Earlier in the week, Malachi Smith used the same agility that makes him so hard to cover on the court to win a dance competition against players from other teams in the Maui Invitational. Dayton’s entire roster participated in a choreographed dance on stage at the same event one day before the tournament began.
Not until after the three games on Thursday, the same day the team left Maui, did a group of players continue the UD tradition of jumping off the Black Rock Beach cliffs. Brady Uhl told a reporter about that excursion at the airport in Kahului later that same day. Everyone survived.
The jump itself is not hard. It’s the scramble up the volcanic rock in bare feet that is the challenge.
“I’m just really proud because that was a hard thing to do today,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said. “I’m proud our guys are willing to do hard stuff.”
Of course, Grant wasn’t talking about Flyers soaring off cliffs. That quote came from the postgame press conference Wednesday after Dayton completed an 85-67 victory against No. 2 Connecticut in the seventh-place game. Dayton avoided a last-place finish in the eight-team tournament with its first victory against a top-two team since 1974.
After six nights and three games in Maui, Dayton (6-2) plays the next four games at home. It returns to action at 7 p.m. Tuesday against Western Michigan (3-4) at UD Arena.
Here are 10 things to know about the game:
1. Streaks on the line: Dayton has won 21 straight home games. That’s tied for the third-longest streak in school history. The Flyers won 30 home games in a row from March 2008 to January 2010, 27 in a row from February 2014 to December 2016 and 21 in a row from December 1959 to January 1961.
• Dayton has won 15 straight games against Mid-American Conference teams.
• Dayton leads the series against Western Michigan 3-0. The teams last met in 2022. Dayton won 67-47 at UD Arena.
2. Low-ranked opponent: Western Michigan is No. 302 in the Ken Pomeroy ratings. That makes it the second lowest-ranked Division I non-conference opponent on Dayton’s schedule behind No. 317 Saint Francis, which Dayton beat 87-57 in the season opener.
3. Preseason expectations: Western Michigan was picked to finish 10th in the MAC. It has suffered six straight losing seasons. It last played in the NCAA tournament in 2014.
4. Slow start: Western Michigan beat Youngstown State 73-62 in its last game for its best victory so far this season. Youngstown is 3-5 with a victory against Monmouth, which upset Seton Hall 63-51 on Saturday.
Western Michigan lost 85-65 at Butler on Nov. 11 in its biggest early test in the non-conference season. It has also lost to three teams ranked below 200 in the Pomeroy ratings: No. 282 Coastal Carolina; No. 267 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville; and No. 240 South Dakota.
5. Transfer portal losses: Guard Seth Hubbard led the team in scoring (14.1 points per game) last season and transferred to another MAC school, Toledo.
• After four seasons with the Broncos, guard B. Artis White (10.4) left for an Atlantic 10 Conference program, Richmond, where he’s averaging 1.8 points.
6. Players to watch: JaVaughn Hannah, a 6-4 junior guard, ranked third on the team in scoring last season (9.7) and ranks second this season (12.0).
7. Most improved: Markhi Strickland, a 6-5 senior guard, started his career at Saint Louis, where he played two seasons. He averaged 3.4 points last season at Western Michigan and leads the team in scoring (12.4) this season.
8. Top newcomer: Donovan Williams, a 6-5 fifth-year guard, averaged 9.7 points at Pacific last season. He’s averaging 10.5 points in his first season at Western Michigan.
9. Strengths and weaknesses: Western Michigan ranks 35th in the country in turnovers per game (10.0). Dayton is No. 33 (9.9).
• Western Michigan ranks 316th in the country in 3-point shooting percentage (27.9). The national average is 33.0. It made 6 of 9 in its last game and has topped 40% in two other games but has shot under 20% in four games. Dayton ranks 96th in the same category (35.5).
10. Odds & Ends: KenPom.com gives Dayton a 99% chance of winning and predicts an 84-61 score.
• Western Michigan coach Dwayne Stephens, a longtime assistant coach on Tom Izzo’s staff at Michigan State, is 23-47 in his third season.
• Cheeks leads Dayton in 3-pointers made (16 of 38, 42.1%). Nate Santos has made 15 of 40 (37.5%).
TUESDAY’S GAME
Western Michigan at Dayton, 7 p.m., Spectrum News 1, ESPN+, 1290, 95.7
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