Take that prediction for what it’s worth just three games into A-10 play. It’s no guarantee of success for UD. It’s more of a reflection of the results early in A-10 play and the dominance of the Flyers.
Dayton (11-5, 3-0) has won six games in a row, all by double digits, and has won three A-10 games against Duquesne, Davidson and Saint Joseph’s by an increasing margin of victory: 12, 14 and 20 points.
Here are four reasons for Dayton’s six-game winning streak:
1. The play of DaRon Holmes II: The sophomore forward has cemented himself as the favorite for the A-10 Player of the Year Award. He’s averaging 24.7 points in the six games.
2. R.J. Blakney’s breakout games: While the third-year guard isn’t a consistent scoring threat like Holmes, he’s shown he’s capable of putting up big numbers. He matched his career high with 19 points Wednesday in a 76-56 victory against Saint Joseph’s at UD Arena and had 17 points in the A-10 opener against Duquesne.
Blakney has averaged 11.2 points in the last six games after averaging 6.6 in the first 10. He has made 9 of 15 3-pointers in the last four games.
Coach Anthony Grant likes what Blakney is doing on both ends of the court.
“I thought R.J. was really good tonight,” Grant said Wednesday. “The assignment for him defensively was (guarding Erik) Reynolds and (Cameron) Brown. He kind of went back and forth on those two guys. I thought he was locked in and did a great job making it difficult for them. Offensively, he just took advantage of situations, whether it was in transition, whether it was at the back of the press or in the half court. A lot of what you saw tonight was the ball going inside and being kicked back outside and then the rotations, and he was the beneficiary of open looks. He was able to knock those down, and he’s more than capable of doing that on a consistent basis.”
3. Consistent defense: Dayton has allowed fewer than 60 points in six straight games. That’s the longest such streak since a six-game run in the 2006-07 season when the opponents were South Carolina State, Holy Cross, Creighton, Grambling, Western Carolina and the Miami RedHawks.
Dayton ranks 11th in the country in scoring defense (58.4 points per game).
4. Improved passing: Dayton has recorded 20 or more assists three times in the six games after not hitting that mark in the first 10 games.
It’s the big men accounting for most of those numbers in recent games. Holmes leads the team with 3.3 assists per game in A-10 play with Mustapha Amzil (3.0) and Toumani Camara (3.0) close behind.
Dayton had 21 assists on 28 made field goals against Saint Joseph’s while committing 11 turnovers.
“We’ve been unselfish all year,” Grant said. “I love the fact that we limited our turnovers today. We knew they would come in and apply pressure the whole game and the guys understood that.”
TUESDAY’S GAME
Dayton at Fordham, 7 p.m., ESPN+, 1290, 95.7
Credit: David Jablonski
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