Behind all the Dayton Flyers players, the six UD students in the Red Scare section had similar reactions when Emmanuel Bandoumel’s jump shot hit the back of the rim and fell through the net with 0.2 seconds to play Saturday at UD Arena. Nick Gregor, the student wearing the the Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken suit, threw his head back in agony. Of course, the dozens of fan cardboard cutouts watching the game from that end kept smiling through the pain.
Dayton’s 66-64 loss in the second game of the season provided an early reminder that this season is not last season. The magic that catapulted Dayton to 21 straight victories in all and 19 straight in 2020 — 8-0 in January, 8-0 in February, 2-0 in March and a 1-0 start in December — was not going to last forever.
“It doesn’t feel great,” Dayton guard Ibi Watson said. “Credit to them. They played a good game. For us, it comes down to two things: turnovers and rebounds. That’s got to be our focus.”
Dayton (1-1) doesn’t have to wait long for another chance. It will play a neighbor from the Horizon League — not that Horizon League neighbor, Gem City Jam fans — at 7 p.m. Tuesday when Northern Kentucky (not Wright State) visits UD Arena. The game will be televised on Spectrum News 1 and ESPN+ for fans who can’t be there — and that’s pretty much everyone.
Northern Kentucky (2-1) is a capable opponent that won the Horizon League tournament last season, but coach Anthony Grant’s focus likely will be more on his team and how it can improve from game two to three than the opponent. Here are three things that need to happen for Dayton on Tuesday and Saturday when it plays Mississippi State in Atlanta.
1. Fewer turnovers: Dayton had 15 turnovers against Eastern Illinois and 19 against SMU. Crutcher has nine turnovers. All the starters have committed at least four.
A number of turnovers have been unforced: traveling calls, double-dribbles, illegal screens, stepping out of bounds, etc.
“That’s back-to-back games,” Grant said Saturday. “That’s a major factor. I’ve got to try to help them as much as I can. It’s going to be hard for us to accomplish what we want to accomplish (with that many turnovers).”
2. More bench contributions: Four reserve players have seen action in the first two games. R.J. Blakney, Moulaye Sissoko, Zimi Nwokeji and Christian Wilson have combined for six points, five rebounds and one assist in 61 minutes.
Freshman Luke Frazier has not played in the first two games. Freshman Koby Brea is sidelined with an “upper body injury,” Grant said.
Southern California transfer Elijah Weaver can’t play, though he could become eligible if the NCAA votes to make all transfers eligible Dec. 16, and it’s expected do that. Dayton could also get help when freshman Mustapha Amzil joins the program later this month or in early January.
Dayton ranks 286th out of 357 Division I teams in bench minutes, according to KenPom.com. The reserves have played 15.5 percent of the total minutes.
In some ways, that’s not a surprise because the starters dominated playing in time in Grant’s first three seasons. Dayton ranked 326th (24.4 percent) in bench minutes in 2017-18, 336th in 2018-19 (21.5 percent)) and 278th (25.9) last season.
However, there’s little doubt Dayton needs more help from its reserves, and those reserves will need more playing time if they’re going to contribute.
“The bench is coming along well,” Watson said. “They’re still learning a lot, learning who they are as players. I think as the season continues, they’ll grow with it.”
3. Bigger impact by Crutcher: Dayton’s senior guard has averaged 11.5 points, 6.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds in two games. He has made 7 of 17 field goals and 2 of 7 3-pointers.
It’s a small sample size. Crutcher’s resume provides little doubt he has big games ahead of him. But for a player who’s on the watch list for all the national player of the year awards, it’s a slow start.
“Certainly he’s going to be the focal point of every scouting report,” Grant said. “I’ve got to find ways to make the game easier for him. I thought Jalen did a heck of a job making plays for his teammates (Saturday) and understanding where his opportunities were and being patient with them.”
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