Scouting The Dayton Flyers

Everyone knows that the coolest thing about Dayton, Ohio is the U.S. Air Force Museum at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. My Dad and I went there about 8 years ago and I can tell you that it is choice.

Of course Dayton also has a university - the University of Dayton - which, year-to-year, has a solid basketball program. The Flyers finished 22-12, 8-8 on the season and, like the Illini, were sitting on the NCAA tournament bubble come selection time.

Also like the Illini, the Flyers were shoved off to the NIT where, tonight, they will travel to Champaign for an NIT Quarterfinal matchup against Bruce Weber and the Boys.

So what do we need to know about the Flyers?

A few things jump out at me as I peruse their season peformance:

- Dayton has played a handful of good teams - Villanova, Kansas St., New Mexico - and though they lost those three games, they did manage victories over tournament teams Georgia Tech, Lehigh, Old Dominion, and a big 25-point win at home over Sweet 16 entrant Xavier. Bottom line: the Flyers aren't going to be intimidated by the Illini.

- Dayton, like Illinois, entered the season ranked in the Top 25. They failed to live up to those pre-season expectations, but have won their two NIT games by an average of 18 points. They're playing good basketball.

- Dayton likes to run and their leading scorer, forward Chris Wright, was an All-Atlantic 10 selection. He gets about 7 rebounds a game. Look for the Flyers to try to outmuscle the Illini on the boards and get points in transition.

As for the Illini, tonight's game is, surprising to say, big. Illini fans would be hard pressed to stomach another loss at Assembly Hall, and it would be outstanding experience for Brandon Paul, D.J. Richardson and Tyler Griffey - three freshmen who figure large in the Illini plans for the next three years - to get some playing time at Madison Square Garden. It's also another opportunity for the juniors - Demetri, Tisdale, Davis and Cole - to show they can lead the team to tournament-style wins.

I'm way more excited about this game than I thought I'd be.