really looking forward to this one. could be the best basketball game of the season

townsonkid wrote:

Does the town/borough/village of Dayton show up for the ladies games like they do the mens?  Or do they all work extra shifts at the tire plant when the men arent playing at home?

Hey, now, there are many things you can do in Dayton. Here's a list:

... so Dayton has ... nothing?
 

sperlman wrote:

Definitely a huge game and because it's at their place, it will be more imperative to have some offensive inside/outside balance if the Dukes hope to pull one out.  Relying on the outside game, which Duquesne tends to do, reduces the margin for error whereas the high/low post - specifically Paige Cannon (our best passer) to Kadri-Ann Lass will often lead to a basket and/or a foul (and free throws).
Agree with you that a win tomorrow gives Duquesne more breathing room down the stretch.  News I learned from the Selection Committee may suggest that (because the A10 is indeed down), they will only take the Conference Tournament winner, so we'll see.

Agree with your analysis.   

Also who do you know from the Selection Committee?

Games like tonight's are the best and most fun to play in.  To play a rival with first place on the line for both teams is great and winning on their floor would be the greatest.

 

Last night, a gritty come from behind effort (offensively) by the Dukes late in the 4th quarter that at one point had cut the Dayton lead to 6.  When Duquesne went into a zone trap, forcing Dayton into several turnovers, we just could not capitalize enough to eliminate their lead.  I have no fault with our offense; especially in the 2nd half.  We missed too many free throws and had several mid-range (open) shots @ the hoop that missed their mark.

My problem throughout the entire game was our defense.  It was clear early-on that we could not defend their athletic and physical players in the post.  We were overmatched and yet we continued to play 'man' defense.  Our best low post defender (Kadri-Ann) had to sit for much of the 2nd half with 3 fouls and then she got her 4th.  Duquesne never made Dayton uncomfortable when Dayton had the ball.  I do not understand why we didn't try a 2-3 zone or a trapping zone to make it a little harder for the Dayton posts to isolate and go one on one against us. 

If Duquesne meets up with Dayton in the A10 Tourney, the results will be the same unless we tweak our defense.  It was far too easy for Dayton to score.  The only thing that kept us in the game was our gritty offense.

duqkurt wrote:

I’m confident if we play them again the coaching staff will make the needed adjustments. I remember GW blowing them out at home last year and DU beating them twice.

I don’t think that Coach was too happy with the refs last night. Especially in the first half.

I think we suffer from Cleveland Browns syndrome with the A10 refs. Especially on the men’s side, we are supposed to be bad so we don’t get the calls.

The women have been good for over a decade, so I don't believe that comes into play. The loss doesn't kill us, but we have to win out now. Win out, and reach the final, and we should be in. Any losses before the final could well send us to the WNIT again.
 

VBC wrote:

duq81 wrote:

Win out, and reach the final, and we should be in.
 

I do not believe that is going to happen.  Even if we won last night and didn't lose again until the final I don't think we'd get an at large bid.  From everything I see I think the A-10 will be a 1 bid league for the women.  I don't think that is fair, but we need to win the championship for the first time ever.  We are due and I am confident that the coaches and players will accomplish that goal.

The committee has stated for years that they don't consider leagues when handing out bids. They will look at Duquesne, not the A10. If Dayton wins out, then loses to us in the Final, it will be the quality of what they did, not the fact that they play in the A10 that will determine what happens. What the weak A10 does do, is not give us many opportunities for quality wins. Thus, it would help if Fordham, and GMU finish strong, so that wins over them will show as quality wins.
 

The Selection Committee will pick the A10 Tourney champion and no other A10 team because the A10 as a conference is 'down' this season- which hurts us even when we win.  Duquesne's strength of non-conference schedule is not that high (despite playing UConn and Virginia) which is why Duquesne was tabbed as a bubble team by ESPN earlier this week- and that was before the Dayton loss.  Winning all the remaining conference games is probably unrealistic.  Duquesne's best chance would be to get to the finals of the A10 Tourney in Richmond and most likely face Dayton.  If Duquesne can scrap their man to man defense and play an aggressive 2-3 zone, or some combination of zone and man defense- I believe the Dukes can win the rematch.

I apologize if I didn't respond to your question earlier.  Charlie Crème of ESPN specifically mentioned that Duquesne was on the wrong side of the bubble (of getting in the Tourney) due to the Committee's recent selection of the top 16 teams and using the criteria for their selection in his assessment of why the Dukes were on the outside, looking in.

Charlie Crème repeated the assessment on a recent Dan Burt show hosted by Tad Maurey

Does this help?