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Preview: UD vs. Illinois State in NIT first round

2010 NIT men's basketball tournament bracket PDF

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By Doug Harris, Staff Writer Updated 12:06 AM Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Dayton (20-12) vs. Illinois State (22-10)

When: 7 p.m. at UD Arena

TV: None

Radio: WHIO-AM (1290) and WHIO-FM (95.7)

Series: UD leads 3-1

Probable starters

Dayton
Player	Year	Pos.	Height	PPG
Chris Wright	Jr.	F	6-8	14.2
Kurt Huelsman	Sr.	C	6-10	4.5
Marcus Johnson	Sr.	G	6-3	8.6
Rob Lowery	Sr.	G	6-3	7.8
London Warren	Sr.	G	6-0	4.6
Illinois State
Jack Carmichael	Fr.	F	6-9	6.9
Dinma Odiakosa	Sr.	F	6-8	12.9
Osiris Eldridge	Sr.	G	6-3	15.7
Alex Rubin	Jr.	G	6-1	5.0
Lloyd Phillips	Sr.	G	5-10	10.3

About the Flyers

UD has made the second-most trips to the NIT with 22, trailing only the 28 appearances by St. John’s. The Flyers have a 35-20 record in the event, with championships in 1968 and ’62 and five runner-up finishes. They’re 9-4 in the NIT at UD Arena. ... Wright has tied the UD single-season blocks record set by Sean Finn in 2001-02 with 46 rejections. Wright is fourth on the career list, 25 behind Finn’s mark of 139. ... The Flyers went 4-6 against NCAA tourney teams. They’ve lost six of their last nine games and are 0-9 in games decided by five points or fewer since Jan. 1 ... They average more turnovers (14.6) than their opponents (14.3). ... Foul shooting has been an issue, but UD actually has a better percentage than its foes (66.8 to 65.9).

About the Redbirds

The Redbirds finished in third place with an 11-7 record in the Missouri Valley Conference, which sent six of its 10 teams into postseason play. ... Odiakosa and Eldridge were first-team all-league picks and also made the all-defensive team. Odiakosa was the league’s defensive MVP. Carmichael made the all-newcomer team. ... The Redbirds beat Creighton twice and also notched a win over Saint Bonaventure. ... They were knocked out of the league tournament in the second round by Wichita State. ... The Redbirds are making their third straight appearance in the NIT.

Fan frustration?

Ticket sales have been sluggish. By midday Tuesday, UD had sold about 3,500 tickets, and Gary McCans, UD’s director of premium seating, thought the crowd would end up being similar to the one for the A-10 first-round game, which was 6,930. Fans no doubt have had trouble embracing the NIT after the high expectations of this season, and maybe the allure of making college basketball’s second-tier tourney has worn off. The last three NIT home games at UD have drawn 7,012, 7,130 and 7,760.

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