The Cheat Sheet

The Cheat Sheet

The Cheat Sheet

The Cheat Sheet

A Perfect December

The Flyers took care of an over matched BoEff you, Terriers!ston University squad 74-60 to close out December 7-0. The Terriers played like a team capable of losing to an Ivy League team (as they did to Harvard earlier this year). The vaunted Flyer D is really starting to vaunt, holding a less than impressive BU offense to  39% from the field and 33% from the arc. And not to beat a dead horse, but all that gnashing of teeth early in the season was clearly due to the superior competition. When the opposition isn't of BCS quality the D is more than capable of imposing their will.

A little more than a month ago coming off a lackadaisical showing against Towson, most Flyer fans were angst-ridden, wondering where last year's team had went. Was Charles Little really the linchpin?  Were Stevie Thomas's spastic ways the comedic grounding the team needed?  Did Wabs know what he was doing?  (I clearly never questioned that last one.  I have more faith in Wabs than I do in the sun rising tomorrow.)

After gutting the weak part of the OOC schedule, the Flyers head to Albuquerque with the chance to earn a signature win that would vault us into the Top 25. As it stands, the Flyers will have played four Top 25 teams after their game against the Lobos, and with the A-10 looking strong it's safe to put to bed any remaining worries about SOS. A split against Top 25 teams would be huge for the Flyers, combined with a respectable A-10 season the Flyers could cruise into the tourney. But we know that won't be the case. The A-10 will be a momentous struggle and we'll have to claw for each road victory.  And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Hobblin' No More. Welcome back, Rob Lowery. I know he'd shown flashes of the Rob of old in the previous five games, but he erupted for a phenomenally efficient 23 last night and paced the Flyers. Though, it's early to derive much from Rob's statistics, he's up across the board. And if we have even a marginally improved Rob Lowery, Dayton goes from a team receiving votes to a bona fide Top 25 team. At worst he's a threat to be Barry Gibb to Wright and CJ's Maurice and Robin, at best he carries the team as he did last night and last season against Marquette. 

Rob is incredibly valuable for this ability to shoulder the burden. For as great of a player as CJ is at this juncture of his career, his game is more complimentary in style, drilling open kick-outs and feasting on the offensive glass. And for those games when Wright can't get the engines ignited, Lowery is the one true threat on this team that opposing defenses must key on. I'd guess he's worth a Disco, baby. Disco.minimum of 3 wins this season where we wouldn't have even been in the game if it had not been for the senior from Forestville, Maryland.

Look Out, Big Dog!  Other than Rob's sterling game, the stat that stuck out to me most was the minute distribution between Big Dog Searcy and Josh Benson, 18 to 17 respectively. Now, let's not dispute that they were the same quality of minutes, as Benson is still clearly the option behind Searcy.  But it's time to note the creeping emergence of Josh Benson. Early in the season, he was clearly over matched and intimidated by some talented big men, but the recent games against undersized teams has really allowed him to stretch his legs out and get comfortable. Over the last three games, against admittedly underwhelming competition, he's averaged 21 minutes, 7 points, and almost 6 rebounds. Certainly nothing earth-shattering,  but a welcome development nonetheless. What makes it most exciting though is the type of player Benson happens to be. Outside of Wright, nobody on the team has more basketball ability. His desire to work and confidence in his game are the two keys to him dominating the A-10, and I don't hesitate to use the word dominate because he is that physically gifted. The development of Josh Benson will be one of the most interesting sub plots of the season as he could become the rarest of the college breed, a dominant mid-major big man.

Wake Up, Gents.  We won't belabor the point, but our 2-guard rotation last night produced less than stellar stats. 0-8 from the field with 5 of those shots coming from long range between the pair. What makes Messieurs Johnson and Williams' early season slumping so frustrating is that we've seen what they're capable of in the past. Particularly, MJ, a Preseason A10 Second Team Selection, has suffered a plethora of injuries which have led to a loss in confidence. Here's hoping a big game shakes both out of their slumps, because as well as we've played of late the additional punch these two could provide really would prove beneficial.

Paul Willie's Struggles Continue

True Shooting Percentage: the formula is PTS / (2 * (FGA + 0.44 * FTA)). True shooting percentage is a measure of shooting efficiency that takes into account field goals, 3-point field goals, and free throws

Around the corner awaits the huge game at the Pit. The one we've had circled on our calendar for weeks. As mentioned, splitting games against Georgia Tech, Villanova, Kansas State, and New Mexico would really open the selection committee's eyes come Selection Sunday. Perhaps it's the last of the tremors from the tequila, but I've got a gut feeling the Flyers will make us proud in Albuquerque. The team looks confident and prepared. Here's hoping my gut proves prophetic and not just booze sick.

		S	MIN	PTS	FGM	FGA	FG%	FTM	FTA	FT%	3PM	3PA	3P%	OR	DR	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF
	C. Lowe	*	37	17	5	18	27	3	3	100	4	10	40	1	6	7	6	0	1	2	1
	J. Holland	*	35	9	3	12	25	3	5	60	0	8	0	0	4	4	2	1	1	2	3
	J. O`Brien	*	31	9	4	10	40	0	0	0	1	3	33	2	4	6	0	0	0	3	3
	T. Morris	*	31	7	3	6	50	0	0	0	1	4	25	0	1	1	6	0	0	3	4
	J. Pelage	*	17	2	1	2	50	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	1	2
	C. Strong		30	13	4	4	100	2	2	100	3	3	100	0	2	2	0	1	0	1	0
	V. Sirutis		17	3	1	2	50	0	0	0	1	2	50	1	1	2	2	0	0	2	4
	S. Smith		2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
		S	MIN	PTS	FGM	FGA	FG%	FTM	FTA	FT%	3PM	3PA	3P%	OR	DR	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF
	C. Wright	*	26	19	8	10	80	3	4	75	0	1	0	2	6	8	1	0	0	2	2
	P. Williams	*	25	2	0	4	0	2	2	100	0	3	0	0	2	2	1	0	0	1	0
	L. Warren	*	25	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	3	9	2	0	1	2
	M. Perry	*	19	5	2	8	25	0	1	0	1	7	14	0	2	2	2	0	0	1	1
	K. Huelsman	*	17	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	3	5	0	1	0	3	1
	R. Lowery		23	23	8	10	80	0	0	0	7	9	77	0	3	3	4	1	0	2	1
	D. Searcy		18	6	3	4	75	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	0	0	1	1	2
	J. Benson		17	7	2	5	40	3	3	100	0	0	0	0	2	2	2	0	0	2	1
	C. Johnson		16	12	4	4	100	3	3	100	1	1	100	2	2	4	0	0	0	2	2
	M. Johnson		14	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	3