2007-2008 Pitt and Louisville Teams

[wadesworld]

They went to the NIT right?  I mean, they lost to Dayton early in the 07-08 season, and anybody who loses to Dayton has fatal flaws and is NIT bound.  I'm booking my tickets to MSG.

[JSwarriors08]

No need to be sarcastic, man.  We're screwed.  We are completely and irreparably screwed.  Don't even suggest that we aren't.  Things will never be okay again.

[ErickJD08]

Are you really comparing Louisville and Pitt teams to this year???

I don't think people are necessarily upset about losing to Dayton as much as the way we lost. 

No zone... 20% from 3... 60% from FT... No D... No support for the big four...  Our guys getting fouled out...

We will win games this year but we better be hot when we start playing the ones that count so we can build a resume and squeeze into the tourney.

[MUFanInGreenBay]

They went to the NIT right?  I mean, they lost to Dayton early in the 07-08 season, and anybody who loses to Dayton has fatal flaws and is NIT bound.  I'm booking my tickets to MSG.

Let's keep in mind that Louisville played Dayton without David Padgett last year and we all know how much better they were with Padgett last year. Louisville ran their offense through that guy. He was like a point/center. Also, Dayton had a really good SG last year in Brian Roberts who could really fill it up. Roberts scored 28 points when Dayton beat Louisville and had 31 points when they beat Pitt. Personally, I don't think Dayton is as good this year. They would've easily made the NCAA's last year but lost Chris Wright to a season ending ankle injury in early January and lost Charles Little to a broken foot in mid Jan. The injury bug really ruined their season last year basically.

[bilsu]

I was at the game and I disagree about the comment we did not play defense. Most shots were contested. Where we could not compete was on the boards with them. Maybe playing a zone would have worked, but the zone also takes you out of rebounding position so we would have gotten beat even worse on the boards.

[wadesworld]

Are you really comparing Louisville and Pitt teams to this year???

I don't think people are necessarily upset about losing to Dayton as much as the way we lost. 

No zone... 20% from 3... 60% from FT... No D... No support for the big four...  Our guys getting fouled out...

We will win games this year but we better be hot when we start playing the ones that count so we can build a resume and squeeze into the tourney.

I'm not comparing those two teams to this year's Marquette teams, I'm just saying Dayton did the same thing to the Big East last year early in the season and ended up out of the NCAA Tournament.  They were quick, athletic, and had some size and matched up with us well on a night that we didn't do anything well at all.  My two cousins go to Dayton and they seem to think this year's team is going to be better than last year's team.  They say Roberts was a stud but other players have improved a lot for them and will make up for what they lost in him.

I'm not saying Fulce and O'tule will be as good as Padgett, obviously, but we NEED those two guys.  If nothing else, it's two guys who can (hopefully) get a rebound and give us 5 more fouls down low.  While they may not blow up the stat sheets this year, they WILL have a very big impact on how the team plays when they return.

As bilsu said, we did play defense.  They made quite a few tough shots.  The shots they missed they got rebounds and easy put backs.  Looking at the box score it shows we did compete with them rebounding, but we really didn't.  When we got offensive rebounds we'd put up a shot right away and miss it.  We are the same team as last year's team that had the worst possible matchup in the 2nd round and still was a shot away from winning the game.  We will be fine.

[friscoflyer]

Let's keep in mind that Louisville played Dayton without David Padgett last year and we all know how much better they were with Padgett last year. Louisville ran their offense through that guy. He was like a point/center. Also, Dayton had a really good SG last year in Brian Roberts who could really fill it up. Roberts scored 28 points when Dayton beat Louisville and had 31 points when they beat Pitt. Personally, I don't think Dayton is as good this year. They would've easily made the NCAA's last year but lost Chris Wright to a season ending ankle injury in early January and lost Charles Little to a broken foot in mid Jan. The injury bug really ruined their season last year basically.

Dayton is actually better this year than we were last year. Last year, everything started and ended with Roberts, especially after the Wright injury. Teams started double teaming Roberts, and the rest is history. We added some talent this year, and Chris Wright is healthy. He is a stud, and you might not like me saying this, but he is a better athlete than any one on your team. The guy is a freak! Also, Dayton is deep, and the new guys are contributing. We play better team defense than any Dayton teams of the recent past. The game against Auburn was ugly, but we found a way to win. Credit our tenacious defense and rebounding. This is exactly the way Coach Gregory likes to play, but in the past, we didn't have the depth of talent to pull it off. Now we do. Look for Dayton to win a lot of games this year, because our defense will keep us in every game we play, and give us a chance to win. The best thing of all is that there is no selfishness on this team. The players have bought into the blue print and so far they are executing very well.

MU is a good team and I wish you well the rest of the year. You lost to a better Dayton team than most of you realize. Barring major injury, Dayton will eventually be ranked and will go dancing. Let's all hope for a March rematch.

[MUFanInGreenBay]

Dayton is actually better this year than we were last year. Last year, everything started and ended with Roberts, especially after the Wright injury. Teams started double teaming Roberts, and the rest is history. We added some talent this year, and Chris Wright is healthy. He is a stud, and you might not like me saying this, but he is a better athlete than any one on your team. The guy is a freak! Also, Dayton is deep, and the new guys are contributing. We play better team defense than any Dayton teams of the recent past. The game against Auburn was ugly, but we found a way to win. Credit our tenacious defense and rebounding. This is exactly the way Coach Gregory likes to play, but in the past, we didn't have the depth of talent to pull it off. Now we do. Look for Dayton to win a lot of games this year, because our defense will keep us in every game we play, and give us a chance to win. The best thing of all is that there is no selfishness on this team. The players have bought into the blue print and so far they are executing very well.

MU is a good team and I wish you well the rest of the year. You lost to a better Dayton team than most of you realize. Barring major injury, Dayton will eventually be ranked and will go dancing. Let's all hope for a March rematch.

Sure, Dayton is better right now than they were before the injury bug hit last year. However, don't try to tell me your current team is more talented and better than it was when you guys beat Pitt and Louisville at full strength last December.

[MUDPT]

As much as I would like to have Wright, I don't think he's a better athlete than DJ.

[UDfan]

Sure, Dayton is better right now than they were before the injury bug hit last year. However, don't try to tell me your current team is more talented and better than it was when you guys beat Pitt and Louisville at full strength last December.

Wright was healthy for the win @ Louisville, but was already having ankle problems at the Pittsburgh game and played limited minutes.  You probably would have had a better view of the condition of Dayton's basketball program had we not had the misfortune of some back-breaking injuries and a slew of sicknesses near the end of the season.  I am very confident we would have been a NCAA team on the merits of our season performance without those circumstances.  This year, we are a better team because we fortunately landed a great freshman class and we are using the depth to fuel a tenacious defense.  (We do have a good looking freshman out for the year for shoulder surgery.  Imagine our depth with him.)  Brian Roberts was a great player, but this team plays with fire and intensity.  The Big East is tough, but I bet that when you look back on this loss after viewing the results of this season for the Flyers, it will be much less painful.  Don't be blinded completely by conference affiliations.  I think we have the athletes, talent, and most importatly, depth, to compete with just about any team out there.  You will hear a lot more about Wright over the next few years.  He is only a sophomore, and played only half of the year last year due to the broken ankle.  Right now, he is a relative unknown, but that won't last long, IMO.

Also, I watched your team play both nights in Chicago.  I think you are getting way too down on your guards.  You have fantastic guards.  Don't blame them for the lack of balance in the middle.  It's your coaches job to find a quality big.  You guys just need an enforcer in the middle.  If you had a shotblocker, your defense would be tremendous.  Our perimeter defense can be pretty good this year.  I don't think a lot of teams will be able to cover you guys on the 3pt line.

[DegenerateDish]

I, for one, hope Dayton goes out and has a great rest of the season. It makes our loss look better, and more importantly helps out the ol' RPI.

No shame in losing to Dayton, they were the better team last night. Good luck to them the rest of the season.