Dayton makes top 25 in two more preseason predictions

It’s the latest preseason honor for Dayton. It ranked 23rd in the Blue Ribbon Yearbook’s poll and was a consensus top-25 pick by national writers in the spring. Dayton finished 24-11 last season and returns its entire starting lineup and seven of its top-eight scorers.

Andy Katz, of NCAA.com, also announced his preseason Power 36 ranking Monday and had Dayton 18th. He wrote, “The Flyers have the best young talent in the A-10.”

The Associated Press preseason top-25 poll comes out at noon Oct. 17.

The Almanac ranked Dayton Flyers sophomore forward DaRon Holmes II 44th on a list of the 100 best players in the nation. He was also named the best pro prospect in the league and the favorite for player of the year and defensive player of the year.

Dayton led The Almanac’s A-10 prediction. Virginia Commonwealth, Saint Louis and Loyola rounded out the top four.

The Almanac also predicted Dayton will earn a No. 8 seed in the NCAA tournament and will play No. 9 seed Memphis in the first round.

In the pages previewing Dayton, associate head coach Ricardo Greer said, “Last year we were hunting. Nobody thought we’d go 24-11, especially after losing three games at home. We were hungry. Now we’re expecting more and need to get hungrier. We are now the hunted.”

Dayton head coach Anthony Grant also talked to Ky McKeon, of Three Man Weave, for the Dayton preview.

“We didn’t reach the goal we set last year: making the NCAA Tournament; winning the conference,” Grant said. “But that experience will pay dividends this year. Last year we were still trying to figure it out. You can see the maturity of this group this season, the veterans are doing a good job of leading.”