March 13, 2008
Recap |
Box Score |
AP Action Photos 
Xavier's Coach Sean Miller
Opening Statement
"I want to congratulate Dayton on an excellent season; 21 wins. Those guys were struck with an injury and then a couple and had to fight and scratch and claw and we knew we were playing a team that was head-found to be at their best. Every time we play them it's a heck of a tough game. Before I move any further, I kind of want to go back in time; I'm sure you can ask [Burrell], but I think [Burrell] was quoted before this tournament as having said a couple things and I want to make sure on his behalf and just really for me that you understand his meaning behind it. If [Burrell] has an ego right now it's exclusively about our team. He personally, as these other two guys [Lavender and Duncan] have done everything that I have asked of them. They are tremendous leaders and that's why our team is 27-5. I don't think his remarks were intended to be disparaging towards any athlete in our conference. Believe in me he has guarded enough good players in this conference to know how talented they are and I don't know if there is any other player who's enjoyed his experience in competing in this league than Burrell. So, I don't want him to become a guy who is known as saying things. For him, he stuck up for his teammates, he did what he's done everyday in his senior year and I couldn't be more proud of not only him, but these other two guys [Lavender and Duncan] and I certainly don't want any one moment statement to take away from who they are as people and the respect we all have for this great conference we are in and so many of the talented players and coaches who are also in it."
Regarding the team's defense down the stretch
"That's the one advantage having been on the other side of the fence in tournament play. Every day means more to the team that's played less games. The game that Dayton had yesterday against Saint Louis; it went into overtime. Clearly, when you get into the second half of the next day and you enter the final ten minutes, it continues to build against that team. That's the advantage of having the bye. I thought as much as what we did it was more along the lines that team seemed to run out of gas and I thought our team took advantage of, the longer the game went, the more advantageous it would be for us having done nothing yesterday."
On the importance of Drew Lavender's Injury
"It's very important. I don't know if our team has gotten enough credit recognizing in the last month we've played with him either in the limited role or in no role at all as we did against Richmond. I thought our team really responded to a difficult situation. Lavender also responded because there were a handful of games that if he weren't able to have the role that he had, I don't know if we would have left with a victory. So, it's been that combination. The good news is Lavender is four weeks since his injury. Every day that goes by is evident by the way he played today, he's getting closer and closer to 100 percent. Our goal is to have him at 100 percent right now, but clearly a week from now even more so. It's good to see him out there seeing him the way he played today."
Regarding Dayton and their tournament hopes
"I'll tell you this about Dayton. They are a very well coached team. They are as organized of a team that we play all season long. They have a tremendous guard to me, the best shooting guard in college basketball. You can chuckle if you want, but put his stats up for a four year career: free throw percentage, three point percentage and field goal percentage. He takes a back seat to nobody. I think that the players around him have really played well down the stretch and certainly I know they are worthy of going to a tournament. If that's the NCAA tournament; great. If that's the NIT, I wouldn't want to play them in the NIT, because they have an excellent program. That's what bothered me a little bit about the context of [Burrell's] remarks. We respect them a great deal, not because we are supposed to, but we respect them because of how they do things and we wish them the best. We knew that we beat a good team today."
Dayton Head Coach Brian Gregory
On his team's overall performance:
"I thought we did some really good things today, but when you play a team with the caliber like Xavier, you have to do those things the entire game. I thought our defensive effort, especially on their first shot possession was very good and it has been the thing carrying us over the last three weeks. However, we did not do very well on the glass and at times got away from some of the offensive aspects that had been working for us. On a neutral court against a team like Xavier, I thought our competitiveness was very good and it's disappointing to lose that game. We are going to have to get ready and move on to next week."
On his teams place in the NCAA Tournament picture:
"We talked about it yesterday, but a lot depends on what happens in other games. We will be in the mid 30's of the RPI and strength of schedule with probably 10 wins against teams in the top 100 of the RPI and two victories against teams in the top 25. We have done a lot of good things this year and have been through a lot together as a team. We'll see on Sunday, but if not we will be playing somewhere."
Talking about the effect of yesterday's game against Saint Louis:
"It does have something to do with it such as Kurt (Huelsman) has really been hurting as he hasn't practiced in over two weeks. And that is one of the problems with playing that game. I don't think it had much to do with being tired or anything like that. When you play Saint Louis, it's going to be a physical game as it was today against Xavier. These kids are young and they are going to be fine, so I don't think it had much bearing on the outcome."
Regarding his team's offensive play:
"Jimmy (Binnie) had some good looks, but unfortunately didn't knock some of those shots down. But again, our advantage against Xavier was our ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the basket. When we were successful offensively against Xavier, that's what we did.
Brian Roberts
On Dayton's finish to the season:
"It was definitely frustrating to complete the season in the way we did, but we just wanted to go out, play hard, compete and try to win. We have had some things we've had to deal with throughout the year just like any other team, but we let some opportunities slip. We'll see what happens to us."
On the missed free throws:
"Free throws are a mental thing and you focus in and try to make the shot. We didn't go out there trying to miss them and we just didn't make enough. It has probably cost us a couple of games this year."
Regarding the play of Marcus Johnson:
"Going into the game, we knew everyone had to be aggressive to make plays. We tried to utilize our speed against them and attack them off the dribble, which was pretty successful throughout the game. Marcus is tough to guard when he is slashing with his athleticism and he showed it today."
