Next game
Who: Dayton (15-6, 4-3 A-10) vs. Xavier (15-6, 7-1)
When: Noon Saturday
TV: ESPN2
Radio: WHIO-AM (1290), WHIO-FM (95.7)
University of Dayton players were confident they had the better team going into their first meeting with Xavier and were in disbelief after absorbing a 78-74 road loss on Jan. 16.
The Flyers physically manhandled their rivals inside, muscling their way to a 51-34 rebounding edge. And despite a boisterous pro-Xavier crowd, the outcome was still in doubt in the final minute.
The Musketeers prevailed because they were sharp from the perimeter (10-of-19 on 3-pointers) and foul line (24-of-30), and the Flyers will always look at that mid-January game as one they gave away.
“They stole one from us at home, in their house,” sophomore guard Paul Williams said. “We had it, and we let it slip.”
UD (15-6, 4-3 A-10) has gone 2-2 since then to put its NCAA tournament hopes in jeopardy. Joe Lunardi, the ESPN “bracketologist” who correctly predicted 67 of 68 at-large berths in the past two tourneys, had five Atlantic 10 teams in his field Monday, Feb. 1, but left the Flyers out.
With nine regular-season games to go, though, UD has ample opportunities to do something about that projection, beginning with a rematch with Xavier (15-6, 7-1) on Saturday at UD Arena.
“I’ll say this: I know the next nine games we’re going to be more focused than we’ve ever been,” junior forward Chris Wright said. “We’re going to do what we’ve got to do to get the job done.”
The Flyers recovered from a pair of painful one-point defeats with a 75-58 win at St. Bonaventure on Saturday, and coach Brian Gregory believes his team has elevated its play since the Xavier game.
“It’s such a fine line in this league in terms of a shot falling or a shot doesn’t fall, and you win or lose the game. Does that really define where you’re at as a team, if one shot goes in or doesn’t go in?” he said. “Unfortunately, in the record it does, but maybe it doesn’t in terms of your progression as a team.
“That’s one thing we’ve always done a good job of recognizing. I do think we’ve improved and tightened up some stuff since the last time we played Xavier.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2125 or dharris@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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