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FLYERS HOST GEORGE WASHINGTON IN THE ATLANTIC 10 FIRST ROUND
The No. 7-seed University of Dayton Flyers host the No. 10 seed George Washington Colonials in the first round of the 2010 Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Championship. The game will be carried through WHIO Radio and be available over the Internet with live stats and streaming audio and video from DaytonFlyers.com.
The Flyers, 19-11 overall and 8-8 in the Atlantic 10, have stumbled down the stretch, losing four of their last five. Dayton ranks in the Top 20 in the nation and first in the Atlantic 10 in rebounding margin (plus-6.6) and ranked in the Top 35 in the NCAA in scoring defense (61.9 points per game).
Chris Wright leads the Flyer attack averaging 14.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. UD showcases great balance on the offensive end with 11 players averaging 2.8 points or more per game.
ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON
George Washington has won four of its last seven and enters the game with a 16-13 overall record. GW cinched a spot in the A-10 Tournament after a two-year hiatus. GW has 12 players averaging double-figure minutes. The Colonials also rank third in the A-10 in offensive rebounding at 13.9 per game. Leading the Colonial attack is senior Damian Hollis averaging 13.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.
FLYERS IN THE ATLANTIC 10 TOURNAMENT
This is UD’s 15th season in the Atlantic 10 and in the A-10 Championship. The Flyers have an overall 15-13 record in the tournament, and are 7-3 in the first round. Dayton has won the championship once (2003), placed second once (2004), and tied for third three times (2000, 2002 and 2009).
SERIES STUFF
George Washington leads the all-time series 14-11. The Flyers have won three of the last four including a 66-51 decision on Jan. 20. In Atlantic 10 Tournament play, GW won the only meeting 100-90 back on March 4, 1999.
DAYTON MEN’S BASKETBALL ANNOUNCES TEAM AWARDS
University of Dayton junior
Chris Wright was named the White-Allen Most Valuable Player on March 7 at UD’s men’s basketball banquet. This is the second consecutive year Wright earned the team’s MVP award. Other award winners included:
WHITE-ALLEN MOST VALUABLE PLAYER:
Chris Wright
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
London Warren and
Kurt Huelsman
CHRIS DANIELS MEMORIAL MOST IMPROVED AWARD:
Chris Johnson
UHL FAMILY ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP:
Devin Searcy
SCHOEN MEMORIAL FREE THROW TROPHY:
Chris Johnson
JOHN L. MACBETH SCHOLAR-ATHLETE:
Dan Fox
DR. GEORGE RAU SPIRIT AWARD:
Marcus Johnson
“SHORTY” SHARPENTER TOP REBOUNDER TROPHY:
Chris Wright
TAKE FIVE
Dayton has played its best basketball this season in the final five minutes of regulation, out-scoring its opponents 347-259. The Flyers are shooting 101-of-225 (.449) from the floor, 36-of-99 (.364) from beyond the arc, and 109-of-153 at the free throw line (.705). But defensively, UD is limiting opponents to 65-of-186 shooting (.349), 18-of-71 from three (.254) and have forced 56 turnovers in that span.
WRIGHT EARNS FIRST TEAM ALL-ATLANTIC 10 SELECTION
Junior forward
Chris Wright earned a First Team All-Atlantic 10 selection. A preseason nominee for both the Wooden and Naismith awards, Wright leads Dayton in scoring (14.3 ppg), rebounding (7.3 rpg), blocks (41), minutes per game (28.3) and dunks (a school-record 59), while ranking third in field goal percentage (.526, 161-306). He also ranks third in the A-10 in field goal percentage, eighth in rebounding, 10th in blocks and 13th in scoring. Wright stepped up his level of play against A-10 opponents averaging 14.6 points, 7.7 boards and 1.9 blocks per game. Wright is the fifth player in UD history to earn a First Team selection and the first underclassman.
THE PRICE IS WRIGHT
In the Duquesne game,
Chris Wright became the 42nd player in Flyer history to join the 1,000 career point club. With 1,050 career points, Wright ranks 38th on the all-time list. Monty Scott is next with 1,054 points.
THE HIT LIST
Chris Wright recorded a career-high 30 points and added nine rebounds in the victory over Charlotte. It has been one of his many memorable performances this season. He scored 28 points on 12-of-20 shooting at Saint Joseph’s. Wright scored 15 points against No. 5/6 Villanova. He recorded a double-double of 15 points and 10 boards versus Kansas State. Against Towson, Wright scored 20 points and grabbed nine boards. Against Lehigh he tallied a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards. Wright led UD with 16 points and 12 rebounds over Old Dominion. His 19 points in the Boston University win came on 8-of-10 shooting. He had his 10th career double-double with 16 and 11 in the Duquesne win. He picked up 14 points and 12 boards versus George Washington. Wright earned the Black-Mac MVP award after scoring 17 points and snagging nine rebounds in the home Xavier contest. Wright scored 16 points at Saint Louis. Wright tallied 15 points on 7-of-7 shooting from the field at Duquesne. Wright tallied a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds versus No. 20/18 Temple. He added 14 points versus UMass. Wright recorded 15 points and eight rebounds versus Saint Louis.
UD’S WRIGHT NAMED TO NAISMITH TROPHY PRESEASON WATCH LIST
University of Dayton forward
Chris Wright was named to the 2009-2010 Preseason Naismith Trophy watch list. The Naismith Trophy is voted on by coaches, administrators and journalists from around the country and is awarded to the nation’s top player.
WRIGHT NAMED TO WOODEN AWARD PRESEASON TOP 50 LIST
UD’s
Chris Wright was one of the top college basketball players named to the John Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 list.
BEST AGAINST THE BCS
With a 43-and-a half inch vertical leap,
Chris Wright saves his best efforts for the best competition. Four of his 12 career double-doubles have come against BCS schools, including 13 points and 13 rebounds last November against No. 15 Marquette and a then career-high 27 points and 10 rebounds in the Flyer win over West Virginia in the First Round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament. He tallied 15 points and 10 boards against Kansas State in the 2009 Puerto Rico Tip-Off. Against No. 20/18 Temple, Wright had 12 points and 13 boards.
CAMP CONFIDENTIAL
Chris Wright has achieved numerous accolades in his first three years at UD. However, the Trotwood native is on a never-ending quest to improve. He made several trips around the nation for individual training and to play against other top collegians as a counselor at summer camps. Wright worked at LeBron James’ camp in San Diego and in Cleveland matching up against the superstar in nightly pickup games. Wright also participated in the Vince Carter Skills Academy in Orlando.
DAYTON’S WRIGHT NAMED ATLANTIC 10 CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK
UD’s
Chris Wright was named Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Week after his 25-point performance, including 18 in the second half, to lead the Flyers to a 90-80 win over Creighton in the season opener.
ON THE ATTACK
Chris Wright’s aggressive approach on offense often puts him on the line. Wright has 146 attempted free throws while
London Warren is next with 76. Wright also leads the team in free throws converted (101) and at .692 percent is one of four Flyers shooting 69 percent or better from the line.
THE WRIGHT STUFF
A charismatic player whose work ethic matches his athleticism, it took
Chris Wright just eight minutes to become one of the top players in the A-10 Conference. That’s all the league action he saw as a freshman before fracturing his ankle in the A-10 opener. Yet he was named to the A-10 All-Rookie Team in 2007-08, and to the Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team in 2008-09.
WRIGHT TO KNOW
The Dayton Flyers are 59-20 overall, 42-2 at home and 6-5 against ranked opponents with
Chris Wright in the lineup during his UD career. In fact, he is 62-2 at home over his last four-and-a-half years of organized basketball in high school and college.
NABC FIRST TEAM ALL-DISTRICT SELECTION
Chris Wright was named First Team All-District by the National Association of Basketball Coaches on March 5, 2009. Wright was the 11th player in UD history and the first Flyer sophomore to be named First Team NABC All-District. Previous first-team selections were Brian Roberts (2008), Tony Stanley (2001), Roosevelt Chapman (1984), Jim Paxson (1979), Don May (1967 & 1968), Henry Finkel (1966), Bill Uhl (1955), Jack Sallee (1954 & 1955), John Horan (1955) and Don Meineke (1952).
THAT FIGURES
Chris Wright has scored in double figures in 35 of his last 41 contests, including 14 of his last 16, and seven straight. He leads UD this season with 25 games scoring in double figures.
BETTER MAKE THE WRIGHT DECISION
Chris Wright is not just climbing UD’s charts offensively, but defensively as well. Wright has 99 career blocks, ranking him fourth on the Flyer all-time list. Next is Erv Giddings with 116. His career average of 1.2 blocks per game would also rank first on Dayton’s all-time list. Wright needs five blocks to match UD’s single-season record of 46 held by Sean Finn.
DUNK TANK
With his four jams against UMass,
Chris Wright eclipsed his own single-season record for dunks. Last year Wright had 54 dunks. This season through 30 games Wright has 59 dunks. After just 80 games in a Flyer uniform,
Chris Wright is Dayton’s all-time dunk leader with 128 career dunks, breaking
Charles Little’s career record of 102.
MARVELOUS MARCUS
Senior
Marcus Johnson has played through injuries this season, first injuring his wrist while being fouled on a dunk against Villanova (a play that made SportsCenter’s Top Ten) and then suffering a sprained left ankle in the Appalachian State win. In conference play, Johnson has been solid averaging 8.8 points and shooting .469 percent from the floor. Johnson opened the year with 13 points against Creighton. Johnson tallied a 14-point performance versus Kansas State. Johnson scored 12 points and dished out five assists against Towson. Johnson scored 12 points against Old Dominion and 11 versus Duquesne. He scored a season-high 17 points at Xavier and added 13 points and six rebounds versus George Washington. Johnson tallied 11 points and eight boards at St. Bonaventure. Johnson added 13 points and five boards against Charlotte. He recorded 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and a SportsCenter Top Ten play versus La Salle. Johnson shot 5-of-7 from the field en route to 11 points versus UMass. He recorded 10 points at Richmond.
JOHNSON NABS PRESEASON ALL-ATLANTIC 10 SECOND TEAM SELECTION
Earlier this year, senior
Marcus Johnson earned a spot on the preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team. Last season Johnson was named to the Honorable Mention team and was named the co-winner of the White Allen MVP award.
MORE ON MJ
Marcus Johnson has moved up the charts in UD basketball history, ranking 30th on the all-time scoring list at 1,184 career points. Johnson needs seven points to reach Damon Goodwin for 29th. MJ joined the 1,000 point club at Miami.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Marcus Johnson, a 6-3 guard from Cleveland, has scored in double figures 56 times in his 128-game career. Johnson reached double figures 26 times last season, which led the team. This season Johnson has scored in double figures 13 times and in nine of his last 16 games. The Flyers are 10-3 this season when he scores in double-figures and 48-8 over his career.
BEING `KURT’ TO THE OPPOSITION
“The Professional”
Kurt Huelsman continues to serve as a leader on both ends of the floor. On Senior Night, Huelsman scored a season-high 13 points versus Saint Louis. Huelsman had three blocks and five boards against No. 21/19 Georgia Tech. Against Rhode Island, Huelsman had a season high in points (10) and added nine rebounds. Huelsman came back to record nine points and seven boards at St. Bonaventure. Huelsman then added 10 points on a career-best six free throws and six boards at Duquesne. Huelsman snagged seven rebounds at No. 20/18 Temple. He added seven points and 10 rebounds at Richmond. He ranks fifth on the team in FG% (.490 47-96) and third in rebounding (4.2). He ranks ninth on UD’s all-time blocked shots list with 67. Keith Waleskowski is next with 70.
THE IRON MAN
Kurt Huelsman and
London Warren set the school record for consecutive games played on Feb. 21 when the Flyers played Duquesne. Earlier this year, Huelsman took sole possession of the UD record for consecutive career starts previously held by Mark Ashman’s 119. Huelsman’s 130 consecutive starts is the most in the Atlantic 10. Huelsman and Warren’s 130 games played are second behind Nate Green who holds the Dayton all-time record for games played with 133.
LONG-LASTING FRESHNESS
Kurt Huelsman has started every one of his 130 career games at UD. In less than four seasons, UD has won 88 with Huelsman in the starting lineup. Clemson’s Trevor Booker and Oakland’s Johnathan Jones have started every game of their college career and more than Huelsman. Through March 7, Texas’ Damion James is the active career leader with 137. Tulsa’s Ben Uzoh is next with 136. Villanova’s Scottie Reynolds is next with 134, followed by Jones and Booker (132) and Huelsman (130).
HUELSMAN EXCELS IN THE CLASSROOM
Dayton’s
Kurt Huelsman was named to the 2010 Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team. Huelsman is a two-time team captain, UD Best Defender Award recipient and Macbeth Scholar-Athlete Award winner. Earlier this year Huelsman was named a First Team University Division ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV earlier this year. A senior from St. Henry, Ohio, Huelsman is an Operations Management major. He is also a three-year member of Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
LONDON WARREN NAMED TO THE 2010 ATLANTIC 10 ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
For the second consecutive year,
London Warren earned a spot on the Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team. Warren is on pace to be the first player in Dayton history to lead the Flyers in steals all four seasons of his college career. He leads the team with 36 steals this season.
DAYTON’S WARREN A CANDIDATE FOR 2010 COUSY AWARD
University of Dayton senior guard
London Warren was selected as one of 73 candidates for the 2010 Bob Cousy Award, an honor that goes annually to the top point guard in college basketball. Warren has quarterbacked the Flyers to a 19-11 record and leads the team in assists (4.2). Warren ranks fourth in the Atlantic 10 in assists per game and seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.9). In his last 10 games, Warren is shooting .567 (17-30) from the field.
LONDON CALLING
Known as the “Jacksonville Jet,”
London Warren, along with
Kurt Huelsman, hold the Flyer record for consecutive games played (130). Warren was named to the 2009 Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team. He dished out eight assists and hauled in five boards against Creighton. He added five points, four assists and three rebounds against No. 21/19 Georgia Tech. He recorded five rebounds and three assists against Kansas State. Warren recorded five rebounds and four assists versus Old Dominion. In the BU win, he had nine assists and two steals. Against Ball State, Warren had seven assists and one turnover. Warren scored seven points and dished out six assists versus GW. At Saint Joseph’s, Warren recorded six points, nine rebounds and four assists. Against Rhode Island, Warren had a season-high 12 points (5-7 FG) and a career-high five steals. At St. Bonaventure, he scored 11 points and he added seven points versus Xavier. In the La Salle win, Warren had six assists with zero turnovers. He added another six assists at Duquesne and five rebounds at No. 20/18 Temple. Warren tallied six points, eight rebounds and eight assists without a turnover against UMass. He scored eight points versus Saint Louis.
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
Named to the 2009 preseason Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team,
London Warren’s defense provides a huge spark for the Flyers. Last season, Warren had at least one steal in 29 out of 34 games. Warren led UD in steals (55) and assists (145).Warren has 165 steals in his Flyer career, good for fifth all-time in UD history. Derrick Dukes is next with 166 and Jim Paxson has 168.
THE JACKSONVILLE JET
Last season,
London Warren’s 2.33 assist-to-turnover ratio was tied for fifth-best in the program’s history. Speaking of program history, Warren has 423 career assists, putting him ninth on the Dayton’s all-time list. Larry Schellenberg is next at 465 assists.
RL BACK FROM THE DL
Ten months after surgery to repair a torn patellar tendon in his right knee,
Rob Lowery returned by playing eight minutes, scoring eight points on 3-for-3 shooting from the floor against Lehigh. Less than a month later, he scored a career-high 23 points (8-10 FG, 7-9 three-pointers) in the win over Boston University. Lowery scored 16 points versus Xavier and dished out five assists. At Xavier, Lowery had 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Lowery swiped a career-best five steals at Saint Joseph’s. He scored seven points at No. 20/18 Temple. Lowery added 13 points and five assists versus UMass. He scored nine points at Richmond. He had 11 points and four assists versus Saint Louis. Dayton is 37-12 all-time with Lowery in the lineup. Lowery ranks second on the team and 10th in the A-10 in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.7), assists (3.6 apg) and is fourth in scoring (7.4 ppg.).
HEY MICKEY
In conference play,
Mickey Perry is averaging 5.4 points and is shooting .400 from the field. Perry matched his career-high of 15 points three times this season (Presbyterian, Appalachian State and UMass). Earlier in the year, Perry had a 10-point effort against No. 5/6 Villanova. He dished out a career-best six assists at Miami. Perry scored 11 against George Washington and seven versus Xavier on 3-of-4 shooting from the field. Perry tallied 15 points, sinking five three-pointers, versus UMass.
DIAL IN WITH DEVIN
Junior forward
Devin Searcy has been deadly from the field this season for UD. He leads the team in field goal percentage, converting 49-of-87 (.563) from the floor. At Saint Louis, Searcy scored a career-high 16 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the floor and added five rebounds. Against Lehigh, Searcy shot 5-for-5 from the floor and finished with 13 points. He started off this season shooting 3-of-3 from the field in the win over Creighton. Searcy chipped in with six points and three rebounds at George Mason. Searcy tallied nine points and six rebounds at St. Bonaventure. He hauled in a career-high eight rebounds in the home game against Xavier. Searcy added 10 points and six rebounds versus UMass. Searcy is averaging 5.6 points and 4.7 rebounds in his last 10 contests.
JOHNSON NAMED THE 2010 ATLANTIC 10 CHRIS DANIELS MOST IMPROVED PLAYER
Chris Johnson earned the 2010 Atlantic 10 Chris Daniels Most Improved Player award. Johnson leads the team in FT% (.853, 56-68) and is second in scoring (11.8), rebounding (7.0), 3-pt. FG% (.364 55-151) and third in steals (26).
WARM IT UP CHRIS
Chris Johnson scored in double-figures in the season’s first eight games and continued to produce throughout the season. At Xavier he scored 10 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, including 10 off the offensive glass. He started off the season with an explosive 18-point, 15-rebound performance in the opener against Creighton. Johnson then led all scorers with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting and added seven boards in the victory over No. 21/19 Georgia Tech. Johnson then tallied 13 points versus No. 5/6 Villanova. Johnson led UD with 12 points at St. Bonaventure and 18 points in the home win over Xavier. Johnson scored 14 points behind 3-of-6 shooting from three-point range versus Charlotte. At Saint Louis he added eight points and 12 rebounds. Johnson led all scorers with 21 points after sinking a career-best six three-pointers. He scored 11 points versus UMass. At Richmond, Johnson led UD with 13 points and nine rebounds.
CHRIS-CROSSING
Sophomore
Chris Johnson has been strong in league play (11.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg) and is 13th in the A-10 in rebounding and eighth in 3-point shooting. He had 21 points (5-10 3-pt.) with eight rebounds and three steals at New Mexico, and then bettered that with career-highs of 26 points and 20 rebounds in the Duquesne win. He was named A-10 co-Player of the Week after his 20-20 game.
20-20 VISION
There have been just seven 20-20 games turned in by a Dayton player at UD Arena since the Arena opened in 1969. Ken May, George Janky, Tom Crosswhite, J.D. Grigsby, Joe Fisher, Ryan Perryman all did it prior to
Chris Johnson, but Johnson’s is only the second in the last 35 years. (Grigsby is teammate
Chris Wright’s uncle). It was the first 20-20 game this season by any Atlantic 10 player. Johnson is also only the third player in Division I to score at least 25 points and grab 20 rebounds this season. Artsiom Parakhouski of Radford and Jamine Peterson of Providence are the other two.
P-DUBYA
Sophomore
Paul Williams had his best game of the season in the win over No. 21/19 Georgia Tech. Williams scored seven of his 13 points in the final minute to help UD to the victory. He nearly matched that performance hitting a 3-pointer with 31 seconds to seal the comeback win against Towson. Williams scored 10 points versus Kansas State. Against Presbyterian, Williams snagged a career-best eight rebounds, and followed that up with 10 points and seven rebounds against App State. Williams tallied seven points in the home Xavier game. He added five points and five rebounds at Saint Louis. Williams netted 12 at Duquesne.
CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
Paul Williams is shooting 15-for-18 in the final two minutes of the game at the free throw line this season. In the other 38 minutes of regulation, he is 6-for-10. Williams ranks second on the team in free throw percentage (.750, 21-28).
COOL HAND LUKE
Luke Fabrizius been limited to 19 games this season due to injuries to his right knee and back. He began the season by averaging 8.1 points and shooting .455 (20-of-44) from three point range with games of 12 points against No. 19/21 Georgia Tech and 16 points and nine rebounds against No. 5/6 Villanova. He first injured the knee in the Old Dominion win on Dec. 11. After missing almost a month, he returned for the A-10 season against Duquesne on Jan. 9. In the first three A-10 games of the year he played 30 minutes, scored 22 points and made six of nine three-pointers. He then re-injured the knee (and has subsequently also had a back injury). Since returning to action on Feb. 21, he has played no more than eight minutes in any game and scored just three points. Since Fabrizius re-injured the knee on Jan.18, UD has lost seven of its 11 defeats. Fabrizius is shooting better from outside the arc 28-of-67 (.418) than his overall 32-of-85 (.376).
BENSON’S BACK
Josh Benson is chipping in at almost every opportunity on the floor. Against Presbyterian he tallied a season-best 10 points with seven rebounds. He also scored seven points against BU. Benson came through with eight points and three assists at Xavier. Benson tallied five points and four rebounds at Saint Louis. He came back to score nine points in 11 minutes against La Salle. Benson corralled five rebounds at Richmond. He had four points and five rebounds at home versus Saint Louis.
WELCOME MATT
Matt Kavanaugh made his first collegiate appearance against No. 21/19 Georgia Tech. He tallied his first collegiate career rebound versus Kansas State. Kavanaugh corralled two offensive rebounds against Lehigh. He scored his first career collegiate point versus Presbyterian. Kavanaugh tallied two points and three boards at Saint Louis.
PARKER TRANSFERS TO DAYTON
In April 2009, guard Josh Parker transferred to the University of Dayton from Drake University. Parker, a 6-0 guard, has already begun classes and will redshirt the 2009-10 season due to NCAA transfer rules. Parker appeared in 33 games last season for Drake. He averaged 10.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.5 rebounds, while shooting .432 (57-132) from 3-point range and .720 (67-93) from the free throw line.
ANSWERING THE BELL
The Dayton basketball staff has incorporated boxing to hammer home their lessons to the Flyers. In evaluations, they break each game into 10 four-minute rounds, with the goal of winning as many “rounds” as they can. This fall, the team worked out one day a week at Drake’s Gym, an old-school boxing gym in downtown Dayton. But before the Xavier win on Feb. 6, head coach Brian Gregory took it to a new level. With the team gathered in the locker room for final instructions prior to taking the court, Gregory suddenly appeared in front of the team wearing a long, hooded red-and-white fight robe and boxing gloves. He began firing off volleys of punches at each player as he bobbed to LL Cool J’s ‘Mama Said Knock You Out.’ Gregory’s move both fired up and relaxed the Flyers, leading to the convincing 25-point win.
INSIDE THE RPI
Dayton has quality Top 100 RPI victories versus Georgia Tech, Xavier, Charlotte, Duquesne and Old Dominion and road victories against George Mason and Miami. Seven of UD’s 10 losses are to Top 50 opponents and 10 are against Top 100 teams. Dayton possesses the NCAA’s 34th toughest schedule.
STEAL OF A DEAL
During the 2009-10 season the Flyers are averaging 6.1 steals per game. Last year Dayton’s 6.49 steals per game was UD’s best average in 17 years and ranked as the fifth-best steal-per-game average in school history. UD opened the 2009-10 season with four swipes against Creighton and had eight against No. 21/19 Georgia Tech. At George Mason, UD made 10 steals. The Flyers matched that with 10 at New Mexico. Seven of Musketeers’ eight turnovers came via steals at Xavier. At St. Joe’s the Flyers had nine steals, five by
Rob Lowery. Dayton had seven different players collect one steal versus Charlotte. Dayton had a season-high 11 steals versus La Salle.
ARENA ROCK
The Flyers are 48-4 (.923) in the last three seasons at UD Arena. UD had a school-record 30-game home-court winning streak snapped earlier this year by Rhode Island.
HOME SWEET HOME
Over the last four years on Tom Blackburn Court, the Flyers are 62-7. The 62 victories are the eighth-most in the NCAA since the 2006-07 season. Just ahead of UD are Kansas (74), Ohio State (67), Pittsburgh (66), Florida and UNLV (65), Syracuse (64) and Texas A&M (63). UD has started at home 10-0 for the last four seasons. Dayton won its 500th game at UD Arena on Dec. 29 and is 506-183 in 40 seasons at the Arena. The Flyers have a home all-time winning percentage of .780 (763-215).
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Dayton’s 18 victories last season at UD Arena set the program record for home wins and eclipsed the old mark set by the 2002-03 team that went 17-1 and the 1977-78 squad that went 17-3. Only two other Flyer squads, the 1949-50 team at the Fairgrounds Coliseum (16-0) and the 1959-60 squad in the UD Fieldhouse (14-0), ever also went unbeaten at home.
DAYTON SIGNS TOP RECRUITING CLASS OF STATEN, HILL, BERRY, SPEARMAN, & OLIVER
University of Dayton men’s basketball coach Brian Gregory and his staff continue to stockpile strong, incoming talent, as another exceptionally talented recruiting class signed National Letters of Intent last fall to continue their careers at UD. The newest official members of the Flyer family are 6-foot-1 guard Jesse Berry of Lafayette (Ind.) Jefferson High School, 6-foot-6 forward Ralph Hill of Westerville (Ohio) North High School, 6-foot-7 forward Devin Oliver of Kalamazoo (Mich.) Central High School, 6-foot-3 guard Brandon Spearman of Chicago Simeon High School, and 5-foot-11 guard Juwan Staten from Dayton, Ohio who attends powerhouse Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va. Headlined by Staten, who Rivals.com has ranked the 44th-best player in his class, the 2009-10 signing class is ranked as high as 15th in the country.
CRUNCH TIME
A .663 team from the line on the season, Dayton is shooting .776 (66-85) from the line in the last two minutes of the game in 2009-10. Six Flyers are shooting .750 or better, in crunch time.
Chris Johnson is 12-of-12 (1.000), followed by
Rob Lowery (.889, 8-of-9),
Paul Williams (.833, 15-of-18),
Marcus Johnson (.833, 5-of-6),
Chris Wright (.800, 8-of-10) and
Mickey Perry (.750, 6-of-8).
THIRD IS THE WORD
Dayton has hit at least one 3-point shot in 43 straight games.
LESS IS MORE
Dayton is 1-6 this season away from UD Arena when shooting 20 or more 3-pointers in a game and has lost its last six. Overall, Dayton is 10-5 when attempting less than 20 three-pointers this season, and 9-6 when shooting 20 or more.
WELCOME TO FLIGHT CLUB
Dayton set a new single-season record for dunks just 19 games into the 2008-09 season. The Flyers’ total of 117 was 56 more than the 61 slams performed by the 2003-04 team in 33 games. This season UD has 101 dunks through the first 30 games with
Chris Wright (59) leading the way followed by
Marcus Johnson (15),
Devin Searcy (9),
Josh Benson (8),
Chris Johnson (7),
London Warren (2) and
Kurt Huelsman (1).
FILLING UP THE STAT SHEET
Dayton has shown their offense is not a one-man show. Eight Flyers,
Chris Wright,
Luke Fabrizius,
Mickey Perry,
Rob Lowery,
Chris Johnson,
Marcus Johnson,
Devin Searcy and
London Warren each have led the team in scoring this season. Wright has led 13 times,
Chris Johnson 10 times, Perry three times,
Marcus Johnson and Fabrizius twice, and Searcy, Lowery and Warren once. In rebounding, Wright has led the team 14 times,
Chris Johnson nine times,
Kurt Huelsman three times,
Marcus Johnson and
London Warren twice and
Paul Williams,
Josh Benson,
Devin Searcy and Fabrizius once apiece. (Note: scoring and rebounding numbers add up to more than 30 due to games where more than one player tied for the team-high).
EYE 75 ON THE SCOREBOARD
UD is 43-6 under Brian Gregory when scoring at least 75 points. Dayton is 7-1 this year and was 7-1 last season.
THE ROUND MOUND OF REBOUND
This season UD is 16-7 when out-rebounding the opponent and have a plus-7.3 rebounding margin in the 19 victories this season. In conference play, UD is out-rebounding opponents by 9.1, more than two rebounds more than Xavier (6.7).
SPARK OFF THE BENCH
With such a deep team, it is no surprise UD’s bench was a big part of the team’s success. UD non-starters have won the battle of the benches 19 times in 2009-10. UD held a 42-27 advantage in bench scoring against Creighton. The Flyers then out-scored No. 21/19 Georgia Tech’s bench 47-24. Against No. 5/6 Villanova, UD’s bench out-scored the Wildcats 39-25. In the K-State contest, UD held a 35-20 bench scoring advantage. In the BU win, it was 48-16. At New Mexico, it was 31-7. Dayton dominated with a 37-6 advantage in the home Xavier game. UD dominated in bench points over La Salle with a 42-15 edge and held a 44-22 advantage against UMass. At Richmond, UD out-scored the Spiders 20-4. This year the Flyer bench has out-scored opponents 857-521.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
This season 20 of the opponents’ top individual scorers have been held under their average, including Villanova’s Scottie Reynolds (8), Temple’s Ryan Brooks (11), Georgia Tech’s Gani Lawal (9) and Derrick Favors (10), George Mason’s Cam Long (8), UMass’ Ricky Harris (9), Duquesne’s Bill Clark (2) and GW’s Damian Hollis (5). Dayton ranks fourth in the A-10 in scoring defense (61.9) and field goal percentage defense (.395).
QUALITY OF COMPETITION
Dayton’s 11 losses are by a total of 44 points. UD’s three non-conference losses are all by single-digit margins to No. 3 Villanova, No. 11 Kansas State, and No. 19 New Mexico. The Flyers’ eight league losses are by a total of 28 points. Each loss was a one-or-two possession game in the final minute.
CLOSE SHAVE
What a difference a year makes. The Flyers are 3-9 in games decided by five points or less and have lost eight close games in the 2010 calendar year. In 2008-09 Dayton was 11-1 in games decided by five points or less, the best record of close games in the nation. The Flyers were also 19-0 last season when leading with five minutes left in regulation. Dayton’s back-to-back one-point losses to St. Joe’s and Rhode Island were just the second time in school history it lost two straight games by a single point (it first happened in Jan. 1975).
EARLY SEASON TESTS
The Dayton-Creighton game was the nation’s only season-opener that features two teams that received votes in the preseason USA Today/ESPN Top 25 poll. Dayton was ranked 22nd in the preseason poll, while Creighton received seven votes. UD’s next game against No. 21/19 Georgia Tech featured the first time during the 2009-10 season two ranked opponents squared off against each other.
THAT’S A CATCH-22
UD has held opponents to 22 points or less in a half nine times this season. Last year through 35 games, the Flyers accomplished that feat 10 times.
CONQUERING GOLIATH
The Flyers have proved they can handle the big-name programs. Dayton is 7-4 in the last three years against BCS programs and has won three of its last four games against the Big East.
TAKING THE NATIONAL STAGE
To start the 2009-10 campaign the Flyers were nationally ranked in a major poll for the first time since the 1967-68 season. With UD being ranked at some point in each of the last three seasons, it is also the first time in 49 years the Flyers have been ranked in three consecutive seasons. The last time that happened was the 1958-59, 1959-60 and 1960-61 seasons.
SAILING THE ATLANTIC
Dayton is 282-204 all-time against teams currently in the Atlantic 10 Conference. In 14-plus years as an A-10 team, the Flyers are 134-99 UD coach Brian Gregory is 63-48 against A-10 competition.
GREGORY’S CONTRACT TO RUN THROUGH 2018
University of Dayton Vice President and Director of Athletics
Tim Wabler announced in May that the University has extended head men’s basketball coach Brian Gregory’s contract for an additional five years, and that it will run through the 2017-18 season. Since taking over as UD’s head coach in 2003, Gregory has a record of 138-72. His original contract term was five years. He signed a new agreement in 2005 that originally ran through 2013. He is one of just 25 coaches who have been at their current school at least five years. That list includes Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim, UConn’s Jim Calhoun, Florida’s Billy Donovan, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, Duke’s Mike Kryzewski, Louisville’s Rick Pitino, KU’s Bill Self, Maryland’s Gary Williams and UNC’s Roy Williams, average at least 20 wins a season.
AND THE CROWD GOES WILD
The eight-millionth UD fan in UD Arena history attended the Presbyterian game. UD’s last 166 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 (405 of 408), including the last 204 regular season games. The last 23 have drawn at least 12,000.
THE 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 Jan. 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. In 2007-08 UD had the second-best average home attendance in school history (12,801). UD Arena has 96 sellouts in its 40-year history and seven this year. UD sold out the opener against Creighton, along with Appalachian State, Boston U, Duquesne, Xavier, UMass and Saint Louis. The record for sellouts is eight in the Arena’s first season 1969-70. The Flyers finished the regular season averaging 13,038 fans a game.
UD AMONG THE BEST IN NCAA ATTENDANCE
Dayton finished in the Top 30 in men’s basketball attendance for the 14th straight season in 2008-09. The Flyers led the Atlantic 10 in attendance for the 13th straight season (including the 2009-10 season). UD averaged more than 2,400 fans a game better than any other team in the A-10.
RECORD BREAKING SEASON
The UD men’s basketball program set the regular season attendance record this season. The Flyers averaged 13,038 fans per game, slightly above the all-time mark of 12,982 set during the first season at UD Arena in 1969-70.
TOURNEY TOWN
The NCAA Division I Tournament made its start at UD Arena for the eighth year in a row as the University of Dayton Arena host the NCAA Opening Round Game in 2009. This year the UD Arena will serve as a regional site for the 2010 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship. Dayton will host the Opening Round through 2013 and will have the First and Second rounds in 2013. UD has hosted the Opening Round game since its inception in its current form in 2002. When the 2010 NCAA Tournament is over, UD Arena will have been an NCAA site in 24 of the last 41 years and will have hosted 87 NCAA Tournament games. It makes UD Arena the most prolific NCAA Tournament venue ahead of Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City (83) and the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City (81).
NCAA TOURNAMENT RETURNING TO UD ARENA THROUGH 2013
The National Collegiate Athletic Association has announced preliminary round sites for the 2011, 2012 and 2013 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championships, and the tournament is returning to the University of Dayton Arena in each of those years. The NCAA First and Second Rounds will come back to Dayton in 2013. In addition, the NCAA Opening Round Game will remain at UD Arena through the 2013 tournament.
DAYTON AMONG TOP 10 IN NCAA GRADUATION SUCCESS RATE
The University of Dayton’s 94 percent Graduation Success Rate is second in the Atlantic 10 Conference and ties it for 22nd in the NCAA. In addition, this year’s GSR Report shows that UD graduated 100 percent of its student-athletes that participated in women’s basketball, men’s cross country, women’s cross country/track & field, men’s golf, women’s golf, women’s rowing, women’s soccer, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and volleyball. The UD’s men’s basketball team’s GSR was the best in the A-10.
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.