“Are you going to take the team on a tour of Heinz Field and show them some Super Bowl trophies?” a reporter asked.
“No, we’ve got Cowboys fans, Redskins fans, Bears fans,” Miller said. “I don’t even want to taint Heinz Field with some of those fans.”
Miller was joking, mostly. He won’t take the team on any tours in Pittsburgh or in his hometown in Beaver Falls, 40 miles north because every trip is a business trip for the Flyers. This one is more important than most. The Flyers seek their first Atlantic 10 tournament title since 2003. The seniors seek to put three straight disappointing defeats at the A-10 tournament in Brooklyn behind them.
A-10 TOURNAMENT: Analyzing the field in Pittsburgh
To do that, Dayton ought to look to the Steelers for inspiration. The Steel Curtain played some great defense in the 1970s, and recent Steelers teams haven’t been bad on that side of the ball either. Dayton won with its defense all season, only to see its numbers plummet in recent weeks.
"Our guards have to do a better job on the ball," Miller said Monday on WHIO Radio. "Our front-court players have to be more scrappy. We have to be a tougher team to deal with in terms of 50-50 plays. When you're going through the season and you're trying to save legs and you're trying not to get hurt, sometimes you can lose that physical edge."
EXPERT’S TAKE: KenPom.com says Flyers are favored in Pittsburgh
Opponents shot 40.9 percent from the field against Dayton in January and 42.3 percent in February and have shot 45 percent in two games in March. Three-point field-goal percentages have also climbed: from 26.8 to 34.4 to 36.6.
Dayton ranked ninth in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com, on Jan. 17. Now it ranks 39th.
The Flyers led the A-10 in scoring defense for much of the season. It finished tied for second with Virginia Commonwealth (66.9 points per game). UD still believes in its defense and started working on getting back on track two days after an 87-81 loss Saturday to George Washington in the regular-season finale.
“It’s just going hard in practice and going at each other every day,” said senior guard Kyle Davis, who made the All-A-10 defensive team with teammate Charles Cooke on Tuesday. “(Monday) was a good day to go at each other. We all played good defense and offense. It was working.”
MARCH MADNESS: Miller always nervous on Selection Sunday
Dayton has seen several of the A-10’s top players post big numbers in recent games.
St. Bonaventure’s Jaylen Adams scored 35 points in a 76-72 loss at Dayton on Feb. 18. Davidson stars Jack Gibbs and Peyton Aldridge each scored 27 against Dayton in an 89-82 overtime loss on Feb. 24. VCU’s Mo Alie-Cox scored 23 in a 78-72 loss on March 1. Then Saturday, George Washington’s Tyler Cavanaugh led the Colonials to a victory with 30 points against UD.
Dayton may see Gibbs and Aldridge again soon. The No. 1 seed Flyers (24-6) play No. 8 La Salle (15-14) or No. 9 Davidson (15-14) at noon Friday in the quarterfinals at PPG Paints Arena. The Explorers and Wildcats meet at noon Thursday in the first round.
PREDICTIONS: Fans confident in Flyers
Miller hopes his team regains its edge on the defensive side in time to create some more March magic.
“There’s a culture about playing defense,” Miller said. “It’s not just one guy. It’s a team defense. I think we understand we have won a lot of games with our defense. You don’t win a conference championship or be in the tournament or do some of the things we’ve done without having a philosophy on defense. Some of our guys know when we’ve had our biggest moments or best wins, it hasn’t been because we’ve scored 85 points. It’s because we were able to win a game 59-58. That’s important to our players, but through the course of the year, just like you can lose your shot or your offense at times, you can also lose phases of your defense through the course of the year. In the back third of the A-10, I do not think we were as tough as were in the first six to 12 games.”
FRIDAY’S GAME
Dayton vs. La Salle or Davidson, noon, NBC Sports Network, FM 95.7, AM 1290
About the Author
