By the time No. 16 Dayton (16-2, 6-0) plays at Richmond (14-5, 6-0) at 6 p.m. Saturday in a showdown for first place in the Atlantic 10 Conference, 69 days will have passed since they last lost a game. Dayton has not lost since falling 69-55 to Houston in the Charleston Classic championship game on Nov. 19. It is officially the hottest team in the country with the nation’s longest active winning streak because Samford’s 17-game streak ended Wednesday with a loss to Furman.
As the winning continues, the hype grows around Dayton. Broadcaster John Fanta, of FOX and the Field of 68, this week predicted Dayton will make the Final Four along with Connecticut, Kentucky and Purdue.
Brendan Marks and Kyle Tucker, of The Athletic, moved Dayton to No. 14 this week in their power rankings.
“We’ve upgraded the Flyers from last week’s appearance at No. 16, which we reserve for a rotating spotlight of plucky mid-majors,” they wrote. “to a bona fide place among the best teams in the country, regardless of weight class.”
How has Dayton put together its second-longest winning streak in the last 50 years? Here are 13 reasons:
1. DaRon Holmes II: The junior forward has put himself in the conversation for the national player of the year awards four years after Obi Toppin was the consensus national player of the year at Dayton. Holmes has climbed to No. 2 in the KenPom.com national player of the year rankings, trailing only Purdue center Zach Edey.
At this point, Holmes’ stats look very similar to Toppin’s 2020 numbers:
• Holmes: 19.6 points per game; 7.6 rebounds; 2.7 assists; 2.2 blocks; 0.8 steals; 59.0 2-point percentage; 43.2 3-point percentage; 69.0 free-throw percentage; 2.2 turnovers; and 31.4 minutes per game.
• Toppin: 20.0 points per game; 7.5 rebounds; 2.2 assists; 1.2 blocks; 1.0 steals; 69.8 2-point percentage; 39.0 3-point percentage; 70.2 free-throw percentage; 2.2 turnovers; and 31.6 minutes per game.
2. Outside shooting: Dayton ranks seventh in the country in 3-point shooting percentage (40.7). Dayton’s percentages rise and fall from game to game, but it has shot above the national average of 33.6 10 times in the 13 games.
The single-season school record for 3-point shooting percentage is 39.2. That was set by the 1989-90 Flyers, who made 261 of 666 in 32 games.
3. Nate Santos: The junior forward has followed in the footsteps of previous Dayton transfers like Jordan Sibert and Ibi Watson and delivered a breakout season in his first chance to play major minutes. He ranks second on the team in scoring (11.4) and rebounding (6.8) and leads Dayton in minutes played (33.2).
4. Koby Brea: The fourth-year guard ranks second in 3-point accuracy (51 of 105, 48.6%) among players with 2.5 attempts per game. He’s averaging a career-high 10.7 points per game. With 713 points, he has climbed to No. 91 on Dayton’s all-time scoring list.
5. Improved defense: Dayton’s adjusted defensive efficiency has improved from 101st after 12 non-conference games to No. 67. Dayton is giving up a league-best 60.7 points per game in A-10 play and has the best defensive field-goal percentage (38.6) and defensive 3-point field-goal percentage (29.2).
6. Kobe Elvis: The fourth-year guard averaged 17.7 in a six-game stretch during the winning streak averaging 6.9 in the first seven games. His scoring has fallen off in the last five games (5.5 points), but he had 10 points Tuesday.
7. Javon Bennett: The sophomore guard leads the A-10 in assist-to-turnover rate (4.8) in conference games. He has 24 assists and five turnovers. He has made 7 of 10 3-pointers in the last two games, improving his season percentage to 30.6 (28 of 92).
Credit: David Jablonski
8. Enoch Cheeks: The fourth-year guard has played a smaller role at Dayton after three seasons at Robert Morris. He’s averaging 6.3 points after averaging 15.4 points last season. He ranks second on the team in steals (23), one behind Bennett, and is the third-best rebounder (4.8).
9. Shot selection: Dayton ranks second in the country in near-proximity field-goal attempt percentage, according to Haslametrics.com. It’s shooting 69.3% on layups, tips and dunks.
10. Few fouls: Dayton averages 12.9 fouls per game. That’s the fifth-lowest number in the country. Because of that, opponents do not get to the free-throw line often. Dayton ranks third in the country in opponents’ free-throw rate.
11. Getting to the line: Free-throw rate measures how often a team gets to the line. Dayton’s 37.1 rate is its best in coach Anthony Grant’s seven seasons. Holmes has played the biggest part in that number. He ranks 16th in the country in free-throw attempts (100 of 145).
12. Good starts: Dayton has not trailed in four of its six A-10 games. It had a 6-0 lead against Davidson, a 5-0 lead against Duquesne and an 11-0 lead against Rhode Island. Only Saint Louis has led Dayton at the half.
Dayton has not trailed in the last 15 minutes in their last six games and has not trailed in the last 12 minutes in their last 12 games.
13. Limiting turnovers: Dayton has committed eight or fewer turnovers seven times in the 13-game winning streak and twice had only two. It ranks 32nd in the country in turnovers per game (10.1). The school record for fewest turnovers per game was set by the 2016-17 team (11.8).
SATURDAY’S GAME
Dayton at Richmond, 6 p.m., CBS Sports Network, 1290, 95.7
Credit: David Jablonski
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