We take a closer look at that, what’s going on with some of the Gem City’s college basketball teams and the latest on Ohio State’s football coaching staff this week:
Saturday is girls basketball district finals day
More than 20 games are scheduled to take place involving Dayton-area teams throughout the region.
So far, the seeds have mostly held with No. 1 seeds Fairmont in Division I, Stebbins in Division II, Carroll in Division III, Alter in Division IV, Waynesville in Division V, Anna in Division VI and Middletown Christian and Fort Loramie in Division VII all advancing to the round of 32.
Among the storylines to watch this weekend: Springfield is playing in its first district final (at Fairborn against No. 1 Mason), Carroll and No. 2 Hamilton Badin will be at Princeton facing Western Brown and Bellbrook, respectively, with hopes to get a chance for another GCL Co-Ed rematch, and three-time state champion Cincinnati Purcell Marian (and two-time Miss Basketball Dee Alexander) will be in Springfield against No. 6 Sidney.
Here’s the full schedule for Saturday: CLICK HERE
Dayton will be in action in the Windy City
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Anthony Grant’s Flyers are set to play Loyola Chicago tonight with third place in the Atlantic 10 on the line.
George Mason (21-5, 12-1) and VCU (20-5, 10-2) have separated themselves from a group vying for the final two top-four seeds in the A-10 tournament while Dayton, Loyola, fifth-place Saint Louis (14-12, 7-6) and Saint Joseph’s (16-10, 7-6); and seventh-place Rhode Island (17-8, 6-7) and Duquesne (11-15, 6-7) are playing for three and four.
“You’re trying to secure the best seed you can for the postseason,” Grant said. “We’ve just got to keep pushing and trying to keep maximizing who we are as a group.”
After a week off, the Flyers will hope to change who they have been so far this season: good on offense, bad on defense but inconsistent overall.
Consistency has also been a problem for Wright State
Credit: Joseph R. Craven
Credit: Joseph R. Craven
First-year coach Clint Sargent has gone with a nine-man rotation most of the season, and even the reserves have had multiple double-figure scoring games.
The problem for the Raiders, though, is getting five to perform at a high level on the same night.
After an embarrassing loss to one of the nation’s worst teams Sunday, they are back in action tonight at home against rival Northern Kentucky.
Wright State’s women are trending in a positive direction
Credit: Joseph R. Craven
Credit: Joseph R. Craven
Kari Hoffman’s team endured a 10-game losing streak that dropped the Raiders to 2-14, but they’ve found their mojo since then, going 6-5 in their last 11 games and are tied for seventh in the Horizon League at 6-11.
After beating Oakland on Wednesday night, they have three games left, all against the top two-thirds of the league. The teams that finish sixth through eighth get a first-round home game in the HL tourney, but Hoffman is thinking bigger than that.
“If you look at the logjam of all the teams under the top three, we’re two games out of fourth place. That is crazy. It’s important that the players understand (a top-four finish) is an attainable goal, and that’s hopefully something we can achieve,” she said.
“These last several games just mean a whole lot for putting ourselves in position to finish the year as best we can. I think our players are poised to do that.”
Ohio State finalized its coaching staff
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
What was previously reported turned out to be true: Ohio State hired Matt Patricia to be its defensive coordinator with two assistants getting promoted on that side of the ball.
On offense, Brian Hartline already had the title offensive coordinator, but he is set to be more active in that role after the departure of Chip Kelly, and he will be working a new offensive line coach.
Will those moves work? Here are some pros and cons.
I hope you enjoyed another edition of the sports newsletter!
If you have any questions, tips or notes, please reach out to me at marcus.hartman@coxinc.com.
Have a great weekend!
About the Author
