A couple weeks ago I decided that if Dayton won two of their last three regular season games, I would make the nine hour drive to Philadelphia to watch the Flyers get after it in the Atlantic-10 Tournament. After all, those MCC Tourney games at the UD Arena a few years ago were a hoot and — though there’s always talk about the small Philly crowds — I figured the local schools would spice things up and make for a great experience. What little I knew.

I arrived for the Dayton game, the first of the Thursday evening twin-bill, and wondered if the First Union Spectrum was even open for business. With 10 minutes until tip-off, UD fans numbered about 350 and the rest of the facility totaled about 350 — including the media, staffs, and food vendors.

If you’ve never been to the Spectrum, its the place where Doctor J made a name for himself and where the Philadelphia Flyers won a couple Stanley Cups. The UD Arena however it is not. It’s old, it’s dirty, it’s falling apart, and it’s basically what Riverfront Coliseum was a few years ago. How and why Linda Bruno decides to play the Conference tournament in such a lousy facility is beyond the realm of comprehension — at least that’s what I thought when she walked past me with a smile on her face as 2,000 fans filled a 17,000 seat facility of which half the seats in the upper deck were tarped off to make things look more cozy. In a city of a gazillion people, the Spectrum had fewer fans than Al Roker.

With UD and St. Joe butting heads, the Flyer contingent easily out-faced the Hawk fans until St. Joe nearly pulled out the dramatic  with an incredible display of perimeter shooting and money plays.

The game itself was ugly, but every Flyer game this season has been anything but poetry. Dayton had a 23-20 lead and possession of the ball on four straight trips and failed to extend the first half lead. If it weren’t for a Stanley trey just before the half ended, UD would have been in big trouble.

The Hawks were hot from three-point land all night, and several players made some shots that would get a knife pulled on you out on the playground asphalt. Tim Brown nailed a trey as the shot clock expired that kept the Hawks in the game. I was sitting 10 feet from where he let it go and I’m still having trouble believing it went in — David Morris was draped all over him like a three-piece suit.

But I digress. The Flyers turned to Mark Ashman, David Morris, and Tony Stanley for huge baskets when they absolutely needed them and survived sub-par FT shooting at the end to crawl into the A-10 Semis. In this sense, it’s mission accomplished. Dayton needed just one victory to be a 100% lock for the NCAAs. Everything from here on is gravy. That said, I’m glad I didn’t drive 18hrs to see the Flyers lose their first game. On the other hand, the A-10 Tournament REALLY DOES look better on television. Unless you were here, you just wouldn’t understand the Mickey Mouse feeling of this event. It’s downright embarrassing and painful to admit, but it’s true. I never thought it would be this bad in person.