Missouri Valley Conference Basketball

NIT First Round Recap - Illinois State vs Dayton

(3) Dayton 63, (6) Illinois State 42

The Dayton Flyers crashed and burned at the end of their regular season. In the opening round of the NIT, this underachieving basketball team showed that it's intent on making things right in the postseason.

Dayton - a conqueror of Georgia Tech and a team that also zapped Xavier this season - looked to be in very good position for an NCAA Tournament berth on Feb. 20. Coach Brian Gregory's group stood at 7-4 in a competitive Atlantic 10 Conference that was hoping to get four or five teams into the Big Dance. However, the Flyers - along with league foes Rhode Island and Charlotte - simply plummeted down the stretch. All three of those A-10 assemblages came apart at the seams in late February and early March, with Dayton dropping four of its last five regular-season games and then losing in the quarterfinals of the A-10 Tournament in Atlantic City, N.J. By losing five of seven games to conclude the A-10 slate, Dayton finished 8-8 in the season standings and went 9-9 in league games when one includes the conference tournament. That kind of a resume spelled "N-I-T."

Therefore, as the third-seeded Flyers hosted sixth-seeded Illinois State one night after the city of Dayton threw a big party for the NCAA Tournament's annual Play-In Game, the UD roster had to decide what it wanted to do with its postseason.

Evidently, anger overcame indifference, as a passionate ballclub chose to fight onward and not check out of the NIT hotel.

Dayton threw down some big-league defense against Coach Tim Jankovich's Redbirds. The Flyers hounded ISU in every respect, limiting the members of the Missouri Valley Conference to just 33-percent shooting from the field (17 of 51) and 25-percent 3-point shooting (5 of 20). On the few occasions Illinois State managed to get to the foul line, the Redbirds couldn't even get the job done then, making only three shots in 10 tries.

> For Missouri Valley Conference apparel & merchandise check online through DFN Sports sites!

What was somewhat remarkable, given ISU's utter lack of shooting ability, is that Dayton led by a mere five points - at 42-37 - with 10:27 remaining in regulation. However, unlike the team that folded down the stretch and squandered leads during the regular season, this new-look Dayton lineup found a furious finishing kick when crunch time came calling. Over the next seven minutes and 44 seconds, Dayton produced a 19-1 run by shutting out ISU from the field. By the time the Redbirds finally hit another shot - on a three by Osiris Eldridge - the Flyers had accumulated a 61-41 cushion with just 2:43 left. That was the ballgame.

Now, with this win tucked safely in its pocket, Dayton might want to consider bottling up the intensity it displayed on Wednesday night and preserving it for the next round.

WHAT'S NEXT

Speaking of the next round, that will come on Monday, March 22. On that night, the Flyers - with their No. 3 seed - will have to go on the road to play a second-seeded opponent in their particular NIT subregional. However, Dayton won't have to travel very far. The NIT Selection Committee kept Dayton close to home in round two, as the Flyers will visit the Cincinnati Bearcats for a spot in the quarterfinals. Both of these teams are very athletic and muscular, but have a reputation for playing distracted and unintelligent basketball. The team that plays harder defense for a more sustained period of time on the shot clock will likely win. Shot selection will also play a huge role in deciding the outcome.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer