Game Notes in PDF Format
FLYERS LOOK FOR ITS SEVENTH STRAIGHT HOME VICTORY IN 2007-08
For the first time since the 2003-04 season, the University of Dayton Flyers will try to win nine in a row as UD hosts the Loyola (MD) Greyhounds on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. The game will be carried through WHIO Radio and be available over the Internet with Gametracker, streaming audio and live video from DaytonFlyers.com.
Dayton, 9-1 this season, has been perfect at home so far with a 6-0 record and has won eight straight overall coming into Saturday's game. UD's defense and bench scoring have been the difference to the Flyers' success. UD has not allowed more than 70 points to an opponent during the streak and the bench has out-scored the opponent's reserves in the last nine contests. Senior guard Brian Roberts leads the Dayton attack with 18.0 points and 4.6 assists per game.
Loyola is 5-5 overall and will be seeking its first road win of the season. Senior guard Gerald Brown ranks among the MAAC leaders in seven of the 13 statistical categories, including ranking second in scoring (21.1 ppg) and steals (2.80 spg) after leading the league in both categories last season. The Greyhounds, picked to finish second in the MAAC by the league's coaches in their preseason poll, have lost four of their last six.
SERIES STUFF
Dayton leads the all-time series 2-0 with the last matchup back on Feb. 7, 1951 when UD defeated Loyola 59-51. The Greyhounds are only the seventh program to have played UD at UD Arena, Fieldhouse and Fairgrounds Coliseum.
NON-CONFERENCE NEWS
UD's schedule features two Top 25 teams from the AP Top 25 and USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll. Pittsburgh is 9th & 11th, while Xavier is 24th in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll. Dayton received 70 votes in the latest AP Top 25 Poll and one in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll. Four other UD opponents are receiving votes.
ROBERTS AMONG CANDIDATES FOR LOWE'S SENIOR CLASS AWARD
University of Dayton senior guard Brian Roberts is one of 30 initial candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for the 2007-08 basketball season. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award honors the attributes of senior student athletes in four areas: classroom, community, character and competition. The award program is designed exclusively for college seniors who are utilizing their complete athletic eligibility, remaining committed to their university and pursuing the many rewards that a senior season can bring. Ten finalists will be selected in early February and the winner will be announced by Dick Enberg on CBS during the Final Four.
Not just a strong performer on the court, Roberts is also one of just four Dayton players to be named winner of the White-Allen MVP Award and the John L. Macbeth Memorial Scholar-Athlete Award (top grade point average). He is also the only Flyer men's basketball player to be named all-conference and academic all-conference in the same season (2006-07).
ROBERTS NAMED ESPN.COM "WEEKLY WATCH" PLAYER OF THE WEEK ON DECEMBER 10
Senior guard Brian Roberts earned national notice on Dec. 10 when ESPN college basketball analyst Andy Katz named Roberts the national player of the week in his "Weekly Watch" column on ESPN.com. Roberts scored 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting in UD's 70-65 win at Louisville. He added five rebounds, three assists and no turnovers in 37 minutes of play. He scored seven points, with five rebounds and three assists earlier in the week in UD's 68-54 win over High Point.
But it was Roberts' big game in Freedom Hall that caught Katz's eye. In "Weekly Watch," Katz wrote "Few players had as much to do with as significant a win as Brian Roberts did for Dayton. The senior guard scored 28 points in a win at Louisville. He scored 14 of the Flyers' first 19 points. There was a mid-game lull when Roberts didn't do much, but as soon as he turned it on again, the Flyers flew past Louisville."
ROBERTS NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL A-10 TEAM
Senior guard Brian Roberts was named to the Preseason First Team All-Atlantic 10 squad. Roberts was the only player listed among the Atlantic 10's top five in scoring (3rd), minutes (2nd), FT% (2nd), 3-pt. FG% (2nd) and 3-pointers per game (5th) in 2006-07. This season Roberts is 6th in the A-10 in points per game (18.0), 4th in 3-pt. FG% (.476, 30-63), 5th in assists per game (4.6) and 5th in 3-pt. FG's per game (3.0). He is the only A-10 player among the conference leaders in scoring, 3-pointers made, assists, FG% (7th, .526, 64-127), assists to turnover ratio (8th, 1.77) and minutes per game (10th, 32.90).
B-ROB B-GOOD
A two-time All-Atlantic 10 selection and UD Most Valuable Player, Roberts is just the eighth Flyer to earn MVP honors as a sophomore and junior. Last season, he led UD in scoring (18.5), assists (2.7), minutes (35.6), 3-pt. FG's per game (2.7), FT% (.899, 133-148) and 3-pt. FG% (.458, 82-179). Roberts is also the only UD player in the school's top five in career 3-pt. FG% and FT%. His .439 (223-508) from behind the arc is first at UD and his .841 FT% (276-328) is third.
THE TOLEDO RIFLE
Already having scored 1,515 career points, Brian Roberts is projected to finish in the Top Five in Flyer scoring. He has a more than solid chance to be the first UD player to lead the team in scoring three times since Jim Paxson did it in 1978-79. It just so happens that Paxson was also the last Flyer to be named an All-American. Roberts moved into the Top Twenty in UD career scoring during the Toledo win, and needs nine points to reach Ryan Perryman in 16th place.
ESPN THE MAGAZINE RECOGNIZES ROBERTS
In the 2007-08 college basketball preview, ESPN the Magazine's Dick Vitale selected Dayton's Brian Roberts as the best player that few have heard about. Roberts has scored in double figures in 35 of his last 39 games.
MR. ROBERTS = MR. EFFICIENCY
Over his career, Roberts has demonstrated a knack for two things: scoring his points in short amounts of time, and playing well on the road. He scored at least 10 points in a half 25 times in 2006-07, and has done it 58 times in his career. Over his college career, Roberts' road scoring average of 15.8 points is actually better than his home average of 14.0. Against SMU, Roberts enjoyed one of his most efficient games shooting 10-of-12 from the floor and 3-for-3 from beyond the arc en route to 24 points. In the final 64 seconds against Miami, Roberts netted 12 of his team high 20 points, and a game-winning 3-pointer in UD's 63-62 victory. At Louisville, Roberts shot 10-of-17 from the field and had no turnovers in 37 minutes of play.
THE WRIGHT STUFF
After just 10 games, freshman Chris Wright has four Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week honors and three double-doubles. He first earned the award on Nov. 11 after netting the first double-double in a Flyer freshman debut with 22 points and 13 rebounds against East Tennessee State. Wright earned the honor again on Nov. 25 behind 26 points and 12 rebounds over Toledo. Wright had a double-double in the first half against High Point and finished the contest with 16 points and 13 boards. On Dec. 16, Wright earned the Rookie of the Week honor for the fourth time in six weeks. Wright leads the team in rebounding (7.1), blocked shots (1.0) and FG% (.617, 50-81) and is second on the team in scoring (12.5) and FT% (.774, 24-31). He is first in the conference in FG%, seventh in rebounding, eighth in offensive rebounds (2.50) and tied for15th in blocks per game (10). He is the top freshman in the A-10 in scoring, FT%, FG% and rebounding.
WRIGHT PLACE, WRIGHT TIME
Chris Wright's 26 points in the Toledo win tied the second-most points by a Flyer freshman. Only Shawn Haughn scored more in his freshman year when he scored 30 against Saint Louis in 1993-94. Jim Rhoden (1977-78) and Tony Stanley (1997-98) previously also scored 26 as freshmen for UD. It was Wright's 26-point, 12-rebound effort was his second double-double in three career games. His first, 22 and 13 in the season opening win over East Tennessee State, marked the first time a Flyer freshman had a double-double in his college debut.
WRIGHT'S REPUTATION PRECEDES HIM
Chris Wright also earned a spot on the Preseason A-10 All Rookie Team. Three respected ranking services - HoopScoop, Rivals.com and Scout.com - rate UD's group of three incoming freshmen the best in the Atlantic 10. Considered by many experts to be the top incoming freshman in the A-10, Wright was ranked as high as the 18th-best prospect in the country. He averaged 19.2 points and 12.8 rebounds for Trotwood-Madison High School while earning First Team All-Ohio Division I honors.
THE COMPANY YOU KEEP
Forward Chris Wright was one of the top 20 high school basketball players in the country selected to play in the 2007 Jordan Brand All-American Classic at Madison Square Garden. Wright performed well with a 10-point, 10-rebound performance. Recent participants include NBA stars Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Amare Stoudemire, Dwight Howard and Chris Paul.
LITTLE BIG MAN
At 6-foot-6, 237 pounds, junior Charles Little might be the most inaccurately named player in the country. This season Little is fourth on the team in scoring (6.9) and tied for second in rebounding (4.6). In his first game of the 2007-08 season, Little hauled in 13 rebounds to go with seven points in the Flyers win over ETSU. His 20 points in the Toledo win almost doubled what he had in the season's first two games (11 points combined). In the victory over High Point, Little dished out a career-high five assists. He shot 4-of-5 from the field en route to a nine-point, six rebound effort over Coppin State. Against American Little had nine points, three rebounds and two assists. Over his last three games Little is shooting 8-of-14 from the floor (.571). Little finished last season second on the team in scoring (10.5), led the team in rebounding (5.2) and was named the 2007 A-10 Sixth Man of the Year.
MARVELOUS MARCUS
Marcus Johnson has quietly put together a solid sophomore campaign averaging 7.3 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. He is second on the team in minutes played (27.7) and steals (6). However, Johnson has been most effectivfe hitting clutch free throws. He nailed two in the final minute against Louisville and 4-of-4 to seal the win over American. Dayton's top freshman honor, the Thomas Luppe Memorial Award, went to Johnson last year after he averaged 6.6 points and 3.7 rebounds a game and set a UD record with the most points scored by a Flyer freshman in their first-career game with 23. Against High Point, Johnson scored 12 points and picked up four rebounds in UD's 68-54 win. In six home games this season, Johnson averages 8.8 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.
THE JACKSONVILLE JET
London Warren (a.k.a. the "Jacksonville Jet," as dubbed by the WHIO Radio team of Larry Hansgen and Bucky Bockhorn) gave energetic performances in the Flyers road swing against Miami and Holy Cross. He recorded a season-high six points and five rebounds at Miami and added five points and two steals versus Holy Cross. At Louisville, Warren snagged a career-high four steals in UD's win. In the victory against American, Warren provided another spark off the bench with five points on 2-of-2 shooting from the floor. This year Warren averages 3.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. Speaking of steals, Warren is 12th in the A-10 and has 15 steals in his last seven games.
SNAP INTO A SLIM JIM
Jimmy Binnie, along with classmate Brian Roberts, are the first Brian Gregory players to live the college basketball experience from start to finish - recruiting, verballing, signing, playing and, come spring, graduating. Binnie started 15 games and played in all 31 games for the Flyers, and averaged 4.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 18.8 minutes played. This season Binnie is averaging 5.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game while shooting 41 percent from the field. Binnie tied a career-high with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor in a win at Holy Cross. In his last five games, Binnie is averaging 6.8 points per game and shooting 50 percent (12-of-24) from the floor. Known as one of the better perimeter shooters on the team, Binnie has knocked down a three-point shot in all but one game this season.
ENTER SANDMAN
Andres Sandoval increased his scoring average over the previous five games coming up big off the bench for UD. Sandoval scored six points in 10 minutes of action against American. At Holy Cross he scored five points after hitting a 3-pointer and converting two free throws in UD's win. In the High Point win, Sandoval scored eight points. He tallied a first half three pointer in a win over Louisville. After tallying just six points in his first three games, Sandoval scored 31 in his next seven. Through 10 games off the bench this year, Sandoval has the best assist to turnover ratio on the team at 2.2. In his last five contests, Sandoval has hit 38 percent of his 3-pt attempts.
BEING "KURT" TO THE OPPOSITION
Like a fine wine, sophomore Kurt Huelsman continues to get better with age. He posted a career-best 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field in the Miami win, came up big again with a team-high seven rebounds and five points in the victory at Louisville and added another career-high with 11 boards over American. After being held scoreless in his first three games, Huelsman has 44 points in his last seven contests, shooting 48 percent (15-of-31) during that span and scored in double figures in two games. The 6-10 big man was the only player to start every game last year for the Flyers and has started all 10 games this season. Huelsman averaged 3.8 points and 3.5 rebounds, and was second on the team in blocked shots (0.6) last season. He earned UD's Best Defender Award for 2006-07 and tied the UD freshman record for blocked shots in a game (and the most in a first game as a Flyer) when he swatted four in the Austin Peay win.
HEY MICKEY
Redshirt Sophomore Mickey Perry enjoyed a memorable UD debut when he knocked down a three-pointer, grabbed two rebounds and recorded a block in the Flyers win against Coppin State.
ON THE GO WITH THIAGO
After leading all junior college players in blocked shots per game last season, Thiago Cordeiro has started to get comfortable at UD. The 6-9 big man tallied nine points and nine rebounds at George Mason, a season-high three blocks over Coppin State and scored a season-high 11 points against American. This year Cordeiro is second on the team in FG% at .560 and in his last three games, Cordeiro is shooting 8-of-12 from the field (66%).
EYE 75 ON THE SCOREBOARD
The Flyers are 22-3 under head coach Brian Gregory when they score at least 75 points.
REWARDING RESERVES
The Flyers' reserves have stepped up this season out-scoring the opponent's bench in its last nine games. Led by 6.9 points per game from junior Charles Little, UD's bench this season holds a 201-124 edge in scoring this season.
BALANCING ACT
The Flyers have nine players who are averaging three points or more this season. Against Louisville, all nine players who saw the court scored at least a field goal in UD's upset win. All 11 scholarship players who played in the two-point win at Holy Cross scored at least two points, and all 10 that saw action against High Point grabbed at least two rebounds. In fact, every scholarship player who played has scored in four of the last seven games.
DIAL LONG DISTANCE
UD is first in the A-10 in 3-pt shooting knocking down 55-of-139 (.396) from beyond the arc. Last year through 10 games Dayton converted 58-of-171 3-pt attempts (.339).
OUT OF THE BLOCKS, TO THE FINISH LINE
Dayton has started 9-1 for the second consecutive year. UD's 10-1 start last season matched its best start to a season since the Flyers won their first 14 games in 1955-56. UD's 10-3 non-conference record marked just the third time in school history the Flyers have reached 10 wins before January 1.
DOING IT WITH DEFENSE
This season the Flyers rank second in the A-10 in scoring defense, allowing 59.2 points per game and having held five of their last seven opponents below 60 points.
DECEMBER TO REMEMBER
Head Coach Brian Gregory has never had a losing month of December going 26-11 (.703) in five seasons. Dayton is 5-0 this month and last year the Flyers went 5-2 in December.
MAAC ATTACK
The Flyers are 39-11 all time against Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opponents. However, UD hasn't played a MAAC opponent since beating Siena 87-67 on Jan. 2, 2001.
RAISING ITS LEVEL
The Atlantic 10 is ranked 7th out of 31 conferences thru games of Dec. 19 by collegerpi.com. The A-10 is the only league to have four teams ranked in the top 20 overall as Xavier comes in at No. 10, followed by Massachusetts (15th), Rhode Island (16th) and Dayton (19th).
UD SIGNS TOP RECRUITING CLASS OF BENSON, FABRIZUS, JOHNSON AND WILLIAMS
Coach Brian Gregory and his staff landed their fifth strong recruiting class at UD, as the Flyers received National Letters of Intent Nov. 14 from their 2008 incoming freshman class. The newest official members of the Flyer family are 6-10 forward/center Josh Benson of Dayton Dunbar High School, 6-9 forward Luke Fabrizius of John Hersey High School (Arlington Heights, IL), 6-5 guard/forward Chris Johnson of Columbus (OH) Brookhaven High School and 6-3 guard Paul Williams of Detroit Renaissance High School. The 2007-08 signing class is ranked as high as 37th in the country (HoopScoopOnline.com) and features three Street & Smith's High School All-Americans.
GAME #10 - DAYTON GETS BY AMERICAN 63-56 TO WIN ITS EIGHTH STRAIGHT
The Dayton Flyers bench, led by Thiago Cordeiro's career-high 11 points, came through in a grind-it-out 63-56 win on Wednesday over the American Eagles. Senior Brian Roberts led UD with 12 points and sophomore Kurt Huelsman pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds, propelling the Flyers to 39-24 advantage on boards.
UD A NATIONAL LEADER IN LATEST GSR REPORT
The University of Dayton Division of Athletics maintained its position as one of the top academic achievers in the NCAA in the latest breakdown of the Graduation Success Rate data released earlier this month. UD has an institutional GSR of 95 percent which ranks first among the Atlantic 10 Conference and 16th overall in the nation. The men's basketball team had the second highest GSR in the Atlantic 10 Conference at 82 percent. Success in the classroom is nothing new for UD student-athletes. The Flyers combined cumulative grade point average is above a 3.0. In addition, UD has had 27 Academic All-Americans in the last six years. Also, at least one Dayton student-athlete has been named an Academic All-American for 22 straight years.
TOURNEY TOWN
The NCAA Division I Tournament will make its start at UD Arena this season for the seventh year in a row. The NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee has announced that the University of Dayton Arena will host the NCAA Opening Round Game in 2008. UD has hosted the game since its inception in its current form in 2002. When the 2008 NCAA Tournament is over, UD Arena will have been an NCAA site in 22 of the last 39 years and will have hosted 77 NCAA Tournament games. That will make UD Arena the third-most prolific NCAA Tournament venue behind Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City (83) and the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City (81). The Arena will be a First and Second Round site for the 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship, and a Regional site for the 2010 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Flyers' 15-2 record at home last season matched the fourth-best efforts in UD Arena history in home court wins in a season and home court winning percentage in a season (.882). Dayton won its first 14 home games during the 2006-07 season, the second-best streak in UD Arena history (behind only the 15 from December 17, 1984 to March 3, 1985). Dayton is 6-0 at home this season.
FLYER FAITHFUL
For years, UD has claimed it has had the best fans in the nation. In 2001, The Sporting News conducted an unscientific poll of college basketball coaches, media and SIDs. In the January 8, 2001 issue of the magazine, UD's fans were tabbed as college basketball's best. And they prove it to everyone the Flyers play.
UD Arena has 78 sellouts in its 38-year history. UD's last 125 regular season home games have had attendance of at least 11,000 fans. In the last 14 years, 99% of UD's home games have drawn at least 10,000 (363 of 365), including the last 161 regular season games. Also the University of Dayton finished in the Top 30 in men's basketball attendance for the tenth straight season in 2006-07, according to a report by the NCAA. The Flyers finished 28th in the NCAA in attendance with an average of 12,266 fans a game. Since UD Arena opened in 1969, Dayton has been in the NCAA`s top 35 in attendance every season. The Flyers led the Atlantic 10 in attendance for the 11th straight season. UD averaged more than 2,300 fans a game better than any other team in the conference.
DID YOU KNOW?
UD won more games than any other school in both the 1950s and `60s. UD won 435 games between 1950 and 1969 and ranks among the top teams of the 1950s and 1960s in Division I history. The Flyers' .763 (228-71) winning percentage in the 1950s ranks fifth in the decade. Their .729 (207-77) winning percentage ranks eighth in the 1960s.
