t even want to acknowledge the bullshit technical called on Devin Oliver in the first half). There will be plenty of time for that. For now, understand that this season, however you choose to quantify it, was a success. Xavier was simply a play better tonight.  

Dayton v. Xavier

Xavier Recon: To the Lost

Xavier and Dayton square off tonight in what may be the one of the most crucial games the two schools have played in their prolonged history. For the first time that I can remember, the stakes are equally high for both programs. This is an atypical occasion for Xavier, as they usually approach the A-10 playoff with grave indifference, confidently assured of their inclusion in the Big Dance prior to the conference playoff.

Not this year. A season that started with so much promise has ended with the Overlords on the precipice of failure. Not Daytonesque failure, mind you, but failure nonetheless as surely anything less than an NCAA bid is a letdown for X fans. The Muskies struggles this season have been document ad nauseam the past two months, certainly something not worth rehashing here. Big picture – this is a game that both Tu Holloway and Chris Mack need to win.

For Dayton, a win tonight can excise some bitter demons. The Flyers have the opportunity to abolish any postseason hopes Xavier fans may be holding onto. I don’t think I need to tell you how extraordinary an occurrence that is. UD is rarely in a position to completely capsize X’s voyage to the NCAA tournament. A win against the Overlords will be a vicious throat-slashing, one that won’t even up the rivalry number-wise but clearly puts momentum on the side of the Flyers entering next season (when Dayton will be the better team, good enough to solve the mystery in Cincinnati and sweep the season series).

Since the A-10 tournament is being held for the final time in Boardwalk Hall, a space usually reserved for Shriners, clowns and Tesla when mid-major basketball isn’t been played before a throng of hundreds, let’s make some cheap and forced Boardwalk Empire allusions. (Those of you who haven’t seen the show either through a lack of access or interest should cease reading now. The next two paragraphs will make as much sense to you as the last half of Inception.)

Xavier, of course, would be lead character Nucky Thompson – brash, shrewd, always in control. Thompson, like the Muskies, had trouble dealing with adversity this season. Nucky is an overachiever, a man who took his opportunity to stake his claim and ran with it. He has built a comfortable life and will do anything to protect it. 

This clearly makes Dayton Jimmy Darmody, constantly living in Nucky’s imposing shadow. Thompson doesn’t take Jimmy very seriously at the outset, but begins to gain respect for him once he shows Nucky he can beat him at his own game. (Not to meander off course, but why did Jimmy have an early-90’s skater haircut during the 1920’s? Whenever he is on screen I almost expect him to be sporting a Vision Street Wear shirt and a wallet chain. Everyone else on the show looks like they could mix fit in seamlessly at one of  F. Scott Fitzgerald’s parties yet Jimmy looks like he just got done hot-boxing his Acura after catching some tasty waves. You can probably tell this bothered me immensely.) Darmody quickly comes to realize that he can only achieve his goals by knocking off Nucky.

* * * * * * *

A quick rundown of other Empire equivalents:

Chalky White: Kevin Dillard
Margaret Schroeder: Shannon Russell
Nelson Van Alden: Brian Gregory
Angela Darmody: Redheaded Cheerleader
Lucy Danziger: White Poison
Richard Harrow: Kevin Kuwik

* * * * * * *

Like Dayton and Xavier, Nucky and Jimmy could only operate in the same space for so long. Things eventually came to an inevitable head. Their fates forcibly intertwined, someone had to be eliminated.

Most college basketball rivalry games are just pomp and circumstance. Duke could lose three times to Carolina and still march to the NCAA title. Kentucky can get throttled by Indiana and Louisville yet still cut the nets down in April. The matchups are intense, that’s a given, but in the long run have little bearing on the direction of their respective seasons. This one is different. This is a rivalry game with actual meaning and immediate consequence. Loser goes home; winner gets the satisfaction of making the kill shot – with the possibility of achieving the goal both teams set out to accomplish in November.

Which leads us to this undeniable truth: Lost in all of this talk is the fact that even with a victory tonight, either school would still likely have some work to do in order to solidify an NCAA tournament bid (although that point is debatable, Xavier might be in simply with a victory over UD tonight. A slighter case could be made for the Flyers as well).

If Dayton won tonight and lost on Saturday to Saint Louis it would be like the 1980 US hockey team beating the Russians and then falling to Finland in the final. (What would Mike Eruzione have done for money the past thirty years?) The thrill of sending Xavier packing would be extinguished less than 24 hours later. A victory over the Overlords is essential, but Archie will need to get the squad up for Saint Louis if Dayton's final foray to Atlantic City is to be judged a success.  

Overview: This is a noteworthy contest between two Southwestern Ohio colleges. Tonight will be the third time the two schools face off in as many months. I am tired of playing X.

Meet and Greet: It’s the Xavier men’s basketball team. Tu Holloway, Mark Lyons, Kenny Frease. All those guys. Christi Mack’s husband is the coach.

The key is going to be in the middle. If Xavier can get production from Frease, he didn't bother to show up in the previous two matchups, then the Muskies will win. Tu and Lyons can carry Xavier to victory, that goes without saying, but Frease really needs to up his play from here on out if the Overlords are to redeem their season.

So that's the way I see it: the Kavanaugh/Frease matchup will dictate the game's result. God help us all. 

Prediction:

Bruce Springsteen is a phony cocksucker. This version is better: 

GW Recap: Sleepwalking to Atlantic City

George Washington was like every opponent Laila Ali ever faced during her carefully orchestrated boxing career: the Colonials showed up on time, barely had a pulse and the end result was binding. A coaching staff of Knute Rocknes couldn’t have got GW up for this game. Mike Lonergan’s team took a beating on Saturday afternoon against these same Flyers, flew home to Foggy Bottom for a day before turning right around and coming back to the Gem City on Monday. It would be hard to pass judgment on GW’s desire to turn the lights out for the season.

Accordingly, you couldn’t have found a more disinterested group than the team that took the floor against the Flyers tonight. This isn’t to say that UD came out, dominated the pace and ran GW’s doors off, quite the contrary.

After pushing out to a comfortable 31-17 lead at halftime, the Flyers went to sleep a bit in the second half and let the Colonials stick around. GW actually cut the lead to five points on an uncontested David Pellom layup with seven minutes left. A late charge, led by Kevin Dillard and Josh Parker, gave Dayton some breathing room and allowed the Flyers to eventually close out George Washington, 67-50. UD played very methodically, keeping it in cruise control for a whole 40 minutes.

Kid Yuma basically employed a seven-man rotation, with the Big Frog and Josh Parker providing substantial minutes off the bench. Devin Oliver, who like an unseasoned stripper seems to be gaining confidence with each outing, had his best game in a Dayton uniform – a team-high 19 points and 8 rebounds for the sophomore swingman. Oliver was the one Flyer who seemed to be playing with intensity and focus throughout his time on the floor. Eventually, he’ll learn to take a few plays off like a veteran. But until then, let’s just enjoy his engaging precociousness.   

The Flyers played a slower pace than they are accustomed to, attempting just 43 shots from the field and an uncharacteristically low 14 shots from behind the arc. The only glaring deficiencies were in the turnover department, as the Flyers had seventeen in total, including four each from both Dillard and Parker.

With their 20th win behind them, the Flyers now head to the Land of Enchantment, Atlantic City. Dayton plays late Friday night against the Overlords in what will be an epic chapter in the series history. One team, the victor, will get the opportunity to leave a theoretical flaming bag of dogshit on its adversary’s doorstep. And that, in a nutshell, is what college sports are all about.

Gem City Cagers v. GW

Recon: George Washington University. Again.

Okay, survived that game. GW could have been a real trap game. The Flyers might be looking ahead to the A-10 tournament, might be lulled to sleep and overconfident by an underwhelming opponent. But, having dismissed of the Colonials rather easily, the Flyers suit up for… Holy Shit, it’s the GW Colonials again! It’s not like the Flyers have a pattern of losing to inferior teams while they look to a bigger opponent of the horizon.

Certainly has been a roller coaster season, hasn’t it? There are bigger questions that remain, though. Part of the allure of being on a roller coaster is the notion that you are actually cheating death. That you may be decapitated, the car my buck from the rails, or your little kid might be thrown from his seat by centripetal force when a faulty safety bar unlocks. Anyone can sit in a roller coaster with a 100% safety record; it’s called the merry-go-round. However, if you’re in it for the thrills, to cheat death, and for pure pants-shitting fun, there has to be a sense of danger.

So I ask, who do you want to have operating your roller coaster, some pimple-faced Mormon-looking kid at Disney World? (Editor’s note: this blog is in no way associated with Disney World, Disney Land, or anything else upon which the Disney lawyers might slap a cease and desist order.) Or, do you want your roller coaster operated by some mixed race, toothless, inbred carnie who alternates between spitting chaw into a discarded coffee cup and swigging from a brown paper bag? If you enjoy the authentic experience, you’re definitely going to choose the ride operated by the guy in the wife-beater and “Damn Seagulls” hat.

Which brings us back to the Flyers season. After suffering through years of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride of Diminished Expectations, the current operators of the Flyers have cobbled together a much more successful product out of chicken wire, duct tape, Bondo, and Ralph Hill.  The question is whether or not the patches will hold for another 40 minute sessions.

In no way am I calling Coach Archie a carny. Far from it. Coach Archie is squeaky clean. In fact, he’s one of the very few A-10 coaches who can go to sleep tonight knowing that he didn’t cause Jim Baron to get fired at URI. But when you look down the bench… let’s just say that there’s a lot of “character” down there.  You’ve got the ex-army guy who flinches every time a car backfires. You’ve got the black guy looking to “move on up in the world.” And you’ve got the racially indefinite AAU scoundrel. Respectively, they could be the Tilt-A-Whirl operator, the guy that scrubs down the elephants, and the creepy sideshow huckster. Carnies one and all. Too bad Billy Schmidt left. He would have made a great sword swallower. 

Meet and Greet: GW is the same team that Mr. Donoher failed to introduce a few days ago. So are the Flyers. The Flyers outshot, outrebounded, scored more off of turnovers, and outhustled the Colonials. GW won the contest for points in the paint, but that was it. I don’t even think they won the coin flip. 

Prediction: None. Strap into your car, folks. I’m sure everything is going to be juuuust fine. I mean, there must be some kind of safety protocol that they have to follow, right? Wait a second, did that guy just spit out a tooth? This thing just doesn’t feel right. Did Kavs just pick up his second foul? That cotton candy isn’t sitting too well. Sure can see a lot from up here. Is that sideshow huckster charging people to watch my girlfriend pee in the Porta-John? Holy fuck, this seat belt isn’t even attached! Paul Willie’s got the green light again? I think I’m gonna puke. 

GW Recap: Seniors Rejoice!

Saturday’s 75-59 win against George Washington was sort of a microcosm of each senior’s career at Dayton: 

• The most important seniorChris Johnson led all scorers with 19 points, connecting on four three-pointers from his favorite spots in the corner. An interesting tidbit from the game – CJ is the first player in 20 years to finish his career with over 1,500 points, 800 boards and 200 3’s while shooting 80% from the foul-line. Johnson is the best all-around player I’ve ever seen in a Dayton uniform. He will be missed. 

• Paul Williams had a reserved ten points. Pretty sure he shrugged after every make. PW finished the regular season shooting just 32.4% from the floor. Yikes. However, Williams isn’t the only Flyer on the roster to shoot less than 40% from the field this season. 

• The other sub-40% shooter is Josh Parker, who jacked up nine shots in just seventeen minutes against GW – finishing with seven points. Parker and Williams will be in a contest to see who is forgotten the fastest. I got money on Parker. 

• No one’s senior day reflected their career at Dayton more than Luke Fabrizius. Fabrizius, who lost his starting position weeks ago, was relegated to a scant eleven minutes in the blowout. Luke connected on a wide-open three, his only made basket of the game, with just over a minute to go and the place erupted like the retarded kid finally found an Easter egg. Jason McElwain was embarrassed by the crowd’s reaction. 

Dayton has another matchup with GW this Tuesday at the Arena. With a win against the Colonials, UD heads to Atlantic City to face the Overlords on Friday night. That game will hold a little more intrigue than usual, as the loser heads to the NIT and the winner is likely a win against Saint Louis away from serious tournament contention.  

(h/t to VJW for the CJ clip)