“I’m excited,” Grant said. “I think our guys are excited. We’re looking forward to the final touches this week, to get ready to play on Monday.”
St. Francis is the lowest-ranked Division I non-conference opponent on the schedule, according to the Ken Pomeroy preseason rankings. The Flyers are No. 27 in those rankings.
Here’s how the opponents rank and where they were picked in preseason polls:
1. No. 3 Auburn or No. 6 Iowa State: Dayton will play one of these teams on Nov. 26 on the second day of the Maui Invitational. Auburn was picked to finish second behind Alabama in the 16-team Southeastern Conference. Iowa State was picked to finish third behind Kansas and Houston out of 16 teams in the Big 12.
2. North Carolina (No. 15): Dayton plays the Tar Heels on Nov. 25 in the first round of the Maui Invitational. The Tar Heels were picked to finish second behind Duke in the Atlantic Coast Conference preseason poll.
3. Cincinnati (No. 17): Dayton plays the Bearcats on Dec. 17 in the Hoops Classic at the Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati. UC was picked to finish sixth in the Big 12.
4. Marquette (No. 22): Dayton plays the Golden Eagles on Dec. 14 at UD Arena. Marquette was picked to finish fourth in the Big East.
5. Northwestern (No. 51): Dayton plays the Wildcats in the second game of the season on Nov. 9. Northwestern was picked to finish 16th out of 18 teams in the Big Ten.
6. UNLV (No. 93): Dayton plays the Runnin’ Rebels on Dec. 17 at UD Arena. UNLV was picked to finish fifth out of 11 teams in the Mountain West Conference.
7. New Mexico State (No. 154): Dayton plays the Aggies at UD Arena in the fifth game of the season on Nov. 20, two days before it departs for Maui. New Mexico State was picked to finish seventh out of 10 teams in Conference USA.
8. Ball State (No. 243): Dayton plays the Cardinals in the third game of the season on Nov. 13 at UD Arena. Ball State was picked to finish seventh out of 12 teams in the Mid-American Conference.
9. Lehigh (No. 268): Dayton plays the Mountain Hawks on Dec. 7 at UD Arena. Lehigh was picked to finish fifth out of 10 teams in the Patriot League.
10. Western Michigan (No. 310): Dayton plays the Broncos on Dec. 3 at UD Arena in the first game after the Maui Invitational. Western Michigan was picked to finish 10th in the MAC.
11. St. Francis (No. 351): The Red Flash were picked to finish tied for last in the nine-team Northeast Conference.
12. Capital: Dayton plays the Division III Comets on Nov. 16 at UD Arena. Capital was picked to finish sixth out of 10 teams in the Ohio Athletic Conference.
MONDAY’S GAME
St. Francis at Dayton, 7 p.m., 1290, 95.7, ESPN+
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