Boo away

Archdeacon's overriding concern? "Is it wrong for UD Arena fans to boo the Flyers?"

In a word, no. Absolutely not. The University of Dayton men's basketball program is a for-profit business. UD basketball is a product -- nothing more, nothing less. There is a budget, there are financial records, and there are contractual obligations associated with running a high-level D1 college basketball program. Those 13,000 people cramming into UD Arena for every game? Those are customers, they are there for entertainment purposes. UD basketball is a respite from their everyday doldrums. If you think college sports in general is anything but a money grab, I'm not sure what to tell you. College sports are simply another vehicle through which to sell advertising and overpriced soft drinks. College basketball is simply another entity that gamblers can spend billions wagering on.  

Then, there is this outdated notion -- quoting the Arch: "One camp says you don’t boo 18 to 22 year olds. They aren’t pros, they don’t get paid and they are trying their best."

True, UD's basketball players are not technically professionals. However, they are not amateurs either. Perhaps "semi-professional" is the most appropriate manner in which to label them. There is a bargained for exchange between each scholarship athlete and the University of Dayton. In exchange for signing a contract (that's not very amateurish, now is it?) with UD, scholarship athletes are given free tuition, room and board, books, etc. (approximate value is probably in the neighborhood of $50,000.00) That's not even considering the extra perks that come with being an athlete: the offseason "jobs" paid in cash, scattered undergrad ass, papers written edited by tutors, and "loans" given to uncles of recruits.

Age is certainly not a concern, as no one would argue that it's wrong to boo a 20 year-old "kid" that plays for the Knicks:

20-year old financially compensated to play for the New York Knicks: boo-able!

20-year old financially compensated to play for the University of Dayton: not boo-able!

So, that argument goes right out the window -- which means it basically comes down to the corporation that is padding its pockets with the talents of predominantly young black men. Why people draw a distinction between Knicks basketball and UD basketball is beyond me. Both are economic machines focused on their bottom lines, concerned with profits. Why would it be okay to boo John Wall the 20 year old guard for the Clippers, but not John Wall the 19 year old guard for the University of Kentucky? Because he is better compensated? Someone help me out here.

Best...shirt...ever

Indulge me by checking out this excerpt from WLFI.com, won't you?

Earlier this season, a decision was made by coach Bunnell and the Berry family to sit him out for a couple of games. They made this decision to show Berry the high expectations they have for him both on and off the court.

Berry says, "Yes, I do think it was the best for me. I had a little adjustment with coach. We were kind of into it, but I got my head on straight and I'm back with my coach and everything's cool, so we're good."

Coach Bunnell explains, "His mom and me got together. We felt like we needed to make sure he was going in the right direction. Not just basketball wise, but off the court stuff, and he handled that extremely well."

Just so we are clear, when your coach sits you down for a few games as a "little adjustment" -- that's not promising. Especially considering that Berry is one of the better players in the state and essentially carries his team on offense. Is anyone else excited for Berry's freshman season?

Additionally, there is this gem on YouTube. I'm not sure if it's Jesse's friends/teammates fucking with him, or if it's just someone with an ax to grind. Either way, you're in good company if you have a rap song dedicated to your selfishness while you are still in high school. That's big time, folks. One way or another, I got a feeling this kid is leaving UD as a legend.

A shoot first, shoot again combo guard (with an apparent attitude problem and an aversion to playing defense) in Brian Gregory's system? No way this ends poorly, right?

Lastly, let's get some A-10 tournament related info out there.

Richmond at 5/1? That's what you call a value bet. At 13/2, Saint Louis is just slightly more favored to win in AC than your Flyers. Personally, I kind of like UD's probable schedule in the A-10 tournament. If UD gets by George Washington, they would face Xavier (UD has more than held their own against the Muskies this year) and then likely Richmond (the Spiders lack of rebounding means they are always vulnerable). I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'...

Player of the Year: Kevin Anderson, Richmond

Defensive Player of the Year: Damian Saunders, Duquesne

Rookie of the Year: Chris Gaston, Fordham

Sixth Man of the Year: Ramone Moore, Temple

Most Improved Player: Chris Johnson, Dayton

Coach of the Year:  Francis Dunphy, Temple

The 16,000,000,000,000 Man

I don't know about you, but it's almost a relief. The resignment is official and lasting now. As much as we enjoyed yelling about MUST WINS and waiting with baited breath for Smilin' Joes freshest brackets, we can pack that shit up and concentrate on the ensuing baseball season and finally get around to cataloging our porn collections.

Honestly, I don't know what to chalk this disappointment of a season up to. I think we were incredibly lucky last season and played well above our heads, thus leading to our present outlandish expectations. As the season wore on, and the detachment allowed us to view the team a bit more objectively, it become obvious we weren't all that talented of a team. We've got two very nice players in Chrises Wright and Johnson (though the cool kids swear Johnson is the better of the two, we know that's not true) and a bunch of inconsistent dreck. Some probably wouldn't in Brad Brownell's rotation (Mickey Perry, I'm looking at you). There's hope for some of that dreck, but for the most part you didn't have a clue what they were going to bring to the table night in, night out this year.

In the spirit of the Flyers 1st half performance, we're going to mail the rest of this one in bullet-style.

• Paul Willie put up a 16 trillion tonight. That is more astonishing than you think. Walk-ons across the country give PW much respect tonight. They'll be whispering about it for years to come, Jordan-lore style well into the future.

• Kurt saw the scouts in attendance and brought it tonight. 13 and 7. TANGIBLES! He also was 3-10 from the free throw line which makes me all the more confident I could take him in a game of HORSE.

• Big Dog and Benson combined for 8 and 5 in 14 minutes. Saint Louis could use some size.

• Not sure what to make of Pop-A-Shot. Is he going to be this fragile his whole career or was this some freakish lingering injury? Anyways since the Rhody game he's contributed 6 points on 2-16 shooting and 3 rebounds, albeit in very limited time.

• When you allow the other team to go on an 18-0 run, you can pretty much head to the showers. 10 minutes without scoring, go ahead and check your messages and start making plans for the evening.

• Willie Reed is averaging 12 and 8. Against the Flyers, he's averaging 3.5 and 6.5. Clearly, frightened by the color red.

• We pounded them on the boards 37-25 and surprisingly didn't give that advantage back in turnovers. We did, however, manage to shoot the ball poorly enough to negate it.

Hater. I want to get this out there, I'm already opposed to Jesse Berry. SAT style: Kavanaugh: Donny::Berry:myself.

Word is leaking out now that  the reason he was suspended for a game earlier this year was a run-in with the police. He was charged with "conversion," which to the best of my knowledge is a euphemism for theft. There's also plenty of internet chatter about his character and what type of kid he is (which needs to be taken with a double helping of salt). He happens to be the most loathsome of player-types as well, the volume scorer. He's getting a hefty 22 a game on 46% and 35%, but he's also tallied only 23 assists to 61 turnovers. I would like nothing more than for Mr. Berry to make me look like I fool, but I remain dubious.

Effective Field Goal Percentage (eFG%): adjusts for the fact that a 3-point field goal is worth one more point than a 2-point field goal.
Turnover Percentage (TO%): is an estimate of turnovers per 100 plays.
Offensive Rebouning Percentage (OR%): measures a team's ability to get offensive rebounds.
Free Throw Rate (FT Rate): is a measure of both how often a team gets to the line and how often they make them.

		S	MIN	PTS	FGM	FGA	FG%	2PA	2PA	2P%	3PM	3PA	3P%	FTM	FTA	FT%	OR	DR	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF
	K. Cassity	*	37	11	4	7	57.1	1	2	50.0	3	5	60.0	0	0		1	4	5	5	1	0	2	1
	K. Mitchell	*	35	20	5	9	55.6	1	2	50.0	4	7	57.1	6	9	66.7	0	5	5	2	0	0	3	3
	C. Ellis	*	28	10	3	8	37.5	1	2	50.0	2	6	33.3	2	2	100.0	0	3	3	0	1	0	1	3
	C. Salecich	*	22	8	2	3	66.7	0	0	0.0	2	3	66.7	2	2	100.0	0	1	1	2	0	0	1	1
	W. Reed	*	19	5	2	5	40.0	2	5	40.0	0	0		1	4	25.0	1	5	6	1	0	2	1	4
	J. Jordan		23	11	3	5	60.0	2	3	66.6	1	2	50.0	4	4	100.0	1	0	1	4	1	0	2	0
	B. Conklin		16	2	0	4	0.0	0	3	0.0	0	1	0.0	2	2	100.0	0	1	1	0	0	0	2	3
	C. Remekun		11	1	0	3	0.0	0	3	0.0	0	0		1	2	50.0	1	1	2	0	0	0	1	3
	J. Smith		9	3	1	1	100.0	1	1	100.0	0	0		1	1	100.0	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
	SLU		200	71	20	45	44.4	8	21	38.0	12	24	50.0	19	26	73.1	5	23	28	14	4	2	13	18
		S	MIN	PTS	FGM	FGA	FG%	2PA	2PA	2P%	3PM	3PA	3P%	FTM	FTA	FT%	OR	DR	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF
	UD		200	66	25	55	45.5	20	40	50.0	5	15	33.3	11	21	52.4	14	24	38	11	5	3	14	19
	C. Wright	*	32	15	7	13	53.8	7	13	53.8	0	0		1	4	25.0	4	4	8	0	2	1	1	4
	K. Huelsman	*	27	13	5	7	71.4	5	7	71.4	0	0		3	10	30.0	5	2	7	0	0	0	5	0
	L. Warren	*	24	8	2	3	66.7	2	3	66.6	0	0		4	4	100.0	0	3	3	3	0	0	1	5
	M. Johnson	*	23	3	1	5	20.0	0	3	0.0	1	2	50.0	0	0		1	2	3	0	1	0	2	2
	R. Lowery	*	20	11	3	7	42.9	1	3	33.3	2	4	50.0	3	3	100.0	0	4	4	4	0	0	1	4
	M. Perry		20	5	2	7	28.6	1	3	33.3	1	4	25.0	0	0		0	2	2	3	1	0	2	1
	C. Johnson		18	3	1	5	20.0	0	2	0.0	1	3	33.3	0	0		0	3	3	0	1	0	2	1
	P. Williams		16	0	0	0		0	0	0.0	0	0		0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	J. Benson		8	4	2	4	50.0	2	4	50.0	0	0		0	0		2	3	5	0	0	1	0	0
	D. Searcy		6	4	2	2	100.0	2	2	100.0	0	0		0	0		1	0	1	1	0	1	0	0
	L. Fabrizius		6	0	0	2	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	2	0.0	0	0		0	1	1	0	0	0	0	2
		S	MIN	PTS	FGM	FGA	FG%	2PA	2PA	2P%	3PM	3PA	3P%	FTM	FTA	FT%	OR	DR	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF

Caveat emptor, Mr. Wabler.

1.) Kevin Anderson is really fucking good at the game of basketball.  If it weren't for a guy by the name of JC, Anderson would definitely be in the running for POY in the A-10.  The guy is one of the purest shooters in the league and can beat the quickest of quick (London) off the dribble at will.  The shots that this guy was creating, you cannot even get mad about.  There is hope that between Parker and Staten we'll have a PG that is a legit scoring threat, isn't there?

2.) Screw the zone, teams should be putting full court pressure on the Flyers the entire game.  This team is constantly trying to go 100 mph and as a result averages almost 15 turnovers a game.  As we have seen with most games, the Flyer's backcourt does not take care of the rock and seems to panic when faced with a full court pressure scheme.

3.) Dan Geriot is eerily similar to the old, sweaty guy that tries far too hard during a pick up game at the local Y.  I mean between the hiked up shorts, the baggy white undershirt, and being white, he has that role pegged to a T.  It really is a shame that he blew out his ACL because that old man used to be able to play.

4.) Did Chris Wright miss the bus to Richmond?  I'm not sure where he was for this game, because he for damn sure was not out on the court.  For being the leader of this team, he needs to realize that his teammates are relying on him to take charge in a must win game on the road against a formidable opponent.

5.) The Big Dog is soon to be emaciated because no one will let him eat.  I lost track after about 4 or 5, the amount of times that Big Dog was waving his hands in the air, as to say, "Hey guys, I'm wide fucking open, pass me the damn ball."  This team must have a phobia of passing the ball in to the post, because it never happens.  You cannot expect the perimeter to open up if you only swing the ball around the top. Dump the ball into the post every once in a blue moon and see what happens, I think you'll be happy with the result, BG.

6.) I've been weary about taking my shots at BG all season because I think no matter what, it is the players on the court that prosper or fail.  There were two things that I didn't like from him this game. One being his inability to draw up successful sets coming out of a dead ball, and two being at the beginning of the last Flyer timeout, the camera zoomed in on the UD huddle and you could visibly see BG say, "Alright, who's in?"  Less than a minute left, down three and you don't know who you have on the court?  Remove your head from your rectum, Mr. Gregory.

Artist rendering of Geriot7.) I did not know that it was possible to have uglier cheerleaders than UD.  I think Richmond might take the cake on this one.  If I'm not mistaken, there was one, MAYBE two, respectable looking girls.  Kudos to the perv camera man who did an up-skirt shot of THE attractive cheerleader.

8.) How long until it comes out that For-three-zius' knee injury is far worse than any of us thought and has to go under the knife?  Once we are officially invited to the NIT or scrap him now?  Clearly this is far worse than originally reported.  With the Flyers seeing zones left and right, you would think that The Lukeness Monster would be out there for more than three minutes.  Put the lack of defense and athleticism aside, the kid can flat out shoot and needs to be out there against these zones.

9.) The Flyers got JC'd against a team that does not start with X.  Just as Crawford did to London Warren at the end of the game at the Cintas Center, there was nothing that MJ could do to stop David Gonzalvez as he hit fadeaways with a hand in his eye.  Gonzalvez decided to find his jumper at halftime, and coupled with Anderson's stellar play, that was enough to spur the Spiders on to victory.

10.) 20 offensive rebounds is quite impressive.  The announcers kept marveling at this statistic.  The thing that they did not focus on was what caused these rebounds: missed shots.  So yes, Kurt and CJ were crashing the offensive glass, but its pretty easy to snag 5 offensive boards when your team only shoots 34% from the field.

The sad part about this Flyer team is that when they showed the graphic of the A-10 tournament bracket, I could not even convince myself that they have a chance of snagging the A-10 auto bid.  No matter where the Flyers end up in the bracket, I do not see them beating any of the top four teams in the second round.  Sure they are capable of it, but with a team that is so wildly inconsistent it's hard to expect the right team to show up.

I can't wait for this team to blow SLU out to get their 20th win of the season so that BG can add another twenty-win season to his resume, and make the university and some fans alike think that BG is a great coach and the right coach for the future.  If anyone is interested in the NIT pizza party, please send your information to Mr. Donoher as he will be organizing the event.  

I'm not sure which is a bigger surprise to me, that the Flyers are likely not going to be in the NCAA tourney after returning 10 guys or that I was able to come up with 1,100 words after that painful loss.  I guess its perfect timing for Spring Training to start...

		S	MIN	PTS	FGM	FGA	FG%	2PA	2PA	2P%	3PM	3PA	3P%	FTM	FTA	FT%	OR	DR	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF
	C. Wright	*	32	6	1	7	14.3	1	7	14.2	0	0		4	4	100.0	4	3	7	2	1	2	4	2
	L. Warren	*	25	4	2	3	66.7	2	3	66.6	0	0		0	0		0	2	2	2	0	0	4	4
	K. Huelsman	*	24	7	2	5	40.0	2	5	40.0	0	0		3	5	60.0	5	5	10	0	0	0	1	2
	M. Johnson	*	19	10	3	9	33.3	2	7	28.5	1	2	50.0	3	4	75.0	2	2	4	0	2	0	2	3
	R. Lowery	*	19	9	2	7	28.6	1	3	33.3	1	4	25.0	4	5	80.0	0	1	1	1	1	0	4	2
	C. Johnson		26	13	5	10	50.0	2	4	50.0	3	6	50.0	0	0		5	4	9	0	1	0	2	0
	M. Perry		17	2	1	6	16.7	1	2	50.0	0	4	0.0	0	0		0	2	2	3	0	0	1	3
	P. Williams		16	3	1	3	33.3	0	1	0.0	1	2	50.0	0	0		0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2
	D. Searcy		13	0	0	0		0	0	0.0	0	0		0	0		1	2	3	0	0	0	2	1
	J. Benson		6	2	1	2	50.0	1	2	50.0	0	0		0	1	0.0	3	2	5	0	0	0	0	0
	L. Fabrizius		3	0	0	1	0.0	0	1	0.0	0	0		0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	UD		200	56	18	53	34.0	12	35	34.2	6	18	33.3	14	19	73.7	20	24	44	9	5	2	20	19
		S	MIN	PTS	FGM	FGA	FG%	2PA	2PA	2P%	3PM	3PA	3P%	FTM	FTA	FT%	OR	DR	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF
	RICH		200	60	20	47	42.6	14	29	48.2	6	18	33.3	14	20	70.0	6	19	25	11	14	3	12	18
	K. Anderson	*	38	22	6	14	42.9	5	11	45.4	1	3	33.3	9	10	90.0	0	4	4	3	0	0	1	1
	D. Gonzalvez	*	37	14	6	11	54.5	4	5	80.0	2	6	33.3	0	2	0.0	1	1	2	3	0	0	2	2
	R. Butler	*	36	7	1	5	20.0	1	2	50.0	0	3	0.0	5	6	83.3	0	4	4	2	6	0	5	3
	J. Harper	*	31	13	5	8	62.5	2	5	40.0	3	3	100.0	0	0		1	2	3	0	2	0	1	2
	D. Garrett	*	9	0	0	0		0	0	0.0	0	0		0	0		1	1	2	0	0	0	1	2
	K. Smith		17	2	1	4	25.0	1	3	33.3	0	1	0.0	0	2	0.0	0	3	3	2	2	3	0	1
	D. Geriot		16	2	1	4	25.0	1	3	33.3	0	1	0.0	0	0		1	2	3	1	1	0	2	2
	F. Martel		14	0	0	0		0	0	0.0	0	0		0	0		2	2	4	0	3	0	0	5
	D. Brothers		2	0	0	1	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	1	0.0	0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

How we got here: Richmond's rise to the top of the Atlantic Ten isn't surprising. A small school with under 3,000 kids, most of whom have little to no knowledge of the team, and once they graduate work at subpar mortgage firms in midtown Manhattan. Blackburn described the students at Richmond as, "cake eaters who prefer bong rips over college basketball." He forgot to mention the casual cocaine addiction and not so casual madras addiction. I have a lot of friends from Richmond, the type of people that are nice to me, but not nice to the maitre'd at Canal Bar (Ed Gein, anyone?). Anyway, the Spiders take orders from the same type of person they will after graduation, a Princeton grad.

Mooney: his bowel movements could outcoach BGChris Mooney has been the Richmond head coach since 2005 and is in the midst of his second twenty win season with the Spyders. Mooney runs a Princeton offense which is based on passing, movement, and the ability to drain the three from all five positions. On paper, Dayton's defense is built to defeat the Princeton offense (more like the Argyle offense...am I right guys?!!?); we constantly pressure the ball, defend passing lanes with a long, athletic team, and utilize our depth to keep fresh legs on the court. Since '07 "we" are 3-1 against Richmond and have held them to 37%, 40%, 55% (2008 loss), and 37% shooting. Clearly the magic number tomorrow will lie somewhere between 41% and.....54%! That's some crack analysis. Suck it, Doog. 

The Arachnia: One of the reasons Richmond has taken the game to the next level this season has been the health of Dan Geriot. Geriot took a medical redshirt last year after doing to his knee what's...

Errrrrrr (that's a record screeching sound, and not of the remix variety). O'B ingeniously disconnected the sprinkler system in his office building and then committed an act of arson yesterday. All in order to avoid writing this recon (we're struggling to maintain interest just like you). So from here out you'll get a mashup of inferior rambling from myself, Ollie, and the sterling prose of Mr. B., the man with Richmond love juice running down his chin.

I'm not sure where we were going with Geriot, as he's yet to make the impact that his freshman and sophomore years promised (remember, promises are just lies in the making). But after putting up 14 and 5.5 a half as a sophomore on 48% from the field and 40% from three, all thought he was on pace for an All A-10 career and a solid Spanish tenure where he played games twice a week, ate paella daily, and made his way through Spanish women like the Inquisition. Then his ACL popped and his statshave dropped across the board. Which is vexing as nobody was confusing him with Tyrus Thomas. Really, he was a rich man's Pop-A-Shot with superior ball skills. He was Pete Carril's wet dream, a big man with great range, passing ability, and well defined pecs. Now he's, more or less, a confused Kurt Huelsman.

Only Jordan Crawford stands in his wayKevin Anderson is the tiny little heart of the Spiders. He's what makes 'em go. He's the quickest guard in the league and will make a living in the paint. While, not a particularly adept distributor, the threat of him beating his defender leaves gaps for his teammates. He's getting 17.5 a game and does a great deal of his damage at the line, as he's prone to be fouled and, gasp, hits his foul shots like he's paid to (82%). He's not much of a threat from 3, but he'll still fire his fair share. While the Flyers PGs are reputed to be terrors on D, they've been exposed as dredlocked charlatans this season. They're apt to eat some poor, white PG's lunch, but are swinging gates against anyone with a head fake or a crossover. Look for Anderson to have a huge game as he did last season.

David Gonzalvez makes up the second half of the league's best backcourt. His numbers are down a bit from last year, but he's still a solid all around 2 guard. Offensively, he can shoot it a bit (44%/36%), is not afraid to grab a board (4.1), and plays some mean D. Like Anderson, he's grabbing nearly 2 steals a game. I don't know about you, but I'm ready for Gonzalvez to graduate and not because of his basketball, but because of the damned V in his last name. Is he too good to be a Gonzalez?

Justin Harper's continued development has been instrumental in Richmond's rise to glory. Coming into this season, Harper was expected to raise his game and match the hype he entered the Spider program with three years ago. He has done just that this season, scoring 11 points and grabbing 6 boards a game. Additionally, he is a superior defender, the type of player that fills in all the little holes no one else will. The same can be said of senior guard Ryan Butler. Mooney is on record claiming Butler as the best defensive player he has ever coached. I would expect that in the rare moments the Spiders aren't sitting in a zone chuckling amongst each other, Butler will be all up in Chris Johnson's business. Although not a great offensive player, Butler will fire away from the perimeter if left to his own devices. 

The Numbers Game: "A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers."

		PPG	FG%	FT%	3P%	RPG	ORPG	DRPG	APG	TPG	SPG	BPG	FPG
	UD	70.2	42.1	66.6	33.7	39.2	12.0	26.8	15.1	14.4	6.2	3.5	19.8
	RICH	68.6	44.6	69.9	34.8	32.7	9.0	23.7	12.7	11.5	8.4	4.9	17.6
	UD Opponents	61.6	39.2	64.6	31.2	32.7	10.1	22.6	11.0	14.2	5.9	3.3	18.8
	RICH Opponents	60.8	39.0	70.4	28.4	37.6	13.1	24.4	9.9	15.7	5.4	3.4	17.9

Rest your worthless bones, your end is nighRichmond is the most efficient team UD will face this season, they never waste a possession. They play very heady basketball, take smart shots and protect the ball. Defensively, they are just as sound, allowing just over 60 points a game. The Spiders are sneaky athletic in the frontcourt. Although the backcourt deservedly gets much of the focus, Butler and Harper are vital to this team's success on the defensive end. The one downfall of this team has been in the rebounding department. Chris Mooney's team routinely gets outrebounded, an area the Flyers can hopefully capitalize on. 

Prediction: WE NEVER LOSE AT HOME...only on the road. If UD comes up short, they will end the year 4-7 on the road, just 2-6 in A-10 play. A roadie against a top-25 caliber team on Senior night? It's safe to say UD's chances are slim to none, and Slim just walked out of the building (my Uncle, the one who did time, used to say that. No clue what it means). Richmond's backcourt will likely be too much for UD to handle, and the fact that Richie excels on the defensive end does not bode well for the Flyers either. The Spiders are 3.5 point favorites, and I think that's giving UD too much credit.

It will be interesting to see what Gregory's mindset will be tonight. Will he stick to his guns, the strategy that has the Flyers sitting at 8-6 in the league, or press on with a different look -- perhaps increasing the minutes for UD's most valuable weapons. Although BG's gameplan is predicated on throwing as many fresh bodies at the opposition as possible, tonight's game would seem to be a rather opportune moment to change things up a bit. There is nothing left to lose, Dayton has painted itself into a corner. Might as well throw everything against the wall and see what, if anything, sticks.

Richmond wins this one, 67-60.

Dressed for my Oscar party

When I emailed the editor of this blog to tell him that I wanted to do an Oscar preview, O'Brien emailed back and said, "Sure, just tie it to Dayton basketball somehow."  I decided to take each of the 10 Best Picture nominations and compare them to a player/coach on this year's team.  So here you go, folks.  This year's Oscar Bonanza, Dayton Flyers style.

But before we go, here are my acting/directing predictions:

Best Actor: Who should win?  George Clooney (Up in the Air).  Who will win?  Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart).  I loved Up in the Air(more on this later) and Clooney was fantastic in this, but Jeff Bridges has won every award this year and will take that momentum into Sunday's show.  Odds of Bridges winning: 4-1.

Best Actress: Who should win? Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia).  Who will win?  Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side).  Yes, I have seen Julie & Julia(the joys of being married) and it was actually pretty good.  Streep has won this award before so the voters will give it to Bullock, who is making a career comeback.  Odds of Bullock winning: 5-1.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Even John couldn't be more optimistic about Landa's chancesWho should win? Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds).  Who will win?  Waltz.  A fantastic movie (but not as good as Pulp Fiction or Kill Bill), Waltz was absolutely perfect in this role.  The last time someone was this big of a favorite was Daniel Day-Lewis and Javier Bardem back in 2008.  Odds of Waltz winning: 1-10.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Who should win?  Vera Farminga (Up in the Air).  Who will win?  Mo'Nique (Precious).  Farminga made me hate women and never allow my wife to go on a business trip again.  But Mo'Nique, like the rest of the acting awards, has this one in the bag because of her past wins.  Odds of Mo'Nique winning: 3-1.

Best Director: Who should win? Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds).  Who will win?  James fucking Cameron (Avatar).  Tarantino, who I will not compare to Martin Scorsese, is going to have to wait until his next movie, and then his next movie, and then his next movie to get that Oscar statue.  Cameron, who I have read is a major dickbag, will win the award simply because Avatarhas made a gazillion dollars.  Odds of Cameron winning?  2-1.

Avatar: (Rob Lowery/London Warren)  Even though I have not seen Avatar (still the only one in the world), I know a little bit about it.  This movie features blue people in the mythical land of Pandora who have the perfect world before the humans come in and try to fuck everything up.  Why did I choose the Swag and Jacksonville Jet for this movie?  Well, because they have dreads of course!  That and coming into this year, the Flyer Faithful felt they had the perfect point guards for the season until teams of the Atlantic 10 went and fucked it up by making Rob think it was a good idea for him shoot 10 three pointers a game.  While Avatar has not been an epic failure, the last season of Lowery/Warren has been.  Odds of Avatar winning Best Picture: 5-1.

The Blind Side: (Marcus Johnson)  This was a tough one.  To the best of my knowledge, there are no players on this team that were homeless on the street, without parents, and then rescued by a rich family like the Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman, Michael Oher.  So I went ahead and took the literal meaning of this movie, well not really.  While Marcus was not protecting a quarterback's blind side, he did blind side the Flyer Faithful this year by sucking major ass.  What was expected to be a breakout senior year that could have possibly led to an NBA tryout turned out to be one of the most disappointing seasons in recent memory (Davis Morris comes to mind).  While Oher has gone on to become a great player for the Ravens, MJ will be forgotten in a few years and be put in the same group as "could have beens" Brooks Hall of Shame and Monty Scott.  Odds of The Blind Side winning Best Picture: 10-1.

District 9: (Josh Benson)  I have heard from a reliable source that Josh Benson eats cat food every morning for breakfast so this was a no brainer.  District 9 is about a million or so aliens held captive in South Africa because of the fear of what they will do if they were let loose in the world.  Benson is facing the same thing with this Flyers team.  Benson, whose alien-like arms and out of this world talent, is hardly ever on display for fear of what he will do (like turning the ball over).  Here's hoping Benson harnesses all of his talents this summer and is in the starting lineup next season.  If not, expect him to rip apart Brian Gregory's body.  Odds of District 9 winning Best Picture: 20-1.

An Education: (Matt Kavanaugh)  Comparing my least favorite player to a Nick Hornby script?  In the words of Phil Dunphy, "Why the face?"  I'll be honest, I have not seen this movie but according to Google it is about a group of con artists who rent apartments located around the elderly to black people, knowing that the elderly people will move -- allowing the con artists to swoop in and buy the apartments/houses cheap. 

What does this have to do with Matt Kavanaugh?  I have no fucking clue.  USA TODAY says Hornby's "taking on a young woman's loss of innocence was uncharted territory."  There we go!  Matt Kavanaugh is a young woman who lost her innocence.  Nah.  But the Ghost in the Post needs to...get ready for it...take an an education from Sean Finn and Mark Ashman and learn how to play like a man.  A lot of people (OK, just Roger Bohn and Secaur) think that Matt could be contribute to the Flyers during his career.  We shall see.  Odds of An Education winning Best Picture: 25-1.

The Hurt Locker: (Luke Fabrizius)  With the Hurt Locker, if you don't actually know anything about howthe military works, but you like things going "BOOM," well then you love this movie.  Does it help that it feeds liberal Hollywood's standing agenda to rally against the military industrial complex?  That's just a bonus I'm sure.  Just like with Luke Fabrizius' early career at Dayton, people who don't have a real understanding of basketball, like to see Fabby Fab Fab bomb it from deep with reckless abandonment for their viewing pleasure.  In reality, his play is difficult to stomach for most people with real knowledge on the subject, because they know he's giving up 4 points for every three he makes.  He does have his stand out games, but most of the time he bombs.  Get it?  By the way, I actually liked this movie, but a lot of people did not.  Also, I'm an idiot so do not take my word for it.  Odds of The Hurt Locker winning Best Picture: 7-1.  (written by Jim O'Brien)

Inglourious Basterds: (UD's 09-10 season) I have no idea what this is for or why I am participating, but I can almost guarantee that this will be the only section of this post without a spelling error.  Personally, I think it's great that the day before a HUGE game we are sitting around talking about the Academy Awards like a bunch of fat, single women and their gay male friends. Makes perfect sense.

I'm an unapologetic Tarantino slurper, I even liked Jackie Brown, and this one ranks right up there with the best of his work. No one writes better dialogue than Tarantino and no director has a better eye for detail. You could make an argument for Wes Anderson, but his nuances are so forced and contrived that they actually BECOME the movie, taking attention away from the actual film. Anderson is all style, no substance. QT is adept at balancing both, and no one is in his league.

The only problem with this film is the pacing. The opening sequence of Basterds is filled with great tension and monumental drama, so much so that everything after the initial scene is a letdown. Just as Tarantino's movie suffered from the expectations set by that phenomenal scene, the Flyers have suffered from the expectations coming into this season. It wasn't so much that Dayton was overrated, certainly they were, it was the letdown the club suffered after coming back from Puerto Rico. Even though the Flyers came back from the PR Tipoff 1-2, they held their own against a formidable trio of programs and instilled confidence for the rest of the season. Most UD fans were convinced that it was going to be a steady climb upward from that point forward. Not quite, as the Flyers peaked and will likely finish just a game or two above .500 in the conference. Odds of Inglourious Basterds winning Best Picture: absolutely no clue. (written by Mr. Blackburn)   

Precious: (Devin Searcy)  This is where having Desmond Adedeji would have come in handy.  Devin is not a big, fat, black person like Precious (yes, I know that is not PC), but he does have a lot in common with her.  I hope Searcy has not been raped by his father, but he has been beaten and bruised by Brian Gregory's ego.  Searcy has outplayed, out-hustled, out-practiced, and pretty much outed Kurt Huelsman this year.  Let's take a look at the St. Louis game from last month.  Granted Searcy played more minutes (21 to 14), but he outscored Kurt 16-0.  Yet, who was starting both overtimes?  Kurt.  I would say that this has to hurt Searcy's confidence but he has to know that Gregory is always going to be stubborn and next year, Searcy will be the starting center from Day 1.  Odds of Precious winning Best Picture: 20-1.

A Serious Man: (Brian Gregory)  Another movie I have yet to see but according to Google, A Serious Man is about a father/husband named Larry who has a pothead son, a daughter who steals from him, a brother that sleeps on his couch, and a wife that wants to divorce him so she can be with someone else.  Throw in the fact that he is a college professor who is bribed by one of his students to pass him or he (the student) will make sure Larry does not get tenure.  Sounds like a shitty job/life if you ask me. 

Enter Brian Gregory.  The life of a successful Division 1 basketball coach can be glamorous but eventually, it will all come crashing down.  Yes, there are the coaches like John Wooden, Dean Smith, Coach K, Adolph Rupp, etc. that did and will leave on their own terms, but a lot of coaches are fired because of the ridiculous expectations their fanbases have for them.  Gregory is trying to juggle the team (which from rumors floating around, is not getting along), the athletic department, and the batshit crazy fan base that is the Flyer Faithful.  Can you blame the guy if he wants to go elsewhere?  It may come as a shock to you all, but I never really pictured Gregory as a Dayton guy.  I don't know what that even means, but I always pictured him at a school like DePaul or Temple or Washington.  Big city guy, good recruiter, has the world at his finger tips.  While I have thought that Gregory wasn't a great coach, he is a good man (maybe even a serious man) for the Dayton job.

Up: (Chris Wright)  This one was a no-brainer.  Everyone who has seen Up says it is the best Pixar movie ever (maybe even the best animated movie ever) and that it will make you cry and appreciate life.  Well, Chris Wright makes me cry alright.  Granted, CW has had a solid year in terms of points and rebounds and he is the undisputed leader of this team.  However, CW...like Up...is extremely overrated in my mind.  Talking with Blackburn the Troll yesterday, he asked me a simple question.  Would I rather have Jordan Crawford or Chris Wright.  I didn't even hesitate when I said, "Jordan Crawford, no question about it."  Looking down at the Atlantic 14 right now, there are several players I'd rather have instead of Chris Wright.  I'd take Damian Saunders, Kevin Anderson, Shamari Spears, and Rodney Green before CW.  I'd also watch Finding Nemo, Toy Story 2, Ratatouille, and Wall-E before I'd watch Up again.  Give me a break people, I have a soft spot for Pixar films.  That and I have two nieces who won't shut up unless that shit is on the TV.  Odds of Up winning Best Picture: 15-1.

Up in the Air: (Chris Johnson)  My favorite movie of the year with my favorite player of the year.  This movie was as close to perfect as they come, as was CJ this year with the Flyers.  Up in the Air stars the sexiest man alive, George Clooney, while CJ is the sexiest player on this team (he has impregnated at least 5 cheerleaders).  Up in the Air is about a man who is hired by companies from around the United States to fire their employees.  While Ryan Bingham (played by Clooney) thinks that he loves the lifestyle of flying from place to place and not having any set in stone relationships, he realizes he is lonely and wants a change.  The past few weeks, the Internets have been abuzz about CJ feeling lonely and wanting a change.  SPOILER ALERT!!!  Clooney goes for the girl, gets burned, and goes back to living what he thought was a good life (though we are quite sure he will never be happy).  CJ will flirt with the idea of transferring but will eventually stay at UD and pretend he is happy, when in reality, he is just counting the days until he leaves Dayton.  Odds of Up in the Air winning Best Picture: 6-1.

In an article a while back, I had attributed the discrepancy between last year’s Flyers and this year’s Flyers to luck.  I decided to check up with my guy Ken Pomeroy and while the Flyers were previously the 322nd luckiest team in the country (or unluckiest at this point) they are now the 338th.  For the record, there are 347 D1 basketball programs.  Needless to say, the Flyers better get their four-leaf clovers and rabbit’s feet ready for Selection Sunday, because they will need all the luck they can get.  With that being said, let’s get it started:

News 

I was shocked that in a “must win” road game, that the Flyers decided to collectively leave their jumpers in Dayton.  There is not much to say about this game other than it was dismal at best.  I am fortunate enough to have been on my way home from work during the first half and missed it entirely.  I thought that my BlackBerry was frozen when I went to check the score and it said 19-13 at halftime.  I tuned in after halftime and realized that it was not my BlackBerry it was just the awful shooting by both teams that resulted in that score.  It was the same story line that has plagued the Flyers this entire season, poor shot selection and numerous turnovers.  How many times do “we” have to turn the ball over on the hand off pass on the wing, before we adjust?  It is ridiculous how many telegraphed passes are thrown by this team possession after possession, game after game.  CW kept the Flyers in the game with 12 points and 13 rebounds.  While we are used to seeing Ryan Brooks and Juan Fernandez at the top of the stat sheets for the Owls, the main weapon for them in this game was Lavoy Allen.  The junior forward posted only 9 points but hauled in a ridiculous 17 rebounds.  Allen also added 3 assists and 3 blocks while playing nearly the entire game (39 minutes).  Needless to say, every game is a “must win” for the Flyers after dropping 2 straight.

With Temple improving to 12-2 in conference with the win over the Flyers, it was on to Cincinnati to see who would keep pace with the Owls as Xavier hosted Richmond.  Both squads entered the game with an impressive 11-2 conference record and it took 2 periods of extra time to decide the winner.  For once, Jordan Crawford was not the shining light for the Muskies.  JC had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation as well as at the end of the first overtime, but missed a jumper both times.  Terrell Holloway on the other hand had a stellar game with 24 points, with 11 of them coming in the extra periods, and 5 rebounds.  The Spiders were also lead by someone other than their star, Kevin Anderson.  It was David Gonzalvez that paced the Spiders with an impressive 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 steals.  Look for this game to be very important when it comes to seeding for the AC Showdown. 

Top Performers

Terrell Holloway Xavier vs. Richmond

• As stated above, Holloway stepped his game up when the go-to guy, JC, was not responding in pressure situations.  While his 24 points are very impressive, the 11 points in OT that lead to the win are what really lands him on this list.  The Muskies will rely on Holloway to continue to step up as defenses focus all of their attention on JC.

David Gonzalvez Richmond vs. Xavier

• With Kevin Anderson having an off shooting night (8-21) it was up to Gonzalvez to step up.  He did just that by posting 18 points on 4-7 shooting from behind the arc.  Not only did he lead the team in scoring but the 6’4 guard also pulled a team high 9 rebounds.  As with the above example with Xavier, the Spiders hope to continue to get this production out of Gonzalvez as more defenses zone in on stopping Anderson.

Chris Gaston Fordham vs. St. Bonaventure

• JC loves JCI can’t skip over my boy up north.  Gaston continued his stellar freshman season as the Rams dropped their 19th straight.  Gaston posted his 17th double-double of the year as he poured in 18 points and added 13 rebounds.  Why has BG not rescinded Kav’s scholarship and offered it to Gaston yet?  I would love to get him as a transfer, because the kid can play.

Jordan Crawford Xavier vs. St. Louis

• Come on, you didn’t really think that we would get through a Rodeo without talking about JC as a top performer, did you?  He did it again.  JC posted 26 points on 11-20 shooting and 5 rebounds as the Muskies squeaked by with a 73-71 win.  With this performance, JC is now averaging 20 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 3 APG.  The Flyers can only hope that JC goes pro this spring so they don’t have to worry about stopping the defending A-10 POY next year.

Looking Forward to This Week

Temple @ SLU 3/3

• This is a much more important game for the Billikens than it is for the Owls.  Saint Louis looks to add another quality win to their resume as Temple tries to maintain their #1 position in the conference.  While SLU boasts a 15-2 home record this year, the Owls are a very good road team as they have gone 11-3 in contests away from Philly.  As always, look for guard play to dominate this contest as Fernandez and Brooks match up against Kwamain Mitchell.  I have the Owls winning this one 63-56.

Charlotte @ URI 3/3

• With both teams on the bubble and competing for 4th place in the conference standings, this is sure to be a good match up.  Both teams are coming off of losses and look to rebound as a 2 game losing streak during the home stretch would not be looked on fondly by the committee.  I see the Cookie Monster getting “his” in this game, as the forwards for URI will not be able to contain his size.  Charlotte takes this contest 81-76.

Dayton @ Richmond 3/4

• A must win for the Flyers in this one.  As always, the Flyers have struggled on the road and better not perform like they did in Philly last week.  Richmond does not have too deep of a bench so if they Flyers can get out and run in this game they will be able to wear down the Spiders.  Just because I can’t imagine how many things I will break if they lose this game, I have the Flyers taking home the W with a score of 67-63.

Richmond @ Charlotte 3/6

• With a short turn around for both squads, this will be an early indication of how these teams will fair in AC and possibly the big dance.  Although Richmond is only 6-6 on the road this year, I think their guard play of Anderson and Gonzalvez will be too much to handle for the 49ers.  I’ve got Richmond winning this game, 64-56.

SLU @ Dayton 3/6

• As both team’s big dance hopes hang in the balance, this is sure to be a headed battle.  The Flyers look to avenge their overtime loss at Saint Louis as Slick Rick brings the Billikens to UD Arena.  On senior night the Flyers will not lose at home.  UD rides a 3 game win streak into AC as they take this match up 68-56. 

Be sure to tune in early and often this week, as there are a lot of Hexagon match ups.  This week will determine all of the seeding for AC as well as some team’s tournament chances, whether that is the NCAA or NIT.  Please Flyers do not fuck this up for me.  You have already caused me to lose my hair at a more rapid pace than previously and your play, coupled with my lack of exercise, has made me develop an irregular heartbeat.  If for no other reason than to salvage the little sanity that the Gem City's finest has left, finish the regular season with two wins and head into AC with some momentum.  As with my tweets that Paul Williams reads on a regular basis and takes offense to, I hope BG reads this and posts it on the cork board of the locker room as a form of motivation.  Once again, thanks for tuning into The A10 Rodeo.

What can one really say about a 28 point blow out for the Flyers?  They were playing a home game that they had to win (WE WILL NOT LOSE AT HOME!!!) versus a team that had only won 10 games all year.  Dayton had a season high six players in double figures and shot 55% from the field.  Granted the Flyers lost the turnover battle but when you almost double your opponent in rebounding, you will be in very good shape. 

What I watched instead of Villanova/SyracuseHonestly, I really don't know what to say about this game.  I've been told by friends and family that were in attendance that it was a boring game, but they did see a nice white out at the end of the game.  I also got a text from a friend that said, "Flyer fans are so racist!"  I asked him what he meant and he said, "They go nuts for Luke Fab when he shoot 3's (and misses) but they HATE Rob Lowery when he misses 3's."  My friend is just NOW realizing this?  Dayton probably has a fucking statue of Kurt being made as we speak to put out in the middle of the West Concourse so the fans can drink beer under it and remember the intangibles he brought -- like my grandpa saying that Huelsman doesn't block many shots but alters at least 10 a game. 

Let's not dwell on this game too much.  Dayton needed to win and I think everyone assumed they would win big.  Despite what John says, Thursday's game against Richmond is a MUST win.  If the Flyers somehow beat the Blackburn Spiders, they could win one game in Atlantic City and make the tournament.  If they lose, the Flyers need to go all Major League on us and "win... the whole... fucking thing."  John, I love ya buddy, but you haven't really been the most accurate/realistic fan this year.  Who do you all trust more?  John/Swampy Meadows who predicted a 14-2 conference record or the men here at the Blackburn Review that predicted a minimum of 5 losses with a minimum of a 3rd place finish (except for O'Brien who foolishly picked them to win the league)?  That's what I thought. 

So why is Thursday so important?  I crunched some numbers and went back to the 1999-2000 season (10 years ago) and looked at Dayton's record in the Atlantic 10 Tournament.  The Flyers went 13-9 in that A10 Tourney over that span.  Pretty good right?  Well, take away the two years (2003 and 2004) when the tournament was at UD and the Flyers are 8-8.  In the past 10 years, the Flyers have never made an A10 Final unless playing at UD Arena.  I will make a prediction here and if I am wrong, you all can rip me all summer long.  But unless the Flyers beat Richmond, they are not making the NCAA Tournament.  Heck, they won't even make the A10 Finals.  I am 95% sure that the only team that has ever won four games in the A10 Tournament is Xavier (of course they did!), so don't expect Dayton to do the same.

So that's the "recap" for ya.  I wanted to point you all toward a surprisingly excellent article written by Marc Katz in today's DDN.  Now you all are probably too young to remember the Jim O'Brien years (except that Neville commenter who is 21 years old but claims to remember being 4 years old and watching the Chip Hare era).  The article at first made me feel kind of sad that O'Brien does not follow Dayton basketball (the program that gave him his first big time coaching chance).  The article makes you think that O'Brien was not angry when he got fired and saw it as "business" but I remember him storming off the court after a loss, refusing to come back out on the court for his post-game radio show, and then throwing a temper tantrum in the locker room.  I know this because my grandfather was close with the Frericks family and knew what went down that last season for O'Brien.  Then something struck  me.  Take a look at Don Donoher (the real one, not me).  Since Donoher is a classy guy, he doesn't talk shit about Dayton, but he really does not want to have anything to do with the school that unceremoniously fired him.  He has almost all together separated himself from UD.  So in a way, I don't feel sorry for O'Brien, I just totally understand.  Should he have been fired after 2 horrid seasons and the way he acted at the end? Of course.

Don't forget to pretend you care about hockey today!  Go USA and all that jazz.

		S	MIN	PTS	FGM	FGA	FG%	2PA	2PA	2P%	3PM	3PA	3P%	FTM	FTA	FT%	OR	DR	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	RR
	R. Harris	*	34	9	3	15	20.0	2	9	22.2	1	6	16.7	2	4	50.0	0	2	2	1	0	0	3	2	-26	-24
	F. Riley	*	26	12	4	6	66.7	0	0	0.0	4	6	66.7	0	0		0	1	1	0	0	0	0	2	-26	-24
	T. Vinson	*	21	16	6	10	60.0	5	8	62.5	1	2	50.0	3	4	75.0	2	0	2	3	0	0	2	5	-14	0
	J. Farrell	*	21	9	3	7	42.9	3	7	42.8	0	0		3	4	75.0	1	1	2	0	2	0	1	5	-21	-14
	S. Carter	*	20	0	0	5	0.0	0	5	0.0	0	0		0	2	0.0	3	3	6	0	0	1	0	3	-24	-20
	S. Carter		25	10	3	6	50.0	3	6	50.0	0	0		4	6	66.7	3	3	6	0	3	0	0	2	-15	-2
	A. Gurley		23	10	3	9	33.3	3	5	60.0	0	4	0.0	4	4	100.0	0	2	2	1	0	0	2	0	-6	16
	G. Correia		16	0	0	1	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	1	0.0	0	0		0	1	1	3	0	0	0	1	-2	24
	M. Hill		10	0	0	0		0	0	0.0	0	0		0	0		1	3	4	0	0	0	0	0	-6	16
	T. Lang		3	2	0	0		0	0	0.0	0	0		2	2	100.0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	34
	L. Mongo		1	0	0	0		0	0	0.0	0	0		0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	-3	22
	MASS		200	68	22	59	37.3	16	40	40.0	6	19	31.6	18	26	69.2	11	19	30	8	5	1	11	21
		S	MIN	PTS	FGM	FGA	FG%	2PA	2PA	2P%	3PM	3PA	3P%	FTM	FTA	FT%	OR	DR	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	RR
	UD		200	96	34	62	54.8	21	34	61.7	13	28	46.4	15	22	68.2	14	30	44	25	4	3	11	22
	C. Wright	*	26	14	5	10	50.0	5	8	62.5	0	2	0.0	4	5	80.0	0	6	6	3	1	1	3	3	17	6
	R. Lowery	*	24	13	5	8	62.5	2	3	66.6	3	5	60.0	0	1	0.0	0	2	2	5	1	0	2	2	12	-4
	K. Huelsman	*	18	4	2	4	50.0	2	4	50.0	0	0		0	0		4	1	5	0	0	0	2	3	22	16
	L. Warren	*	17	6	2	2	100.0	2	2	100.0	0	0		2	4	50.0	1	7	8	8	1	0	0	1	28	28
	M. Johnson	*	17	11	5	7	71.4	4	5	80.0	1	2	50.0	0	1	0.0	0	3	3	5	0	0	0	3	20	12
	C. Johnson		21	11	3	9	33.3	1	1	100.0	2	8	25.0	3	3	100.0	1	1	2	1	0	2	0	0	5	-18
	M. Perry		19	15	5	7	71.4	0	0	0.0	5	7	71.4	0	0		0	1	1	1	1	0	2	2	11	-6
	P. Williams		18	6	2	3	66.7	0	1	0.0	2	2	100.0	0	0		0	3	3	1	0	0	1	2	15	2
	D. Searcy		14	10	3	5	60.0	3	5	60.0	0	0		4	4	100.0	5	1	6	0	0	0	1	3	15	2
	J. Benson		11	3	1	1	100.0	1	1	100.0	0	0		1	2	50.0	0	4	4	0	0	0	0	1	12	-4
	L. Fabrizius		4	0	0	2	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	2	0.0	0	0		1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	-4	-36
	D. Fox		3	0	0	0		0	0	0.0	0	0		0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	-5	-38
	M. Kavanaugh		3	2	1	3	33.3	1	3	33.3	0	0		0	0		1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	-1	-30
	P. Zestermann		2	0	0	1	0.0	0	1	0.0	0	0		0	0		1	1	2	0	0	0	0	0
	L. Hendrick		2	0	0	0		0	0	0.0	0	0		0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	-5	-38
	L. Nourse		1	1	0	0		0	0	0.0	0	0		1	2	50.0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	3	-22
		S	MIN	PTS	FGM	FGA	FG%	2PA	2PA	2P%	3PM	3PA	3P%	FTM	FTA	FT%	OR	DR	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	RR

If this guy can walk, we can dance.

John is right. We win out, take a win or two in the conference tournament, and we at least have a reason to watch Selection Sunday. Sure we'll be drinking heavily and on the verge of tears, but is that different from any other Sunday night? We started a few weeks ago saying, sarcastically, that this was going to be fun. The reason it was sarcastic is because we were all so disappointed to even be in this situation to begin with. Not a single person in the comments or on this blog thought for a second UD would be on the outside looking in for the tournament when the season began. We thought we were the favorites and thats does nothing more than set you up to be disappointed. Last season we knew we would have to fight our way to the tournament, and it was FUN when we did. Can you believe we knocked off West Virginia? How many people do you think really called that nation wide? Not many. The only consolation prize we have for the next week and through AC is that we are once again the under dogs. If we lose, we lose. We all pretty much see it coming, but if we win..... fucking enjoy it guys. Our season may be over soon, so try to enjoy being able to watch your team while you can. Watch London go bat shit fast running up the court, watch Flyer Jesus jump a foot above everyone to grab a rebound, and look at Kurt's intangibles. Just beautiful and utterly useless. More importantly, put the game on with your friends and have a few drinks. In lieu of a real preview...I'm going to make sure you fellas have some fun. I present to you the Dayton Flyers drinking game:

1 Drink:

- Each time a single player is substituted.

- For every missed free throw

- Every time they show a middle aged couple enjoying the game

- Every time they do a close up of a member of the UD Band.

- UD's tournament chances are mentioned

- Everytime Paul Williams stands in the corner with his hands on his knees on offense

2 Drinks:

- Everytime two players are substituted

- UD Misses a three

- Brian Gregory is shown screaming

- A foul is called on a UD playerJessica thinks you should accept our apology.

- Someone mentions I-75

- Announcers bring up the Women's team

- Everytime Searcy shoots BG daggers for being taken out of the game.

- Lowery turns the ball over

3 Drinks:

-Three players are substituted

- BG puts his hand on a player's lower back

- Chris Wright gets a slam dunk

- Chris Wright's NBA chances are mentioned

- You get Lowery and London mixed up

FINISH YOUR BEER:

- 4 or more players are substituted

- Foxxxy or Hendrick make an appearance

- Luke Fabby attempts a two pointer

- London attempts a three pointer

- Dayton shoots with less than 5 seconds on the shot clock

Stats: "Statistics can be made to prove anything -- even the truth."

		PPG	FG%	FT%	3P%	RPG	ORPG	DRPG	APG	TPG	SPG	BPG	FPG
	MASS	71.0	40.2	66.5	30.3	40.8	15.1	25.7	12.3	14.1	5.5	4.2	20.4
	UD	69.3	41.7	66.5	33.0	39.0	11.9	26.7	14.7	14.6	6.3	3.5	19.7
	MASS Opponents	74.5	43.8	66.8	36.7	36.9	12.1	24.7	15.8	12.5	6.9	5.0	18.3
	UD Opponents	61.4	39.3	64.4	31.2	32.8	10.1	22.7	11.1	14.4	5.9	3.4	18.7

Prediction: Everyone gets drunk, everyone has some fun, but since we're all losers no one gets laid. Dayton by 9. Can't wait to see the drunk comments tonight.