USAToday slams Flyers in Mondays issue

[Piqua Flyer '66]

Nancy Armour narmour@usatoday.com

"Not to take anything away from Dayton, but it got an assist from the selection committee with both of its upsets. Ohio State was seeded sixth, five spots ahead of the Flyers, but limped into the tournament with three losses in its last six games - two of which were really, really bad. Syracuse was a #3 seed, but it, too, was playing on borrowed time after losing five of its last seven in the regular season. Drawing teams such as those makes for a much easier road than seeing, say, fourth-seeded Louisville that is playing as well as anyone right now. Or an eighth-seeded Kentucky, which is finally living up to the potential that made it the preseason #1".

What you think? I told her what I thought.
1. UD just played and beat who the comm put in front of them
2. National media can't stand to see the "big boys" get beat
3. Why take a cheap shot at a team that has captured the country's attention.
4. Syracuse seemed ok in thumping W. Michigan.

HER EMAIL ADDRESS IS ABOVE

Go Flyers

[FlyingArrow]

Kind of true, but it doesn't matter. Would you have rather played Ohio State or Kentucky? Syracuse or Louisville? Even without considering the in-state thing or making up for Maui, I'd rather play OSU and Syracuse. But we still had to beat them. Those aren't the best comparisons, though. Kentucky and Louisville were under-seeded more than Syracuse/OSU were over-seeded.

[Medford]

I think she has valid points, which is why I liked the Flyer's draw in this field. Of course this doesn't only apply to Dayton.

Tennessee came into the field playing pretty well (kind of like the flyers) and got a play in game matchup w/ a struggling team like Iowa who had dropped a bunch, then a 2nd round matchup with UMass who has been struggleing a bit towards the end of the season as well, then a matchup w/ Mercer (and lets face it, it has to be tough to get over their upset of Duke and up for Tennessee two games later).

Louisville beat Manhatten, then a St Louis squad that has been struggling towards the end of the season and looked worn down.

Mich St beat Delaware, then Harvard, nothing against either squad, but that wouldn't have even been a blip on their resume if that occured OOC.

Stanford knocked off a good New Mexico squad, then got a Kansas squad w/o perhaps the #1 pick in the NBA draft (and another top 5 talent frosh who might as well have not shown up)

UCLA beat Tulsa, then SF Austin, kind of like Mich St, would not have been a blip on their resume had this happened OOC.

San Diego St beat North Dakota St after beating New Mexico St.

The flyers owe no one an apology, both OSU and Syracuse looked awfully tough defensively despite their offensive struggles, so its not like the Flyers and gift wrapped a couple of victories, they had to fight for them. Frankly, I don't think its hating on UD, but w/o seeing the full article (if there was one) its lazy journalism. Its been said time and time again, the NCAA tournament largely about matchups.

	Massachusetts MASSACHUSETTS UMass Amherst, the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system, sits on nearly 1,450-acres in the scenic Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, 90 miles from Boston and 175 miles from New York City. The campus provides a rich cultural environment in a rural setting close to major urban centers. UMass enrolls over 20,000 undergraduates and 5,000 post-grad students. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Minutemen. Women's teams known as the Minutewomen. Sports achievements include NCAA Final Four appearances in men's basketball and women's soccer.

	Saint Louis SAINT LOUIS Saint Louis University is a Jesuit, Catholic university ranked among the top research institutions in the nation. The University fosters the intellectual and character development of more than 12,700 students. Founded in 1818, it is the oldest university west of the Mississippi and the second oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Located in St. Louis, MO, and just five minutes from the Gateway Arch, SLU offers 85 undergraduate programs and over 50 graduate study tracks. Over 99% of the SLU faculty hold the highest degree in their respective fields. Fellow member of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Billikens, but also commonly known as "Sloo", the phonetic pronunciation of the school's initials. Athletic claims to fame include multiple national titles in men's soccer and men's basketball star Larry Hughes.

[AC91]

It's just like the syracuse friend of mine who said congrats on being the least bad team on saturday. last i checked you play the games in front of you and the team who scores more than the other wins. And the NCAA tournament has ALWAYS been about match ups. There are plenty of teams syracuse would have played the other night and beaten (if they played the gonzaga or creighton of last night i think they would have killed them). But they got matched up against a team whose strength on offense could beat them (good and patient passing and shooting). This kind of thing reporting may be factual but it has no depth.

[Smitty10]

She has it all wrong. Instead of an article saying how fortunate the Flyers are, she should have wrote one that focuses on how unlucky the Buckeyes and Orangemen were to run into one of the hottest teams in the country who won 10 or their last 12 games.

[anthonycharles]

The way I see it, as a UD fan who has watched every one of their 35 games this season, we haven't even played very well in the tourney and we're in the Sweet 16. Who cares what these writers say or don't say. We know this team, we live and die with them a few times every week all season long. These writers only know about the OSU's and Syracuse's. They're caught up with the names on the front of the jerseys, like it is still 1986. It's not, it is a new world in college basketball, and most of these media heads haven't caught up.

Knowing UD hasn't even played their best game in the tourney yet and still beat those two teams, I say bring on Stanford!

[Windy City Flyer]

According to the Coaches Poll from 3/17 we beat the Ohio State ranked 24 and Syracuse ranked 12. (IMO the coaches poll is more accurate)

Ohio State was a 6 seed. That would make them seeded somewhere between 24-27

Syracuse was a 3 seed. That would make them seeded somewhere between 9 - 12.

It seems to me both OSU and 'Cuse were appropriately seeded.

[Iguomaniac]

The points the article is making are true, but years from now no one will remember that. Everyone remembers Butler making their first run to the title game in 2010, but does anyone remember that they barely beat a 13 seeded Murray State team in Round 2? If Butler puts up that performance against 4 seed Vanderbilt (who had two current NBA players and lost by 1 point to Murray State), they probably lose and maybe even stay in the Horizon league.

[UACFlyer]

To succeed in the Dance three things are required:

1. You must have a good team.
2. You've got to be playing your "A" game at the right time.
3. You need a little luck.

It's always been that way. If tOSU and SU happen to be falling short re point #2,...that's the way the cookie crumbles. And that's where item #3 comes into play.

Nothing new here.

Go Flyers!

[Larry67]

I'm always amazed when the non-BCS team holds the BCS team to 38.9% shooting and 0.00% on threes, and out-rebounds the BCS team 35-31, and has more assists and more steals, people automatically react by saying that the BCS team lost because it had an off shooting night. And it never occurs to them to say "Wow! That non-BCS team played fabulous defense."

[AQUDXU]

UD got a good draw from the standpoint that we don't defend well and tOSU and SU don't shoot well. It's all about match-ups. Oklahoma was a sub-par defensive team and got matched up with the best shooting team in the nation.

Had we drawn Creighton as the 3 seed...

None of this takes away the Sweet 16 or any of this team's accomplishments.

[tirebiter]

Valid points, to some extent.

Glad to see the Flyers get some breaks for once.

BUT - tournament time is do or die - put up or shut up.

Guess who put up and guess who should shut up?

[NCkevi]

I'd be curious to see her bracket because obviously she had UD in the sweet 16 since OSU and SU were playing so poorly they were easy picks . . .

[bobber]

Originally Posted by NCkevi I'd be curious to see her bracket because obviously she had UD in the sweet 16 since OSU and SU were playing so poorly they were easy picks . . .

You dog, Kevi!

[FlyerinChicago]

We dont defend well? Um...what team have you been watching?

[Tony T 71]

Just sent that beatch an email with a piece of my mind

[moville]

She's a Marquette grad, if that means anything.

[Fudd]

Haters gonna hate. Sweet 16 biatches!

[ruechalgrin]

According to kenpom, Syracuse is #15 and OSU #22 (after the losses so higher before). So arguably 'Cuse a #4 and OSU a #6.

[Canonball]

Originally Posted by moville She's a Marquette grad, if that means anything.

That explains a lot actually.

[Flyer Dave]

So the higher seeds don't have an advantage in the tournament when they are set to play in their own backyard. Can we say Syracuse? But that has no advantage.

And in the past the Dukes and other powers of the world, almost always get a large advantage playing near their fanbase. It increases the NCAA to sell tickets, but it also keeps the non-bcs schools from getting too far in the Tournament. So proud of our team for their hard work. GO FLYERS!

	Duquesne DUQUESNE Duquesne University is a private, coeducational university, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania located on 48 secluded acres, on a bluff above downtown. Founded in 1878 as a Catholic college by the Order of the Holy Spirit. It is the only Spiritan institution of higher education in the world. Duquesne offers 10 schools of study and 100 degree programs to 6,000 undergraduates and 3,800 graduate students. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Dukes.

[Fan4allUDSports]

Let's use this as motivation to the team. Someone should put a copy of the article in every locker and let the team look at it everyday. If the team sees this every day maybe they can use it to beat Stanford on Thursday.

[priceg75]

Originally Posted by Iguomaniac The points the article is making are true, but years from now no one will remember that. Everyone remembers Butler making their first run to the title game in 2010, but does anyone remember that they barely beat a 13 seeded Murray State team in Round 2?

Or that X's last Sweet 16 was aided by getting to play 15-seed Lehigh in the Round of 32.

[CE80]

Originally Posted by moville She's a Marquette grad, if that means anything.

Thanks. Saved me from looking it up. I assumed she was a Syracuse grad. Lots of them in the media. I wouldn't be surprised if she heard her colleagues comments too.

[priceg75]

Originally Posted by Piqua Flyer '66 Nancy Armour narmour@usatoday.com "Not to take anything away from Dayton,

You can tell when someone starts their sentence this way, the end will be "but I'm going to take everything away from Dayton."

[San Diego Flyer]

Originally Posted by Iguomaniac The points the article is making are true, but years from now no one will remember that. Everyone remembers Butler making their first run to the title game in 2010, but does anyone remember that they barely beat a 13 seeded Murray State team in Round 2? If Butler puts up that performance against 4 seed Vanderbilt (who had two current NBA players and lost by 1 point to Murray State), they probably lose and maybe even stay in the Horizon league.

Same deal with our Maui Championship a few years ago. Back then we got the same kind of sniveling about our draw. Nobody cares today and the banner hangs high. If they made us put pictures on our golf scorecard, everybody would give the game up.

In this wonderful week of Sweet Sixteen publicity, the writers are scraping for an angle that hasn't already been milked.

[Flyer69ers]

Originally Posted by priceg75 You can tell when someone starts their sentence this way, the end will be "but I'm going to take everything away from Dayton."

Similar to Coach K "I'll get in trouble probably for saying this . . ."

[VirgM]

I emailed the writer. Here's her response?

Hi Virgil,

No! You completely misunderstood me. That was a play off the Dayton Daily News headline the day after the Flyers beat Ohio State. (One of the cleverest headlines I've ever seen, I might add.)

I love upsets and love seeing teams like Dayton turn the tournament upside down. It's what makes it the best event in the US.

And, for the record, I picked Dayton to beat Ohio State.

Enjoy the tournament this weekend.
Nancy

Sent from my iPhone

> On Mar 24, 2014, at 8:45 PM, "Mathias, Virgil" <virgil.mathias@kingthompson.com> wrote:
>
> That was a really cheap shot you took at the Flyers. The darling of the country (who beat many top teams this season) and you try to discredit them. Too bad. They ruin your bracket? Give a little credit to a team who has a real success story to tell.

[BeckysTXA]

Well out in "nowhere-ville" Nebraska in a small town of 30,000, Dayton made the front page of the local newspaper with the headline:

"Dayton soars into role as underdog"

followed by the following AP story:

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/...tarting-point/

I'm sure it was picked up in a lot of places -- probably more than the UAS Today article.

[flyerfanatic86]

I think we're seeing our collective inferiority complex come into play. Let's all calm down and enjoy this tournament.

[rollo]

Originally Posted by flyerfanatic86 I think we're seeing our collective inferiority complex come into play. Let's all calm down and enjoy this tournament.

Not all of us suffer from the syndrome you identify.

[Lifelong Flyer Fan]

I sent her an email yesterday while I was still fired up, first time I have ever done that, but I was polite. I, too, received a response from her today. Message much the same as VirgM's.

[NovaFlyer]

At least she now knows 6 people read her story!!!!!

[Tony T 71]

I sent an email with no response from her...perhaps I might have gone a little overboard