The game came about because Richmond, Dayton’s originally scheduled opponent, paused basketball activities Sunday because of COVID-19 issues. George Mason was scheduled to play at Richmond on Tuesday.
The players, of course, will take any game they can get, knowing there’s no guarantee they’ll get to play all the games on the schedule ahead. While George Mason isn’t Richmond, the Atlantic 10 Conference preseason favorite, it was available and willing to come to Dayton again. Also there’s little chance Dayton would pass up a chance to play on ESPN2.
“We want to play anyone,” Dayton guard Jalen Crutcher after the loss Tuesday. “Some teams are not able to play, and they want to play.”
This game could take the place of a home game against George Washington that was postponed in January. No makeup date has been announced for that game. Playing on Friday also gives Dayton a chance to play 18 A-10 games, which is not going to happen for several teams in the league.
“The players want to get back on the court,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said Tuesday, “especially after a tough outing like we had tonight. We’ll get back and try to learn from this and get ready hopefully for a game on Friday.”
In a normal season, Grant wouldn’t have to add “hopefully” to a comment about the next game, but he has done that in recent weeks because no one knows for sure the next game will be played. There have been 27 games postponed in the A-10 this season.
That number includes three games scheduled for Saturday: Saint Louis at George Washington; La Salle at Saint Joseph’s; and Davidson at Fordham.
Saint Louis (7-3, 0-2) will play St. Bonaventure (9-1, 7-1) on Saturday instead of George Washington, making up a game that was postponed in January. The Billikens became the latest A-10 contender to lose to La Salle on Wednesday, falling 82-75 in Philadelphia. La Salle (8-10, 5-6), which will play Fordham on Saturday instead of Saint Joseph’s, also has beaten Dayton and Richmond.
Here’s the latest on what teams are currently sidelined by COVID-19 issues:
• Davidson (10-5, 6-2) paused all team activities Jan. 27 and has postponed its last two games.
• Since playing Dayton on Jan. 17, George Washington (3-9, 2-3) has postponed six games and isn’t scheduled to play again until Feb. 13.
• Saint Joseph’s (1-14, 0-9) has postponed its last two games because of COVID-19 problems and is scheduled to return to action Feb. 13 at Dayton.
• Richmond (10-4, 4-2) hasn’t played since Jan. 16 and has postponed five games. It’s scheduled to return Feb. 17 at home against VCU.
If Dayton did not find a new opponent for Friday, it also would have robbed the seniors of a home game. Every UD Arena experience is precious for them as they near the end of their careers, though all will have the option of returning next season because this season doesn’t count against anyone’s eligibility.
“We can’t take any game for granted,” Crutcher said. “We just have to go out and play like it’s our last game.”
That didn’t happen Tuesday. Duquesne brought more energy as it played its first true home game in almost two years. It opened the renovated UMPC Cooper Fieldhouse, formerly known as the A.J. Palumbo Center, with a dominant performance.
Duquesne (7-6, 6-5) has won three games in a row.
“This win is big time,” Duquesne’s Marcus Weathers told PittsburghSportsNow.com. “I know in my career here at Duquesne it has been pretty tough to go toe-to-toe with Dayton and beat them. It speaks about our guys and a lot of the growth that they’ve made in the short couple of months we’ve been together.”
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