Gregory eager to see UD?s response

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Judging from Internet comments and message boards, losing to one of the worst teams in the Atlantic 10 has generated some doom and gloom among University of Dayton basketball fans, which comes as no surprise.

The NCAA tournament is the ultimate goal, of course, and making the field has become increasingly harder for teams outside the six power conferences. While 12 teams outside of those conferences received at-large bids in 2004, only four have gotten in the last two years.

And while the Flyers haven?t done irreparable harm to their NCAA chances, they have made it harder on themselves. But UD coach Brian Gregory refuses to worry about how one game may have impacted his team?s postseason fate.

?It?s difficult because every single game seems like a do-or-die game, and you can?t coach that way and you can?t play that way. The season is too long,? he said. ?We really concentrate on the process of getting better and playing our best basketball at the end of the year. If you do that, everything else takes care of itself.?

The Flyers (14-5, 3-2 A-10) were able to recover from a pair of league road losses last year to sub-.500 teams ? 12-18 UMass and 11-20 Charlotte ? and still make the NCAA tourney. But Gregory knows his team can?t play as it did in a 60-59 defeat at Saint Joseph?s on Saturday, Jan. 23, if it wants to beat Rhode Island (15-3, 3-2) tonight.

The Rams, who have made back-to-back NIT trips, are rated 18th nationally in the RPI, and they?re 3-0 against power conferences. Their only losses were to Temple at home and Xavier and VCU on the road.

Gregory is eager to see how resilient his team can be.

?Everything is about responding,? he said. ?That?s the great thing about this sport. If you take a smack to the head, you?ve got to respond to it.?

 

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About the Flyers

Luke Fabrizius, one of the A-10?s top 3-point shooters, has missed the last two games after aggravating a previous knee injury and is considered questionable tonight. ... The Flyers have been woefully inconsistent on offense. Rob Lowery, who splits the point guard spot with Warren, is just 6-for-29 from the field in his last three games. Chris Johnson, a rising star in the league, has gone a mere 2-for-12 on 3-pointers in the last three outings. ... UD, which has won a program-record 30 straight home games, has been strong on the boards, outrebounding foes by nearly six per game.


About the Rams

The Rams play at an ultra-fast pace. They lead the A-10 in scoring at 78.6 points per game and apply full-court pressure. They led by three at halftime at Xavier on Saturday but were held to their season low in points in a 72-61 loss. ... They?ve beaten Oklahoma State, Boston College and Providence, and are 6-2 on the road. ... Jones has been the league?s most productive point guard. He?s fifth nationally in assist-turnover ratio (3.3 assists for every turnover) and is first in the league in assists (4.8). ... Stopping Cothran is a key. The Rams are 28-3 when he scores at least 15 points.

 

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URI (15-3, 3-2 Atlantic 10): Rams complete two-game road trip in Ohio. They have had good success against the Flyers, winning five of the last seven, including twice at UD Arena. Rams also beat the Flyers last season in overtime at the Ryan Center on Jones? driving hoop at the buzzer. ? Jones is up to fifth in the nation in assist/turnover ratio. He has 87 assists and 26 turnovers. ? After being outrebounded at Xavier, Rams are now tenth in the conference on the boards at -0.4... Rams made 73 percent of their free throws in their first 15 games. They have hit only 63.3 percent since the start of A-10 play. ? James is 0-11 on three-pointers in the last three games.

DAYTON (14-5, 3-2): Flyers have won their last 11 A-10 games at home. They have won their last 30 home games overall, tied for third longest active streak in the country. ? The team might be the only squad in the conference deeper than URI. Ten players are averaging at least 12 minutes, no one more than 27 minutes. ? Rebounding is a major strength. ? Warren, Marcus Johnson, Huelsman and Lowery are all seniors. ? The defense has been so good, the Flyers have won seven games in which they failed to reach 70 points. ? The team has averaged 13,041 fans in its first 10 home games.

 

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URI-Dayton matchup takes on new meaning





? Suddenly, the focus of the Rhode Island-Dayton basketball game has shifted.

Until last weekend, the contest between the Rams and Flyers on Tuesday night at 7 at the UD Arena was a match between two teams fighting to be at, or near, the top of the Atlantic 10 standings. They are perhaps the two most athletic teams in the conference, two clubs that have been playing well enough to create postseason aspirations.

After what happened Saturday, matters have changed. Now, it?s a game that could reflect how the teams handle adversity, a game both teams need to win to maintain their position for tournament hopes.

Rhode Island (15-3, 3-2) was beaten at Xavier Saturday. That was not exactly a surprise since the Rams have never won at the Cintas Center. Still, it was a setback for a team with high hopes.

Dayton hit an even bigger roadblock. The Flyers (14-5, 3-2) were shocked by Saint Joseph?s, 60-59, on Hawk Hill. It certainly was not what was expected from a team that was the preseason pick to win the conference and be in the Top 25 nationally.

After the game, Flyers coach Brian Gregory was openly unhappy with his players.

?When you play like that, you don?t deserve to win,? Gregory said. ?It was a poorly coached game and a poorly played game. ? I?d have been more upset if we won the game because it would go against what we believe.

?Our defense was atrocious,? he said. ?We couldn?t guard the ball and we didn?t give any help. They turned it into a one-on-one game.?

There was more.

?We take too many bad shots,? Gregory told the Dayton Daily News. ?We take too many threes early in possessions and we have guys trying to make plays that, right now, they?re not capable of making.?

Clearly, Gregory was using the tactic of challenging his players to step up, challenging them to come out with fire in their next game. Rhode Island just happens to be the next team on the schedule. And the game just happens to be back at the UD Arena, where the Flyers have won their last 30 games, the third-longest active streak in the country.

Rhody coach Jim Baron said his team is preparing to face Dayton?s best effort. The Rams dealt with a similar situation Saturday with mixed success. They played a good first half and led throughout, but then could not stop the Musketeers? charge in the second half.

?We?ve got to put two good halves together. That?s going to be the real important issue with this game,? Baron said. ?The next step for this team is consistency.?

Doing that is harder on the road, in front of a sellout crowd urging on the opponents. Baron feels it is a challenge his team can deal with by refining its game.

?We?ve got to do the little things, whether it?s rebounding or making free throws,? the Rhody coach said. The Rams have not shot free throws well in both their A-10 losses. They rebounded well for a half against Xavier, but not the second half. And Dayton is a better rebounding team than Xavier.

One thing the teams have in common, perhaps the biggest issue that has hindered their strong seasons, is outside shooting.

After making only 3 of 22 treys in the loss at Saint Joseph?s, Dayton is down to 32.5 percent for the season behind the arc, 28.4 in the A-10 games thus far. Rhode Island was only 2-for-15 on 3-pointers in the loss at Xavier, dropping its percentages to 31.7 for the season and 27.9 in A-10 play.

A key for Dayton is the health of Luke Fabrizius. He is a 6-foot-9 sophomore who has been the team?s best outside shooter. He is hitting 49 percent, 23-for-53, on 3-pointers. However, he has an injured right knee. He hurt it in early December and missed time. He re-injured it last week and missed the team?s upset loss at Saint Joseph?s Saturday night. He is questionable for tonight.

Gregory was complimentary about URI, saying he wonders why the team so often falls under the radar when people discuss the A-10 powers. He called URI a Top-25 team.

While Gregory was being nice to the Rams, it is not likely the 13,000 fans expected to be at the game will be quite so kind.