Flyers focus efforts on rebounding

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At some point, second-year Dayton coach Archie Miller will have the luxury of fielding a veteran team that understands what he values without him always having to pound home his points.

But with six newcomers in his 10-player rotation, the Flyers still need constant reminders, and they?ve been hearing a consistent message all season.

?It starts and stops on the backboard with us,? he said. ?When we?re able to rebound the basketball effectively on both ends, we?re going to have a chance to win. That?s what we kind of beat into our guys? heads as much as we can.?

Miller probably isn?t at a point where he feels safe to let up, but the Flyers are starting to comprehend the importance of crashing the boards.

Since getting out-rebounded for the only time this season in a 62-61 home loss to Weber State, the Flyers have retrieved more missed shots than their opponents in four straight games ? most times by wide margins.

They out-rebounded Florida Atlantic 45-31, Miami 45-22, Alabama 37-28 and Northern Illinois 34-30.

They?re second to Butler in the Atlantic 10 in rebound differential this season at plus-6.2 per game, which is about where they were in their best years under previous coach Brian Gregory, who emphasized hitting the boards above all else.

?We play hard,? Miller said. ?I don?t think anyone would watch our team anywhere in the country on film and say, ?Boy, those guys don?t get after it.?

?We play hard, but we don?t play smart all the time. We?re not technically or fundamentally sound all the time. There?s things we have to learn. We?re not as physical right now as we need to be at times. But we have the right intentions right now.?

The Flyers are led in rebounding by junior wing Devin Oliver at 8.7 per game. He?s second in the A-10, just a notch behind George Washington?s Isaiah Armwood (8.9).

Oliver and freshman forward Jalen Robinson both had 14 against Florida Atlantic last week, but the Flyers probably will need others to be relentless rebounders if they want to prevail against Illinois State tonight and Murray State on Saturday at UD Arena.

Illinois State went 21-14 last season and reached the second round of the NIT. They just missed an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, losing in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship.

Murray State went 31-2 and won an NCAA tourney game before being eliminated by Marquette. The Racers are expected to make another run at a 30-win season.

?This is a big, big week ? almost a statement week in terms of what we can accomplish at home,? Miller said.

 

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For ISU, a win at Dayton could set them up nicely come tournament time


The NCAA Tournament begins with four first-round games March 19 and 20 at UD Arena. In reality, though, it might start Wednesday in the same place for Illinois State?s basketball team.

Beating Dayton won?t guarantee the Redbirds a spot in the NCAA tourney should they need an at-large spot on Selection Sunday.

Yet a victory wouldn?t hurt the Redbirds? chances, either.

ISU (7-3) knows the stakes are a little bit higher than a typical nonconference game. Dayton (8-2) is a good opponent from a quality conference, the Atlantic-10, and knocking off the Flyers at 6 p.m. on their home floor would rank as ISU?s best victory heading into the Missouri Valley Conference season.

?I?m not a guy who thinks that if you never talk about it you?re OK because they know it, especially these days,? said Redbird coach Dan Muller. ?Some guys can play better and pick up their level of concentration if it?s a big game. Each team and each player are a little bit different.

?It?s a big game for Dayton, too. It will be a fun environment.?

The Redbirds have already played in two difficult road settings. ISU beat Drexel, 86-84 in overtime, on Nov. 15 and lost at No. 5-ranked Louisville, 69-66, on Dec. 1.

Dayton boasts some of the most loyal fans in college basketball along with one of the nation?s best pep bands. The 13,455-seat UD Arena is usually rockin? and a noisy place for visitors.

?We?ve had a few games already going into hostile environments where the crowd is on top of us,? said junior forward Jon Ekey. ?We?ll use those to express to the guys we?ve been there before and know what it is like ? We?ve really been a good road team and have guys who cancel that out.?

Jackie Carmichael is the only ISU player who has played at UD Arena. He was a freshman in 2010 when the Redbirds faced Dayton in a National Invitation Tournament first-round game. Ekey and Zeke Upshaw also were freshmen, but were being redshirted.

The memories aren?t the best for Carmichael. Dayton zipped out to a big lead and coasted to a 63-42 victory in a game that didn?t feel that close.

Carmichael is aware what a victory could mean should ISU not win the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and the league?s automatic NCAA tourney spot.

?A road win is like gold, especially out-of-conference games,? he said. ?It?s a game we want to go in and play Redbird basketball and go out and take over the court.?

Redbird basketball and Dayton basketball actually are pretty similar.

Both teams like to run in transition and have plenty of firepower. ISU averages 81.5 points per game, which ranks No. 12 nationally, and is the only team in the country with three different players who have scored 30 or more points in a game this season (Tyler Brown, Bryant Allen and Carmichael).

Dayton, which comes to Redbird Arena next season, has scored 80 or more points in its last three games and averages 72.3. The Flyers have good balance with six players averaging between 6.4 and 15.1 points.

A couple ISU players are familiar with Dayton?s leader. Kevin Dillard, the Flyers? point guard, was Valley Freshman of the Year with Southern Illinois in 2009 before transferring to Dayton after his sophomore year. Dillard paces Dayton in scoring, assists (4.2 per game), 3-point baskets (18) and steals (1.3).

?He?s a fifth-year senior who played a little bit in this league and is unbelievably talented,? said Muller. ?You can?t key on him because they do have balance and up to four other scorers with him on the court.?

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About the Flyers: Dayton was picked to finish eighth in the 16-team Atlantic-10 Conference in a preseason poll of league coaches and media members. Kevin Dillard was selected to the preseason all-Atlantic-10 first team ? Josh Benson played 14 games last season before being sidelined with a torn ACL. He redshirted as a freshman in the 2008-09 season with a torn labrum ? The Flyers set a school record by holding Northern Illinois to five points in the first half during a 60-43 victory on Dec. 1 ? Archie Miller is in his second season as Dayton?s coach. He led the Flyers to their third straight National Invitation Tournament appearance last season while going 20-13. Miller came to Dayton from Arizona where he was associate coach for his brother, Sean.