Round of 32: Syracuse vs. Dayton Preview

Ohio State transfer Jordan Sibert is
coming off of a huge win against his former team.  

I think we're all feeling a little bit better after Thursday's domination of Western Michigan...and I think we're feeling that much better because the Dayton Flyers knocked off Aaron Craft and Ohio State in the round of 64.

While yes, I would have loved nothing more than to avenge the 2012 Elite 8 loss to Jared Sullinger and the Buckeyes in the midst of the Fab Melo saga, but at the same time I'm more concerned with making it to the second weekend.  That being said, Dayton can flat out play, and Syracuse should not take them lightly.

Dayton's biggest strength is absolutely their depth.  They're technically 11 guys deep and no one on their team averages over 30 minutes per game.  They have four guys that shoot above 39% from three and that is just the beginning of their balanced scoring attack.

Devin Oliver is probably their best player, although Dayton lacks a star who can really take over the game.  Oliver is a balanced player who leads the Flyers in five statistical categories.  He's definitely the most consistent player on Dayton.

Next is 6-4 guard Jordan Sibert who can be an X-factor in this game for Dayton.  He shoots 43% from behind the arc which could cause problems for the Orange.  Vee Sanford is another key contributor off the bench, but once again I emphasize this is a very balanced scoring attack.

While Syracuse has been used to teams trying to slow it down against them, i.e. Villanova and Virginia, Dayton is a team that loves to run up and down. They will try and push the ball as much as possible and they're game is really up tempo.

Dayton is a physical team that knows
how to box out.

 On defense Dayton is a hard-nosed rebounding team and it can be tough to score inside because of their physicality and length.  However, their opponents shoot free throws on almost 44% of their field goal attempts so Syracuse is going to have to make free throws if they want to move on to the second weekend.

All in all I think this has the potential to be a great game.  Dayton likes to get after it on offense and bang around on defense.  I think this matchup is a good test for Syracuse and it's good for them to see a team like this before playing Kansas.  IMO, Syracuse will take this one 79-74.