Trying to rebound from a loss is difficult enough. Trying to rebound from one at the hands of a bitter rival after you have broken into the Top-25 for the first time in a quarter century only adds to the challenge. Having to face a dangerous opponent makes the task unenviable. On Saturday, the University of Dayton Flyers face that exact task when they take on the Marshall University Thundering Herd.

After dropping a gut-wrenching 82-75 decision to the UC Bearcats, the 2-2 Flyers will deal with the Herd (2-1) – and their assortment of weapons that should present some problems for the Flyers. Marshall, the odds-on favorite to win the Mid American Conference, lost to the same UC team by only four on UC’s home court.Leading the Thundering Herd is Tamar Slay. Slay was recently featured in Sports Illustrated’s college basketball preview issue as one of the hidden gems in the game. The 6’9″ GUARD is averaging 23.7 points per contest and 6 rebounds per game. Send him to the free throw line? Slay is shooting 85% from the stripe. If there is a weakness to this future NBA First Round pick’s game, it must be the 19 turnovers he has committed so far. The obvious question to the Dayton staff is, who will guard Slay?Complimenting Tamar at the guard spot is a name that will be familiar to all Flyer fans – Travis Young. Travis is the younger brother of former Flyer point guard Edwin Young. Young is trying to keep up with Slay, averaging 18 points a contest himself. At just 6’0″, he crashes the boards well – grabbing 5 per game so far. Both Slay and Young have sizzled from the field so far, each hitting on over 50% of their field goal attempts. While Marshall’s outside strength is obvious, they also have horses down low. J.R. VanHoose is a 6’10″, 245lb junior who’s size could cause Dayton a few matchup problems on the inside. VanHoose is contributing 15.3 points per game, and almost 10 rebounds. Power forward Latece Williams leads the Herd with 14 blocked shots so far, while adding 15.7 points on the offensive end.Marshall’s Slay is not the only player in Saturday’s contest that has been featured in Sports Illustrated.

Tony Stanley (19.3 ppg, 4 rbd) was the center of a story featuring the Flyers and their success in the Maui tournament. It will be interesting to see how Dayton coach Oliver Purnell confronts the matchup problem that Tamar Slay presents. Will he go with Tony, or someone bigger like small forward Brooks Hall (9.0 ppg, 4.3 rbd), or someone even bigger – like power forward Yuanta Holland (13.3 ppg, 7.5 rbd)?All in all, Dayton could be ripe for a letdown against a quality team. However, this game provides the opportunity to get another win against another strong team. Down the road, this game should also help UD’s strength of schedule and power ratings. If the Flyers play a full 40 minutes like they are capable of, it should not be a close game. However, after the UC game, expect Marshall to test out Dayton against the press.