I'll just post some of my postgame thoughts from the game here, as it more or less sums up my thoughts of the team after conference play has concluded.

1) We need to learn how to play against a zone defense. Going back to even our dominant UMass road win, the Minutemen got back into the game and cut it to single digits because we couldn't solve their zone and trapping attempts. I remember Amir in particular got rattled and ended up riding the bench the rest of the game. Tonight, we had no success getting to the rim once Dayton switched to zone. Credit their defense, but we just did not find ways to crack it, whether it was having a guy cutting off the ball or feeding the post more. Jamison cutting to the basket (I believe it was to start the second half) was cool to see, but it was really one of the few times we actually didn't settle for a jump shot in the game. Part of the reason Dayton had much fewer fouls than us was because they actually attacked the hoop and we didn't. We became a team that was just dribbling around the perimeter until the shot clock was about to expire and hoisting a shot. Some of the shots fell, but the quality of the shot was so low that naturally not all were going to drop without absurd luck.

2) We need to learn to establish the post more. It is clear that JC has never really had dominant big men through his coaching in lower ranks. We feed Chase, AT, and Javier from time to time when they are in the game but it is not consistent enough. Chase had a nice finish over Obi to start the game and a nice up and under move as well but that was about the extent of touches he got in the post. AT for much of the season has only really got his production through offensive rebounds and putbacks (though it's awesome to see his jumpers finally going down now the past two games!). Javier isn't the best of finishers at the rim (though I liked that one sequence where he stayed with it and had a putback), but all three of these guys are better passers than they come across. We rely on Armel to make all the assisted passes, and usually there is only one pass to another guy very late in the shot clock who has very little time to adjust if covered well by the opposition. Having more shooters than just Jamison and Maceo will help next year to keep defenses honest, but for this team to have a higher ceiling long-term (talking a few seasons from now) we will need to have a reliable post presence to win games we currently cannot when shots don't fall (which there will always be a few no matter how good a shooting team you are).

Some in-game thoughts:
1) I somewhat understand why we didn't double Obi consistently, because the times we did, he was easily able to break it and find Crutcher or Watson who are money three point shooters. I am really hoping we can turn Noel into a shot-blocking/intimidating presence down low in the future. AT, Chase and Javier just do not have size to prevent guys from scoring in the post. Obi is obviously talented enough to score against anyone, but I'm talking in general against other teams.

2) Credit Dayton for shutting down Jamison in the second half. He had hardly any space to operate after halftime, and unfortunately when neither him nor Maceo are scoring at a high clip, our offense stalls as has been the case the past several games now. Maceo in particular was very quiet with just six shots.

3) We were pretty effective when we changed up our pace during the game. While I don't think we have to be a team running up and down gunning from three early in the shot clock, we become predictable when we pull the ball out and play slowly. Better teams like Dayton and VCU will take advantage and start trapping in the halfcourt which can make our offense even harder to come by as we scramble to make something happen late in the shot clock. If we can alternate possessions where we shoot a bit earlier in the shot clock with ones where we are a little more deliberate, I think that can be effective. Dayton was caught off guard when we found Maceo early in the shot clock on one possession in the corner and he canned a three with the Flyers unable to trap.

4) The talent difference between the two benches was very apparent. Hopefully in the offseason we can upgrade our bench with guys who can be more productive.

5) Dayton went on their run when we were gassed and started to be careless with the ball. Many of Dayton's scores came in transition off fast breaks. Hoping we can be that team in the future catching other teams napping and having our defense lead to offense. JNJ is usually good for this once a game but that's about it. I would say in terms of the battle between their halfcourt game and ours it was pretty even (or we fared as well as we could have) which was pretty encouraging to see. 

6) I don't know if JNJ has hit a freshman wall or what, but we are just not doing a good job using him in the offense the past three games. His only offense these days seems to be off a steal and a score. While that is always appreciated, we need to involve him more in the halfcourt offense, and that's not taking threes. I've liked the times Armel drives to the hoop and JNJ cuts as well and Armel finds him underneath for a layup. JNJ has been driving to the hoop less and instead attempting either threes he can't make right now or fadeaway contested midrange shots with JC probably doesn't care for. Hopefully this offseason JNJ puts in a lot of work on his jump shot and free throw shooting because he can be a dangerous force with that dimension of his game improved.

7) It's always interesting to see the way coaches call timeouts in games against better teams vs. ones against weaker competition. Any time it looked like Dayton was about to pull away JC called timeout tonight, which is a big change from the Fordham game where he never called timeout even after Fordham went on that big run late.

8) I'm starting to hate the possession arrow thing when it comes to a jump ball. It feels like the past 50 times we have had a tie up this season the possession arrow has always favored the other team.

9) The commentators were really lousy, which is surprising to me because I thought Dayton would have a lot more knowledgeable guys calling the game. The mixing up of guys names and hometowns is somewhat common (even though that should never happen), but the fact that they couldn't read a graphic they showed during the game was really appalling. They had a graphic on "longest win streaks this season" and they commented the fact that San Diego State losing today meant that Dayton now owns the second longest win streak in the nation even though it so clearly showed with asterisks which streaks were actually active. San Diego State's wasn't as they fell to UNLV just a week ago. I think many on this site could have called the game better.

Overall, I thought the team showed a lot of heart tonight, especially for the first 30 minutes. Hope we come out with similar focus on Wednesday and take down Fordham this time around!