Rivalry Games

Rivalry games is what you look forward to on your schedule. Tonight at 7 PM the 'X' men tip off at UD Arena to face one of our fiercest rivals. We have beat them six straight times and have won 17 of the last 22. However the Flyers still own the all time series record at 67-80. They cherish that fact. The undercurrent to this game is UD needs it more than X for NCAA tournament considerations. I am not sure that is entirely accurate that they need to beat X to get to the big dance. It appears many in their fan base that post on UD message boards feel they need at least one more signature win to go with their pasting of Marquette on a neutral floor earlier this year. They seem to have no confidence in beating us down here in March but that is a story for another day.

Brian Gregory uses 12 players. This allows UD to play at an uptempo, in your face defense pace. It has been effective. Their point guards (Warren and Lowery) are 'blow by' type offensive players and Lowery has a streaky jumpshot to go with it. Warren has not made a three pointer all year. The Musketeers need to be cautious to not get caught up and play faster than they should when they have the ball in their hands. With both teams being strong on defense the score most likely will not get out of the sixties. Miller is imploring his team for stronger point guard play. He is now taking to some extended one on one sessions with Dante' and Tutu after practice. Sean is a very good coach who realizes the '1' needs the extra attention this year for us to satisfy goals in March. I would expect to see BJ, CJ, and Derrick bringing the ball up quite a bit tonight. I also have this feeling Kenny Frease will not play and I hope I am wrong. Should be a fun one to watch.

Also I have respect for the UD program. They do things the right way. In the Great Midwest days when they had Jim O' Brien and struggling through some bad times the fans still showed up in droves to support their team. They have a blind passion for their program which I appreciate. The A10 should be thankful UD is part of the league because it is a solid program. The UD Arena is a nice place to watch a basketball game (when your not sporting your X gear) and regularly hosts NCAA events. I am also looking forward to seeing their 'superman' Chris Wright and how we defend him. I have only seen him play a few times but some Daytonians like to postulate he is as good as Derrick Brown; I would say not yet but if CW continues to develop he could be playing in the three letter league someday. Now I need to email my friend 'Swampy Meadows' and see who is (cough, cough, wink, wink) sick this year on the UD squad. Dayton Daily News thought it was newsworthy to mention Marcus Johnson had the flu for the Charlotte game. So I am a little concerned they will not be at full strength when we beat them.