If any Dayton Flyers season deserved multiple, colorful punctuation marks and capital letters, it’s this one. With every victory, Dayton adds a chapter to one of the most remarkable seasons in UD history — not to mention Atlantic 10 Conference history and even Ohio basketball history.
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Crutcher reached 1,000 points on Jan. 29 at Duquesne. Toppin hit the milestone Saturday in an 80-70 victory against Duquesne at UD Arena. Trey Landers, who has 912 points, could join them later this season. Those scoring feats fall into a long line of accomplishments for this team, which moved up to No. 4 in the Associated Press poll on Monday.
Here’s a rundown of some others as Dayton (25-2, 14-0), which plays at George Mason (15-12, 4-10) at 7 p.m. Tuesday, heads into the final two weeks of the regular season:
1. Winning streak: With Baylor, Gonzaga and San Diego State all losing Saturday, Dayton now is tied for the longest active winning streak in the nation. New Mexico State has also won 16 games in a row.
Dayton’s winning streak is the program’s longest in one season since the 1957-58 team won 16 straight. It’s the longest by an A-10 team since Rhode Island won 16 straight in the 2017-18 season. Xavier won 16 straight in 2002-03. Massachusetts had a 16-game streak in 1994-95.
With one more victory, Dayton will have the eighth longest winning streak in conference history. If the Flyers win their last four regular-season games, the streak will rank fifth. They have a long way to go to catch Saint Joseph’s, which won 27 in a row in the 2003-04 season.
2. Win total: The 1951-52 Flyers set the school record for victories with a 28-5 mark. The last team to come close to that was the 2014-15 team, which finished 27-9.
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Dayton is also chasing the record for best winning percentage in school history. At 25-2, Dayton has a .926 winning percentage. Dayton had a 25-4 record and school-record .862 winning percentage three times in the 1950s.
UMass set the A-10 record for victories in 1995-96 with 35. Dayton could get there by winning 29 games in the regular season, three in the A-10 tournament and then reaching the Elite Eight.
3. Conference dominance: While no current A-10 team has finished 18-0 since the league moved to an 18-game schedule, Temple twice finished 18-0 in the 1980s. Saint Joseph's finished 16-0 in 2004, and George Washington matched that record in 2006.
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Counting the last two regular-season games in 2019, Dayton has won 16 A-10 games in a row. That’s tied for the seventh longest winning streak in league history.
4. In-state comparisons: If Dayton can finish the regular season with only two losses, it would join an elite club. The last Ohio team in Division I to do that was Ohio State, which finished 29-2 in the 2010-11 season and ended the season in the Sweet 16 with a 34-3 mark.
Ohio State finished the regular season 27-3 in 2006-07. That team won the Big Ten tournament and lost in the NCAA championship game, finishing 35-4.
Cincinnati had the same record as Dayton through 27 games in its great 1999-2000 season. It finished 28-2 in the regular season.
TUESDAY’S GAME
Dayton at George Mason, 7 p.m., Fox Sports Ohio, 1290 and 95.7 WHIO
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