By PAUL GOTHAM
In order to get something, one has to be wiling to give up something else. Unless the quid pro quo involves the University of Dayton men’s basketball team and their defense.
Despite a lineup in a continual state of flux, Archie Miller‘s Flyers have found consistency on the defensive end and the numbers have the Flyers among lofty company.
“We’re back to being a very mobile defense with our front court,” Miller said during the weekly Atlantic 10 tele-conference. “We have some quickness and being that our front court is mobile we can be mobile guarding ball screens and doing some things in pressure.”
That pressure has resulted in a stifling combination where the Flyers are creating a high number of turnovers and at the same time limiting opposing shooters.
“You got to work on the ball,” Miller stated. “You have to be in the proper position. Every catch has to be tough. Every sort of drive has to be swarmed.”
With that mix of pressure Dayton’s defense ranks 23rd in the nation forcing 16.3 turnovers per game. At the same time, the Flyers are not giving up easy layups because of overplaying passing lanes or taking unnecessary gambles as they limit opposing shooters to 40 percent from the floor (35th in the country).
Miller points to his experienced lineup with seniors Charles Cooke, Kyle Davis, Kendall Pollard and Scoochie Smith along with junior Darrell Davis.
“Us not playing just a ton of freshmen like a lot of teams are doing that helps,” Miller noted. “That’s the hardest thing to do as a young player is to do defend.”
To better understand how well the Flyers are protecting their basket consider this: the Virginia Cavaliers lead the nation holding teams to 53.3 points per game. The Cavaliers limit opponents to 38.5 percent from the floor. UVA, though, forces 13.6 opposing miscues (outside the top 100). West Virginia tops the nation creating 22.7 opposing mishandles per contest. The Mountaineers allow opponents to hit 42.1 percent from the field.
“We have some experience. We have some mobility, and I think we have some guys that are talented enough and can handle being defenders.”
Only two teams – South Carolina and CSU Bakersfield – top UD in this combination of turnovers forced and field-goal percentage defense. South Carolina forces 17.15 turnovers while limiting opposing shooters to 37.3 from the floor. CSU Bakersfield creates 16.7 and has a field-goal percentage defense of 38.9.
The Gamecocks lead the nation with an adjusted defensive efficiency rating (estimated number of points per 100 possessions) of 84.9 per KenPom. Dayton ranks seventh at 90.6. In between lies Louisville, Virginia, Baylor, Gonzaga and Minnesota.
“It’s one of the reasons we’ve been able to get to where we’ve gotten to,” Miller said. “It’s got to stay the course as we finish the season.”
The numbers get better of late as Dave Jablonski of the Dayton Daily News points out:
In last three games, @DaytonMBB opponents have made 8 of 60 3-pointers (13.3 percent). pic.twitter.com/0CsTVfJxoG
— David Jablonski (@DavidPJablonski) January 22, 2017
Critics can point out that those three contested have come against Duquesne (31.8), Richmond (31.9) and Saint Louis (32.9) – three teams found in the bottom half of A-10 for three-point shooting accuracy.
Dayton, though, has played the last two games without Kyle Davis, arguably their best all-around defender, who is sidelined with an ankle injury. Cooke only recently got back to full strength after nursing wrist and back injuries. Pollard missed the first six games of the season and didn’t really get into game shape until late last month. Completely forgotten in the mix, at least in the national eye, is that the Flyers lost starting forward Josh Cunningham in their second game of the season.
Maybe the last three contests is a more accurate representation of UD’s defensive identity.
Dayton (15-4/6-1) plays at VCU (15-5/5-2) Friday night. The Rams pose a variety of threats in a game where the Flyers best defense might be their offense or in other words the ability to control the ball.
VCU ranks 11th in the nation with 8.8 steals per game – live ball turnovers which the Rams tend to get in waves and also convert into points.
“The concern going into the game in that charged-up environment will definitely be turning the ball over,” Miller said. “If you turn the ball over against VCU, I think everyone knows what’s going to happen.”
VCU’s front court of Mo Alie-Cox, Justin Tillman and Ahmed Hamdy-Mohamed present a challenge as well.
“They have great size. They do a phenomenal job of getting the ball inside. Their power package is great. Their offensive rebounding is going to be a difficult challenge. It’s sounds simple but turning the ball over and rebounding are probably the biggest keys for us of going in and trying to figure out a way to hang in there.”
After dropping two straight, one in overtime, VCU looks to draw even with Dayton at the top of A-10 standings. JeQuan Lewis leads the Rams with 14.9 points and 4.8 assists per game.
“It’s hard to get easy baskets against them in transition and get out and get going,” second-year VCU catch Will Wade said of Dayton. “They throw your rhythm off with how they close out and how active their hands are. They very rarely get beat on team’s actions. Most of the baskets are on breakdowns and things like that. They very rarely get beat on your initial action.”
Dayton at VCU tips at 9pm. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
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