Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: At the NIT -- The Last Waltz?

by Ray Floriani

NEW YORK CITY - It was championship number three. Dayton defeated North Carolina 79-68 to win the 73rd NIT at Madison Square Garden. The Flyers previously won in 1962 and ‘68.

Madison Square Garden, NYC
The skies may have been Carolina Blue...
...but the sun shined on Dayton

The factors and numbers from a 70 (UNC 72 Dayton 68) possession game:

			FTM
	ORtg	eFG%	FGA	OR%	TO%
North Carolina	94	49	13	27	21
Dayton	116	58	17	32	16

Dayton had an outstanding offensive showing but the staples of defense and poise were crucial for the Atlantic Ten representatives. The Tar Heels were solid from the perimeter shooting 8 of 20 (40%) from beyond the arc. Junior forward Will graves did appreciable damage with a game high 25 points punctuated with a 7 of 13 performance from downtown. In the stretch when Dayton finally achieved game winning separation, the percentages from the perimeter caught up with UNC, a 26% three point shooting team in four prior NIT contests. Flyers did a significant job inside the arc limiting the Tar Heels to a 44% (18 of 41) night on two point field goals.

Turnovers, those forced by Dayton, was a significant factor. Brian Gregory’s club forced 10 first half TOs (a 26% rate) en route to a 45-32 halftime lead. Carolina cared for the ball better the final twenty minutes (only 5 turnovers) which helped get them back in it. A 7-0 opening run the first two minutes after intermission was very significant as well.

In the end that Dayton offensive efficiency was supported by a creditable 35% from three and of greater note, 62% (18 of 29) from two point range as the Flyers attacked the basket with a vengeance.

At the half UNC enjoyed a 38%-21% edge in offensive rebounding percentage. Dayton hit the boards harder the second half limiting the Tar Heels to two offensive boards the final 20 minutes and securing the edge on the offensive glass.

The double figure scorers and efficiency. The Martin Manley and NBA efficiency model adds points, rebounds, made shots, blocked shots, steals, and assists while subtracting turnovers and missed shots.

		Efficiency
Dayton	Pts.	Rtg	Min.
Marcus Johnson	20	16	0.533
Chris Johnson	14	18	1.06
Chris Wright	14	21	0.750
Paul Williams	16	17	0.654

		Efficiency
North Carolina	Pts.	Rtg	Min.
Will Graves	25	17	0.567
Deon Thompson	13	18	0.581
Larry Drew II	12	11	0.333
Tyler Zeller	11	5	0.217

Dayton numbers were solid across the board. Chris Johnson’s efficiency per minute metric was on a ’superstar’ level. Johnson added 9 boards in a 17 minute outing that was limited due to a hip injury suffered in the game. Drew II of UNC had 8 assists but his 6 turnovers were detrimental. Tyler Zeller, the tar Heels 7-foot soph who came on strong in the NIT, scored in doubles but his efficiency was hurt by a shutout in the rebounding department in a 23 minute evening.

Not in the box score. Deon Thompson set an NCAA record in the final. It was the UNC senior’s 152nd career game breaking the record shared by Kentucky’s Wayne turner (1996-99) and Walter Hodge of Florida (2006-09).

Not in the Box Score Part Two. Dayton led 17-8 in second chance points. A key stat considering rebounding was a Flyer concern entering the final.

The last...waltz? With talk of NCAA expansion to 96 teams the idea the NIT might have seen its last tournament was a topic of discussion. Both coaches felt the NIT being phased out would be unfortunate. As Brian Gregory said, “Dayton built its national brand name (years ago) here in the NIT at Madison Square Garden.”

Dayton is tempo free. Dayton assistant Jon Borovich said the Flyers study tempo free statistics closely. “Coach (Brian) Gregory will bring them up in staff meetings citing turnover rates and points per possession,” Borovich said before Tuesday’s semifinal. “We chart possessions on the bench as a staff and points per possession and other (tempo free) stats we pay close attention to.”

All Tournament...
Delroy James	Rhode Island
Will Graves	North Carolina
Deon Thompson	North Carolina
Marcus Johnson	Dayton
Most Outstanding Player - Chris Johnson Dayton

“You can’t measure heart and this team had the biggest heart of any team I coached” - Dayton coach Brian Gregory

“We just didn’t finish the job….I thought Brian’s (Gregory) team was so active, you just have to congratulate them.” - UNC coach Roy Williams

Dayton players greet their fans

The Fans. “It was like a home game,” Gregory said,” our fans are absolutely great and we put them through a lot this year.” Dayton players truly appreciated their outstanding and passionately devoted followers. Part of the celebration saw the players recognize the band and cheerleaders for their great support. They then went into the stands at the Garden to personally say thanks to their fans. The exclamation point on a wonderful night for Dayton and its faithful.

Flyer squad poses with
the Dayton Cheering Squad

Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: Semifinals at the NIT

by Ray Floriani

NEW YORK CITY - The nation’s oldest post season tournament has had its share of criticism. Make no mistake however, the NIT has history a wonderful tradition and last night four teams put it all on the line at the Garden. The NIT semifinal scores:

Team	Score		Team	Score
Dayton	68		Mississippi	63
North Carolina	68		Rhode island	67 (OT)

The factors and numbers from a 74 possession game:

			FTM
	ORtg	eFG%	FGA	OR%	TO%
Dayton	93	39	43	28	18
Mississippi	85	46	24	23	16

As has been the case throughout this tournament, Dayton did a great job on the defensive end. The Flyers haven’t forced teams into turning the ball over but get at you with tough man to man defense, contesting shots or forcing you to take a less advantageous shot.

The Flyers limited Mississippi to 6 of 23 shooting beyond the arc. Chris warren, Mississippi’s three point threat, scored 15 points but was 3 of 10 beyond the arc. Terrico White, another threat from downtown, led Ole Miss with 19 points but was an icy 1 of 7 from three.

Dayton does a good job getting in the lane and conversely getting to the line. The Flyers made the most of those opportunities from the charity stripe as the FT Rate and a 24 of 32 mark from the charity stripe attests. The Flyers hit 3 of 4 the final 11 seconds to punch their ticket to the final. Chris Johnson, Dayton’s 6-6 sophomore forward, led the way with a game high 22 points while adding 9 rebounds.

Competitiveness of the game is shown in these ‘enhanced scoring totals’

Points...	Dayton	Ole Miss
Off TOs	15	15
in Paint	20	20
fro. Bench	12	12

Outside the Garden

The four factors in an 81 possession game.

			FTM
	ORtg	eFG%	FGA	OR%	TO%
North Carolina	84	36	10	47	21
Rhode island	84	40	18	31	23

Rhode Island looks to push the pace and even for an overtime game this was a rapid tempo. An area of concern for URI was the offensive glass. The OREB Percentage shows Carolina’s dominance there. In raw numbers UNC had a 27-15 offensive rebounding edge. That led to the Tar Heels getting 15 more shot attempts (83 to 68) than URI.

Free throws were deceptive. URI had the edge in the FT rate and shot 12 of 18 from the line. In the stretch Rhody missed several from the charity stripe that could have iced the game while Carolina, 8 of 16 on the night, hit the key ones late and in OT.

Rhode Island, as expected, forced turnovers but had an unusually high TO Rate on their own. In ‘enhanced scoring’ North Carolina had huge edges in points in the paint (50-30) and bench scoring (23-4).

Deon Thompson struggled from the field shooting 6 of 20 but did lead UNC with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Keith Cothran led URI and all scorers with 23 points. Lsmont Ulmer had a solid night for Jim Baron’s club adding 18 points, 10 boards while shooting 8 of 12 from the floor.

A-10 Allegiance. During the NIT press conference on Monday, Dayton and Rhode island coaches and players in attendance I spoke with, to a person, all said they stayed up a little late last Thursday to watch and root for Xavier in their Sweet 16 OT loss to Kansas State. Even Dayton’s Chris Wright said, “I am a friend of (K-State guard Jacob)Pullen but I was on the edge of my couch pulling for Xavier. It’s good that people see how tough this (Atlantic Ten) league is.”

Some Dayton students I spoke with did not hold the same regard of Xavier. Especially members of the cheer squad who would “never root for Xavier”. It’s the rivalry as on telling them my alma mater, St.Bonaventure, is also in the A-10 they didn’t mind getting a picture.

Quotes
“We played a tough, physical team and found a way to pull it out. It was mental toughness”- Dayton coach Brian Gregory

“At halftime we emphasized finishing inside and staying on the backboards” - North Carolina coach Roy Williams

Ray Floriani with Dayton Cheering Squad

Ray Floriani in the Off Season

I was over at the College Chalk Talk Blog yesterday checking out an article Villanova by the Numbers guest poster Ray Floriani wrote about UMass' NIT run when I ran across another post about Ray's first book, recently completed, about the NIT. For those who remember when the National Invitational Tournament was the tournament, the book should bring a smile. Ray gave an interview to a local NJ paper that provides some background about the book and the author.