Division II Dayton Regional Preview
Photo Credit: Marc Pendleton
After Wednesday night’s games, 3 out of the 4 reginal teams were determined for Region 8 in Dayton. A week from today will be the Reginal Semifinals with the winners facing each other March 18. This article will preview the games as well as predict who wins the whole thing.
Dunbar vs. Heath/Bloom-Carroll
Dunbar will face the winner of Heath and Bloom-Carroll who play today. The Wolverines defeated a very talented Wyoming team 66-56 Wednesday to clinch their district title. Caleb McConnell (2018) led the Wolverines with 19 points. Dunbar used their athleticism defensively and outrebounded the Cowboys 23-19. Dunbar also received scoring help from Devon Baker and Storm Cook.
Prediction: Regardless of who wins the Heath/Bloom-Carroll game, I predict Dunbar to win their regional opener against either opponent. The Wolverines are too athletic and shoot the three ball extremely well. Unless a team shuts down their shooting, Dunbar will win. Dunbar 68-49
Trotwood-Madison vs. Cincinnati Taft
Trotwood destroyed Urbana 86-52 in their district title game while Taft came from behind to defeat Carroll 52-40. Trotwood’s top scorer was Amari Davis while Taft’s leading scorer was Ezyontae Bennett. This will be an interesting game. On one hand, Trotwood has been the hottest team all season and is arguably the best team in the state regardless of division. On the other hand, Taft will be the first true test the Rams have faced this tournament so far.
Both teams are athletic. Taft pulled down 40 rebounds in their win while Trotwood grabbed 46. It will be a battle on the boards all game. Keep an eye specifically on Taft’s Malek Green. He had 12 rebounds in the Senators win, and was unstoppable on the glass. On the other side, Torrey Patton and Davis are the big time rebounding threats for Trotwood, and can easily grab 10+ rebounds in a game. Whoever wins the battle of the rebounds will have a major edge in this game. Another key to this game will be how much both teams get out in transition. Trotwood gets the bulk of their points on the fast break and have excelled at this all tournament long. If Taft wants to win this game, they will need to try and keep Trotwood in a half-court offense as much as possible. For Trotwood to win this game, they will need to be patient against the Taft defense. Taft dominated in their win by playing tight defense and extending their pressure as soon as Carroll crossed the timeline. Trotwood has yet to face a team this postseason that extends pressure like this so it will be interesting to see how they handle it.
Prediction: Although this will be Trotwood’s first real test, I predict they will handle the Taft pressure well. Trotwood will continue their dominant run to Columbus and prepare for a rematch with Dunbar to go to state. Trotwood 79-61
Regional Final Prediction: Trotwood-Madison vs. Dunbar
This will be a rematch of a game back in February in which Trotwood won 98-89. The Rams have been an incredible team so far this tournament and will be coming off a game against Taft. The biggest question about this game will be if Dunbar can hang with the Rams for an entire game. Up until their game against Wyoming, I felt Dunbar was not playing a full 32 minute game with the same intensity throughout. In their game against Trotwood, they trailed by 17 at halftime because of a poor second quarter. To win this game, Dunbar will need to limit Trotwood’s runs throughout the game. For the Rams, they will need to shut down Dunbar’s shooters. All tournament long, Dunbar has shot the 3 point ball very well and I expect that to continue the rest of the way. Another thing to consider, the last time Dunbar was an underdog in a regional final was 2015 against Franklin when Luke Kennard played, and the Wolverines won.
Prediction: Trotwood is too talented of a team and although I think Dunbar is starting to hit their grove, the Rams will just be too much. This will be the closest game Trotwood has had all tournament up until that point. Trotwood 81-75