NCAA Tourney - Providence vs. Dayton 9:57 p.m. truTV

[HoosierPal]

The issue i see is everyone is hung up on where the game was played. Do all D1 teams not play road games in season? Was it not just,two days ago it didnt matter where this game was played because providence beat other BE teams that were better than anything dayton has played all year?

The fans at the game dont play the game. A home court can help but it wasn't either teams home court. The refs called a certain type of game and PC didnt adjust quick enough.

Dayton would have had a bunch of fans at the game no matter where it was played. They are like Creighton, they travel and support their team. Sure Columbus was convenient, but they would have had the majority of fans in the house even if they played in Seattle.

Games have been called horribly all tourney long. SMU and Buffalo are the two schools that were on the wrong end of game altering calls.

[ATL Flyer]

No argument refs were terrible, but there were awful calls both ways. The T was bogus. The refs also missed the obvious travel by PC in a critical part of the second. Also, Pollard's fourth foul and Wehrli's third were terrible calls, should have been non calls, there was nothing there.

The refs don't account for giving three point shooters wide open looks or not getting back on defense after a made bucket. The Flyers scored atleast five buckets, right after a PC basket, because PC wasn't getting back on defense. Henton forced up a ton of bad shots. The refs don't account for airballing a wide open 3. When Henton took it to the hoop next possession he got the call. When Dunn took it to the hoop he got the call, but when PC is settling for pull up jumpers you're not going to get to the line, no matter where you are playing.

I won't argue playing in Columbus helps, but Dayton travels well where ever they play. I went to Memphis last year, and Dayton ran that town. The Memphis paper said it looked like Dayton was playing at home. There isn't anything else to do in Dayton, besides college basketball, and the town loves its team.

[Jet915]

The issue i see is everyone is hung up on where the game was played. Do all D1 teams not play road games in season? Was it not just,two days ago it didnt matter where this game was played because providence beat other BE teams that were better than anything dayton has played all year?

The fans at the game dont play the game. A home court can help but it wasn't either teams home court. The refs called a certain type of game and PC didnt adjust quick enough.

Dayton would have had a bunch of fans at the game no matter where it was played. They are like Creighton, they travel and support their team. Sure Columbus was convenient, but they would have had the majority of fans in the house even if they played in Seattle.

Games have been called horribly all tourney long. SMU and Buffalo are the two schools that were on the wrong end of game altering calls.

There is a big difference in having the game 70 miles away versus 700 miles or more. Sure, Dayton would have still had a lot of fans but almost that whole arena was red. Its a joke that the last team to make it in gets 3 home games to start the tourney.

[DudeAnon]

Don't know what all the debate about is. There are simple facts at play here.

1) PC is a good team
2) Dayton is a good team
3) Dayton had a relative "home court advantage"

Dayton didn't ask for home court. Every year teams have to overcome situations and PC didn't. Just give Dayton credit for a good win and move on

[yaboynyp]

Friars are trending up…

It’s a tough loss but Cooley is the right guy for the job and I think this might be the first time Providence went to the Tourney 2 years in a row since I’ve been alive. It hurts, but the future is really bright for you guys and loved the way your team competed this year except when they played Georgetown

Thx for a great season Friars…. Respect

[stever20]

One thing to remember about the flagrant- even if it's not called as a flagrant it's still a foul. Dunn got caught reaching into the cookie jar a minute later. Now the question is, would he have done that same thing if he hadn't been called for the flagrant? Very possibly.

About the FT difference- 8 of the FT were shot in the last 80 seconds of the game by Dayton when PC was trying to foul on purpose. So the difference was really 22-7. Still bad, but not crazy.

Bottom line, when Henton and Dunn shoot 11-39 from the field- you aren't going to win many games. I thought PC settled way too much for outside shots.

Oh- the idiot who called the T- I think it's Tom Eades. His 40th T of the season. He's tied for 2nd for the season in most T's called. Don't think he needs to be doing any more games....

In reality, the flagrant on Dunn should have been called the other way according to Doug Gottlieb, who was providing color commentary on the game. So, no, it's not still a foul. If they're going to let the defender get in that tight and make contact with the offensive player, then it's a "play on" as Gottlieb said. If they're going to call it right, then they should have called the foul on the .dayton player before Dunn ever made his move.

A 22-7 FT discrepancy is not crazy? In what world?

I agree that Providence shot poorly, but the refs set the tone early and essentially took Providence's most important player out of the game at a key point. The game was called the way Dayton needed to play their game so they could defend physically and the way the game was called restricted Providence from doing what they normally do. It was Dayton's lucky day.

In reality Bill- it was whistled a foul on Dunn. They then went to the monitor and upgraded it to a flagrant. At that point, when they went to the monitor, there is NO option to rescind the foul. None. Gottlieb was saying what he thought the rule should be, but the fact is that's not what the rule ACTUALLY is.

The Xavier/Ole Miss game- Xavier took 21 FT, Ole Miss 5 FT. It happens.

The refs didn't take Dunn out with the Flagrant. That was 1 foul. He rather stupidly reached in about 2 minutes later. The next 9 minutes it was a 12-5 run for Dayton, with PC having 6 turnovers when he was on the bench.

[mccartmz]

In reality, the flagrant on Dunn should have been called the other way according to Doug Gottlieb, who was providing color commentary on the game. So, no, it's not still a foul. If they're going to let the defender get in that tight and make contact with the offensive player, then it's a "play on" as Gottlieb said. If they're going to call it right, then they should have called the foul on the .dayton player before Dunn ever made his move.

Bill Marsh, where in the rulebook does it say player can elbow another in the face? Yes the defender was in tight on him so Dunn could barely move. Thats called good defense! The defender has a right to his position. If a player swings his elbow around, the defender is entitled to stay in his position and draw the foul. I believe the term Gottlieb used was, "Davis is way too close to Dunn." I nearly laughed when I heard it. I'm sure Dunn would have liked more space but that doesn't mean he can initiate contact to the opponents head in order to free some up.

[stever20]

Friars are trending up…

It’s a tough loss but Cooley is the right guy for the job and I think this might be the first time Providence went to the Tourney 2 years in a row since I’ve been alive. It hurts, but the future is really bright for you guys and loved the way your team competed this year except when they played Georgetown

Thx for a great season Friars…. Respect

The question you have with PC now is if Dunn leaves, Henton, Desrosiers, and Bancroft are all gone- and even Tyler Harris(who could be one of those graduate transfers that is so crazy). PC could fall back a smidge.

Now if Dunn and Harris stick around, with Bullock finally added, they could be a legit top 25 team.

[gosports1]

Id like to make up excuses like blaming the refs (they were lopsided) or Dayton having a home game, but the reality is PC played terribly.
They had the opportunity to win ,had they actually shown up for the game. The 1st half was a clinic on how not to play BB by both sides. the BC-Brown losing team showed up last night not the real PC team that IMO was/is capable of beating Oklahoma and going to sweet 16 or beyond

I dont know why the program seems to have so many issues when they appear on the big stage. It happens almost every time. oh well its time to focus on our mens hockey and see if they get a bid.

Good luck Dayton and the Big East. Wait til next year PC

Last year's BE tournament wasn't a big stage? They didn't play well in this year's Big East tournament?

Yes, they had an opportunity. Yes, they didn't play well. Yes, they didn't overcome the refs. But the fact is that the refs were a huge obstacle that had to be overcome . . . unfairly.

Providence came into this contest with a game plan. Minutes into the game that plan had to be revised because their best player, the one most critical to implementing that plan, was put on the bench due to a B/S flagrant foul call. Meanwhile they were letting all kinds of contact go, allowing Dayton to play the kind of defense they wanted to play. Finally to add insult to injury, they T up the coach over nothing, eliminating any hope of a late rally.

This had figured to be a close game. Little things make a difference in close games. In this one, it was all about match ups, I.e. Dayton getting the game ref'd to suit their style of play. Going into it, we were all focusing on the wrong match up.

Last years BE tornament was the exception, thats why i said "usually".
If the game plan had to be revised they needed a better backup plan. Other teams face obstacles and seem to be able to get around them
Maybe im looking at things through clouded glasses, but it seems PC's opponent always (often) steps it up against PC, intentional or not.. Dayton set a school record for margin of victory in tourney game for example. Im sure there arent as many as i think but it seems like it happens often
Regular season this year ST johns on losing streak 1st BE victory-Providence, Marquette near bottom of league, 1st BE victory- providence.
Losing to St Johns isnt a bad thing, its just the timing of it.

Bill you know what its like to be a PC fan. Seems like something always goes wrong and there is a failure to live up to potential.
Like i said maybe i remember the negatives morebut it can be frustrating. Althoug a 20+ win season is a great accomplishment, but i want more!

[Flyer75]

The issue i see is everyone is hung up on where the game was played. Do all D1 teams not play road games in season? Was it not just,two days ago it didnt matter where this game was played because providence beat other BE teams that were better than anything dayton has played all year?

The fans at the game dont play the game. A home court can help but it wasn't either teams home court. The refs called a certain type of game and PC didnt adjust quick enough.

Dayton would have had a bunch of fans at the game no matter where it was played. They are like Creighton, they travel and support their team. Sure Columbus was convenient, but they would have had the majority of fans in the house even if they played in Seattle.

Games have been called horribly all tourney long. SMU and Buffalo are the two schools that were on the wrong end of game altering calls.

^^^^^This....thank you Hoosier!

When Dayton played in Memphis for the S16 and E8 last year, Dayton fans took over the whole town. Numerous articles were written about it. It was the feel good story of the tourney. Dayton had MORE fans then the #1 #1 seed Florida Gators. Jay Bilas comments every year when he does a Dayton game in a holiday tourney how Dayton has "turned it into a home court". It doesn't matter if it's Charleston, Hawaii or Puerto Rico. So why any different if it's in Columbus. Sure Dayton had a ton more fans then Providence. Dayton would have had more fans then Providence no matter where this game was played.