Thoughts on Dayton’s 72-67 victory over No. 21/16 Vanderbilt.
By PAUL GOTHAM
How it happened
Trailing by 16 late in the first half, Dayton outscored Vanderbilt 32-10 over a stretch of 11:28. UD created four turnovers in the final 1:10 of the first half and converted those chances into points. Kendall Pollard netted eight of his game-high 21 points during the run. Dayton (7-1) has won two straight. Vanderbilt (6-3) has dropped three of four. The Commodores other two setbacks coming to ranked opponents: Kansas and Baylor.
Paint touches
UD outscored Vandy 40-22 in the paint. A bulk of those points came on second-chance opportunities. Some occurred as points off turnovers. Not to be overlooked are the points created by Scoochie Smith getting into the paint and scoring off the drive, getting to the free throw line or creating opportunities inside for his teammates. And then there was the drive and dish to Darrell Davis for three.
Speaking of Darrell Davis
The sophomore guard came into the game shooting just 24 percent (7-of-29) from behind the arc. This after last year when he led the Atlantic 10 hitting 45.2 percent (47-of-104) from long range. Davis sparked UD’s run at the end of the first half as he scored all eight of his points in a span of 1:59. Davis has now tallied 18 in the last two games after accounting for 11 during the four games before that.
Discretion the better part of valor
Steve McElvene came up one rebound shy of his second straight double-double finishing with 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting including a rim rattling flush on a pick and roll with Kyle Davis. That bucket made it a two-point game at 42-40. Not to be overlooked is the fact that McElvene stayed on the floor for 19 minutes. Keep in mind the redshirt freshman played six minutes against Xavier and 13 in the win over Monmouth. McElvene playing 19 opposite Damian Jones in a true road game shows progress. Then there was this (courtesy of ESPN):
Wondering if the next step for the seven footer would be to create a possession out of that rejection. Vanderbilt did eventually score on that trip.
McElvene earned A-10 Rookie of the Week honors for his 14-point, 16-rebound performance against North Florida. His 16 boards marked the most in a Flyer uniform since Chris Wright grabbed 17 versus New Mexico on New Year’s Day of 2011.
Following the scouting report
Dayton followed the example set by Vanderbilt’s previous opponent, Baylor. The Bears forced 17 turnovers and outrebounded the Commodores 39-32 including 20 offensive rebounds. UD’s 15 offensive rebounds is a season high, and the Flyers converted those chances into a game-changing 17-2 advantage in second-chance points. Playing without seven-footer Luke Kornet proved too much for the ‘Dores.
Not-so-free throws
Missing the front end of three one-and-ones in the final minute wasn’t following the prettiest of scripts and not the easiest to watch. Vanderbilt could not take advantage.
Adding to the resume
UD is now 29-11 against Power 5 schools over the last nine years including 12-3 against the SEC. The NCAA rated the Flyers current strength of schedule at 16, and UD has played three teams from last year’s NCAA Tournament field (Iowa, Xavier and North Florida).
Finding the Tempo
Per Basketball State, last night’s 68 possessions matched UD’s slowest pace of the year. Flyers also had 68 trips down the floor in the 69-66 home win over William and Mary. The Flyers scored 1.052 points per possession against the Commodores. UD tallied 1.170 PPP versus North Florida and 1.111 in the win over Iowa. Worth noting, the 78 possessions in the Xavier loss mark the fastest pace of the year played by Dayton. Colorado State plays the fastest pace so far this year at 90 per game. American is the slowest at 62.4. Dayton has averaged 72.8 over these first eight games.
Atlantic 10 Splinters
Richmond’s web
Not to be overlooked, the Spiders have wins at Wake Forest and over then No. 14 California. UR stayed close with a now-ranked (for this week) West Virginia team. A shield-your-eyes loss to James Madison will add a little weight to the Spiders’ collective shoulder. A twenty-point setback at Florida might add to that chip.
GW not getting enough respect
Is next week the week when the Colonials join the Top 25? All Mike Lonergan’s club has done is to beat then No. 6 Virginia, Tennessee, Seton Hall and Penn State. Bring on a team from the Pac-12 and Big 12 for a Power 5 sweep. GW’s lone defeat came at the hands of then No. 24 Cincinnati, 61-56.
Anything you can do, I can do better
Davidson’s Jack Gibbs grabbed conference POTW honors for his career-high 41 points in a win over Charlotte. Gibbs added 19 in a loss at North Carolina. He needed all of it. VCU’s Melvin Johnson did his fairest “Jimi” impersonation with a “scuse me while I kiss the sky” 36-point outing at Florida State. Johnson drilled 14-of-24 from the floor and 8-of-14 behind the arc. Johnson connected five times behind the arc and netted 23 as VCU turned an 11-point halftime deficit into a brief one-point advantage. Johnson’s final trey made it a one-point game with 56 seconds remaining. Rams fans will forget about the final 22 seconds. St. Bonaventure’s Jaylen Adams notched a career-high 28 in the Bonnies 80-68 win over Vermont. The sophomore connected seven times behind the arc finishing one shy of the program mark of eight held by Adams’s current teammate Marcus Posley along with Marques Green, Isaac King, Chris Matthews and Patricio Prato. And somewhere Richmond’s Terry Allen is pondering.
URI is this close
Rhode Island is getting their feet underneath them in life without E.C. Matthews. The Rams two-point setback to No. 23 Providence showed how close URI is to getting back to the team that received top 25 votes in the pre-season. A ten-point win over previously undefeated Houston is another step. A win at Nebraska on Sunday has the makings of a put-the-rest-of-the-conference-on-notice kind of moment.
On the Bluff
At 9-2, Duquesne is off to its best start since 1979-80. Coaches don’t like to look ahead and this one is a long way off, but the Dukes tilt at Georgia Tech on December 29th will serve as a reality check. DU took it on the chin in a 21-point loss to City rival Pittsburgh. The Dukes have three more tune-ups (Saint Francis-PA, South Carolina St. and Robert Morris) before they play face another ACC opponent.
Updated 4:00 pm 12/10/15 to include Jaylen Adams content.
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