A team in Dayton, Ohio, is enjoying a historically successful season, leading its conference race and playing an exciting style revolving around a talented big man. Sure, that describes the No. 7 Dayton Flyers. But it also applies to Wright State.
The Raiders are 18-4, the program’s best start in their 33-year Division I history, and after pummeling chief rival Northern Kentucky, 95-63, on Friday, they’re leading the Horizon League with an 8-1 conference mark. They’re a fun team to watch; they rank in the top 10 in scoring at 81.5 points per game and have scored at least 88 points seven times this season.
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With the core of a 21-win team back, fourth-year coach Scott Nagy thought he might have his best group yet. The Raiders won seven of their first 10 games while figuring out how the pieces fit; their only loss since Dec. 7 was two weeks ago at Illinois-Chicago when they made a furious comeback before falling, 76-72.
“We have three freshmen that we didn’t anticipate playing as much as they have,” Nagy says, “but they’ve been so good that they’ve forced us to play them. Initially, I think that was hard on team chemistry because you have older kids who aren’t maybe playing as much as they’d like. We had to kind of work through that.”
That depth has become one of the team’s biggest strengths, as nine guys are averaging at least nine minutes per game. That has allowed Nagy to quicken Wright State’s pace from 305th nationally last year to 42nd this season. But playing fast is really only possible because junior center Loudon Love got in shape for it this summer.
The 6-foot-8 Love was 320 pounds when he arrived on campus in 2016. He wasn’t able to exercise regularly during his senior year at Geneva (Ill.) High School because he tore his ACL playing football. Love was an offensive tackle who turned down scholarship offers from Illinois and several MAC schools. After a redshirt year at Wright State, he played his first couple of seasons around 280 but got down to 260 this offseason.
“We play with four guards most of the time, so this makes it easier to keep the pace and play like we want to play,” Love says.
The Raiders can spread the floor and depend on Love to control the paint and the glass. He’s averaging 15.1 points per game and 9.9 rebounds, ranking fifth nationally in offensive rebounding rate, per KenPom.com.
“Sometimes he looks like he’s stuck in mud, but people don’t realize how good of an athlete he is,” Nagy says. “Below his waist is where most of his weight is. You just can’t move him.”
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Love is hard to miss on the court, thanks to his interesting hair choices. He had braids for a while and now is sporting a top knot. The business major knows that more serious times await in the real world, so he’s embracing the college life to its fullest.
Nagy also has three fifth-year seniors who provide leadership and production: point guard Cole Gentry, forward Bill Wampler and Northwestern transfer Jordan Ash. The Raiders weren’t a great shooting team early on but have connected on 42 percent of their 3s in conference play. And despite playing fast, they’re 21st nationally in turnover rate.
Dayton and Wright State are a combined 36-6 this season. The schools are separated by nine miles but haven’t played since 1997. The Flyers see nothing but downside to playing Wright State, which is just 107th in KenPom and 114th in NET despite its gaudy record. The success of both teams this year has led to more chatter between their fans.
“When I go to speak in the community, that’s the number one question I get,” Nagy says. “I’d love to play them. But I don’t blame them, to be honest with you. I don’t spend any time thinking about it.”
A few mock brackets have matched the Raiders and the Flyers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It is possible, considering that Dayton could be around the 2 or 3 seed line while Wright State most likely is a No. 14 or 15 right now. The selection committee also places a big emphasis on geography, and Cleveland is hosting a first- and second-round pod.
“That would be funny,” Love says of the possible postseason matchup. “Even if we ended up playing at their place for the First Four, that would be funny too.”
The bracket release is still many weeks away. For now, folks in Dayton should simply appreciate two teams having memorable seasons.
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Merrimack makes an immediate impact
Merrimack beat Fairleigh Dickinson in double overtime on Thursday for its sixth straight win. The Warriors stand alone atop the Northeast Conference with a 7-1 record.
You may be wondering one of two things by now. 1) Who the heck is Merrimack? 2) Why should I care?
The answers are related.
Merrimack College is the newest program in Division I, as the private school in North Andover, Mass., is in its first year of a transition from Division II. That’s what makes the program’s early success so remarkable. According to Merrimack’s research, Cal Baptist’s 16 wins last year were the most ever by a team in its first transition season. The Warriors are already 13-8, with a real chance to win the regular-season NEC title.
“Six months ago, people would probably have never thought we’d have this many wins,” coach Joe Gallo says. “That 16-to-17 number is a big target for us.”
Merrimack went to the NCAA Division II Tournament each of the past three seasons, so its players have experience with winning. They include three seniors who played for legendary coach Bob Hurley at St. Anthony’s High School in New Jersey. But this is still a major step up in competition and resources. Gallo was able to go from 10 scholarship players to 13 after the move, and he got to work with his players over the summer for the first time. The program still has areas where it needs to catch up.
“Someone in our league will shoot me a text and say, hey, who do we call to coordinate our shootaround time? What’s your ops guy’s number?” Gallo says. “And I’ll tell them, that’s me. I’m the head coach, ops guy and equipment manager. You go through some of these handshake lines, and the suits last forever.”
Merrimack lost its first game of the season to Maine by 20 points. But just two days later, it pulled off a stunning 71-61 victory at Northwestern. (Fun with transitive property time! Merrimack beat Northwestern, which beat Providence, which beat Marquette, which beat Villanova, which beat Kansas.).
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The Warriors lead the country in steal rate and rank eighth in defensive turnover rate, while also limiting opponents to the 21st-fewest 3-point attempts. That’s because of Gallo’s extended 2-3 zone, which features a soft, three-quarter court press that runs shooters off the 3-point arc and jumps passing lanes. Senior guard Juvaris Hayes leads the nation in steal rate (6.4 percent) and has 416 career thefts. The Division I career record is 385, while the all-time collegiate record is 449.
“He probably should be like a high-major free safety or something,” Gallo says of the 6-foot, 195-pound guard. “His defensive instincts are just incredible.”
Merrimack won’t be eligible to play in the NCAA Tournament or the NIT until 2024, but a postseason trip to the CIT or CBI is still on the table. Cal Baptist’s 16 wins last year included four against non-Division I opponents; the Warriors have played just one such foe, beating Division III Lesley University by the insane score of 110-16.
In hindsight, Gallo regrets scheduling that game. But how was he, or anyone, to know that Merrimack would be this good in Division I this soon?
The Red Hawks are honoring the stricken father of one of their own. (Courtesy of Arkansas State)
Cancer hits Arkansas State hard
When Arkansas State’s staff donned the suits and sneakers look for Coaches vs. Cancer last week, they understood the magnitude of the event.
The Red Wolves have had more than their share of experience with the disease. The father of senior guard Jerry Johnson Jr., a respected longtime Memphis high school coach, died of lung cancer in 2016. Assistant coach Mike Scutero’s wife, Kimberly, is a breast cancer survivor who has undergone chemo the past two years. Head coach Mike Balado is close friends with football coach Blake Anderson, whose wife, Wendy, died of breast cancer last August.
Earlier this month, assistant coach Rick Cabrera’s father, Hugo, was visiting Jonesboro to take in a couple of games. He’d been bothered by stomach pains in the previous weeks and felt so weak that he had to stay home for one of the games. When Hugo returned home to Miami, he went to the doctor and was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
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Hugo Cabrera played at an NAIA school, was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks and went to training camp with the Knicks. He played professionally in Europe and Latin America and was named the player of the century in his native Dominican Republic. Rick Cabrera, who grew up in New York City, would spend his summers in whatever country his dad was playing. Rick was a guard at Tennessee Tech before getting into coaching.
“My whole basketball career is only because of him,” he says of his father.
Doctors determined last week that Hugo’s cancer was at Stage 3, meaning it has begun to spread into nearby blood vessels and/or nerves. For Thursday night’s game against South Alabama, Arkansas State’s players wore special warmup T-shirts that read “Fight Like a Cabrera.”
“When I told my dad we were doing that, he busted out crying,” Cabrera says.
This has been a tough few weeks for Cabrera, but he’s trying to maintain focus with the Red Wolves, who won both games last week to improve to 15-7 overall and 7-4 in the Sun Belt. He knows his dad is watching every game on TV and that basketball helps keep his spirits up.
“I don’t want to make it to where the players have to play for me and my dad,” he says. “Just play hard. I appreciate the added support, but I don’t want to put any more pressure on them.”
It’s unfortunate that Arkansas State has had some experience dealing with this, which made Coaches vs. Cancer week even more meaningful.
“It’s a great thing that we do nationally,” Balado says. “It’s really hit home with us here. We want to honor all those people, not only the ones we know personally but the ones we don’t know, that we can continue to raise awareness for a cure.”
Mid-bits
• It didn’t make a lot of sense when UNC-Wilmington fired coach C.B. McGrath on Jan. 13. The move wasn’t curious so much because of McGrath’s performance — the Seahawks were just 5-14 and had lost 11 straight, and the team had won 21 games total his first two years — but because of its timing. Why fire a coach midway through the season? It’s not like UNCW needed to get a head start on its search.
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Regardless, the team has found a spark under interim coach Rob Burke. The Seahawks beat defending Colonial Athletic champ Northeastern on Jan. 18, then pulled off a stunning 72-70 win at Charleston on Saturday. Burke used a box-and-one and diamond-and-two zones against Charleston star Grant Riller, who was held to 16 points on 12 field-goal attempts.
“What a whirlwind,” Burke told The (Charleston) Post and Courier. “With the adversity for what we’ve been going through, this is just a special, special group. They won’t quit. They get up and brush themselves off.”
• Staying in the CAA, how about Delaware’s week? Nate Darling scored 34 points as the Blue Hens staved off Northeastern on the road, 76-74, on Saturday. Two days earlier, they won at Hofstra on this end-to-end game-winner by Kevin Anderson (as coaches everywhere scream, Stop the ball!):
WALK-OFF ON THE ROAD!@DelawareMBB gets the bucket with 0.3 to go. Blue Hens win 73-71. pic.twitter.com/C5dRQ1Z7sf
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) January 24, 2020
• How about a buzzer-beater that, uh, didn’t beat the buzzer? After Morgan State’s Sherwyn Devonish-Prince Jr. nailed a 3-pointer with four seconds left for the lead, Coppin State answered with this three-quarter-court heave:
HOLY COW! BOTH TEAMS ARE CELEBRATING! WO pic.twitter.com/tiyvrQszc3
— Nick Lorensen (@daily_cbb) January 25, 2020
Alas, it didn’t count. But what a shot. And what a way to lose.
Games of the week
Richmond at VCU, 7 p.m. ET Tuesday (CBS Sports): The Spiders missed their shot at Dayton on Saturday but must regroup quickly for the Capital City Classic. Both teams are on the NCAA Tournament bubble, so this crosstown rivalry takes on added meaning.
Buffalo at Akron, 7 p.m. Tuesday (ESPN+): Buffalo has been the big dog of the MAC the past couple of years, but Akron is the league’s best team according to the NET rankings. If the Zips want to grab the throne, they’ll have to knock off the reigning kings.
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No. 7 Dayton at Duquesne, 7 p.m. Wednesday (CBS Sports): Duquesne’s storybook season hit a rough patch last week with consecutive losses at Rhode Island (understandable) and at UMass (not so much). The Dukes will look to get back on track at “home” — this one will be at PPG Paints Arena, home to the NHL’s Penguins — by scoring a huge upset. And as always Dayton is appointment viewing.
San Diego State at New Mexico, 9 p.m. Wednesday (CBS Sports): Playing in The Pit is never easy; the Aztecs haven’t won there since 2016. New Mexico hasn’t lost at home in 13 tries this season, though the team has been a mess since Carlton Bragg got the boot. The Lobos have lost three of their last four, including a 22-point drubbing at Nevada on Saturday. Star guard JaQuan Lyle missed that game with a knee injury, and his status for this one is uncertain.
Saint Mary’s at BYU, 10 p.m Saturday: The “who’s going to finish second to Gonzaga” series resumes; Saint Mary’s beat BYU in overtime, 87-84, at home on Jan. 9, though the Cougars were without star big man Yoeli Childs. Both teams looked like solid NCAA Tournament clubs until teetering toward the bubble this month, so this one looms large.
The Mid-Major Top 10
1. San Diego State (21-0, 10-0 Mountain West): The Aztecs landed on 21 in Las Vegas, beating UNLV on Sunday to set a school record with their 21st straight win to start the season. They had to work a little harder for this one, as the score was tied at the under-eight timeout in the second half. But Malachi Flynn and Bryce Hamilton took over down the stretch. This will be a big week, with the game in Albuquerque on Wednesday and a visit from Utah State on Saturday. If San Diego State navigates those two, the biggest remaining hurdles most likely will be at Boise State on Feb. 16 and at Nevada in the regular-season finale. Last week: 1
2. Dayton (18-2, 7-0 Atlantic 10): The Flyers survived another good team on the road, amid another sold-out bloodthirsty gym while beating Richmond, 87-79. “I’ve never seen a team that scores in spurts so much and doesn’t have droughts,” Spiders coach Chris Mooney said afterward. If Dayton gets past Duquesne earlier in the week, it should have no trouble with Fordham at home on Saturday. LW: 2
3. Saint Mary’s (18-4, 5-2 West Coast): The Gaels appear to have righted the ship after a mini-swoon that included losses at Pacific and versus Santa Clara. They beat San Francisco and Loyola Marymount by double digits last week, averaging 1.2 points per possession against the latter. The trip to Salt Lake City this weekend is a crucial Quad 1 opportunity for their NCAA Tournament résumé. LW: 6
4. Northern Iowa (17-3, 6-2 Missouri Valley): After a disappointing loss at Southern Illinois earlier in the week, the Panthers bounced back with an overtime win against Loyola-Chicago on Sunday. UNI and the Ramblers are tied for first in the Valley; they’ll play again Feb. 15 in Chicago in what might decide the regular-season title. LW: 3
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5. East Tennessee State (18-3, 7-1 Southern): The Buccaneers maintained their slim lead in the SoCon with comfortable wins over Western Carolina and Chattanooga. A sixth straight victory could come Wednesday at home against Mercer, and then a truly big one awaits: at home against UNC-Greensboro on Saturday (4 p.m. ET, ESPN+). LW: 9
6. VCU (15-5, 5-2 A10): Speaking of big ones, the Rams host Richmond on Tuesday and then go to Rhode Island on Friday. The A10 race — and perhaps VCU’s NCAA Tournament hopes — could be a lot clearer by the weekend. LW: 8
7. BYU (15-7, 4-3 WCC): The Cougars got Yoeli Childs back but lost at San Francisco, 83-82, on Saturday. The Dons made a 21-0 run in the second half and smartly intentionally fouled Childs – a 56 percent free-throw shooter dealing with an injured finger on his shooting hand – in the final seconds while protecting a lead. Childs missed the front end of a one-and-one. BYU is still 29th in the NET (and 23rd in KenPom), but the losses are piling up. LW: 5
8. Rhode Island (14-5, 6-1 A-10): Make it six straight wins for Rhody, which sits in sole possession of second place in the A-10. Fatts Russell leads the league in scoring at 19.9 points per game and is second in steals and fifth in assists. LW: Not ranked
9. Liberty (19-3, 5-2 Atlantic Sun): Stick a fork in the Flames’ at-large hopes after they dropped back-to-back A-Sun games. The North Florida loss, which came by one point on a free throw with one second remaining, might have been excusable. But then came a 48-43 setback at Stetson in which Liberty managed only 14 second-half points. The Hatters are 301st in the NET. It’s win the conference tournament or bust now for the Flames’ NCAA Tournament chances. LW: 4
10. Yale (14-4, 2-0 Ivy League): Welcome, Elis. Yale hasn’t gotten into the heart of its conference schedule yet, but it ranks fourth nationally in effective field goal percentage allowed and No. 25 in adjusted defensive efficiency. The Bulldogs lost by two points at Penn State and by three at North Carolina earlier this season. They’re 54th in KenPom, one spot behind Virginia. James Jones has Yale looking for its second straight NCAA Tournament trip. LW: NR
Dropped out: Saint Louis, Duquesne
Waiting room: Wright State, UNC-Greensboro
(Top photo of Loudon Love: Courtesy of Wright State)
