Now with the hype growing again and Dayton ranked No. 21 in the Associated Press poll, people outside of Dayton have started to take notice of the Flyers.
“The small school I’m really starting to drink the Kool-Aid on is Dayton,” Titus said on the Mark Titus Show this week. “They don’t play as good a defense as I like, but when they get rolling, they’re fun to watch.”
On the CBS Sports Network on Tuesday after Dayton’s 70-65 victory against Saint Louis, national writer Gary Parrish talked about UD’s ceiling.
“I don’t think it’s as high as it was back in 2020 when the Flyers closed with 20 straight wins and were projected to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament,” Parrish said. “They had stronger computer numbers back then to go with the incredible record. But they are 14-2 right now. Jerry Palm, at CBS Sports, has them projected as a five seed. I would think probably something in the 2 or 3 seed range if they really run through the A-10 is possible, but that’s probably the ceiling.”
What's the ceiling for Dayton?@GaryParrishCBS says it's being a 2 or 3-seed if they run through the A10. pic.twitter.com/Cac4noY91C
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) January 17, 2024
Dayton (14-2, 4-0) has the same record through 16 games as the 2020 team. That team ranked 13th in the Associated Press top-25 poll and No. 8 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool at the same point. Dayton is No. 19 in the NET through Wednesday.
The 2023-24 Flyers are in rare company with their 14-2 record. Only the 1955-56 team, which finished 25-4, had a better record (15-1) through 16 games.
This is the seventh Dayton team to win 14 of its first 16 games since 1950. Five of the first six teams to start 14-2 rank among the best teams in school history: the 1950-51 team, which finished 27-5; 1957-58 (25-4); 2008-09 (27-8); 2014-15 (27-9); and 2019-20 (29-2).
Only the 2007-08 team struggled after a 14-2 start. The Flyers were 6-8 down the stretch in the regular season that year after losing Chris Wright, their second-leading scorer and top rebounder, to a broken ankle. They finished 23-11 and settled for a NIT bid.
Dayton returns to action at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Rhode Island (9-8, 3-1) at UD Arena. Archie Miller, who coached Dayton from 2011-17, will coach against the Flyers in Dayton for the first time.
Rhode Island saw a four-game losing streak end Wednesday with a 93-64 loss at St. Bonaventure (11-5, 2-2). It was the most lopsided defeat for Rhode Island since a 76-42 loss at VCU on Feb. 19, 2019.
Dayton shares first place with Richmond (12-5, 4-0). The Flyers and Spiders are a half game ahead of Loyola Chicago (12-6, 4-1), which beat Massachusetts 79-78 on a 3-point play in the final seconds Wednesday in Chicago. Loyola has already matched its A-10 win total of last season (4-14). UMass (11-6, 2-3) has lost three of four games since a 10-3 start.
With No. 9 Baylor, No. 11 Wisconsin, No. 16 Utah State, No. 18 Creighton and No. 19 TCU already losing this week, Dayton should move up in the AP poll on Monday if it can beat Rhode Island and avenge a 75-70 loss at Rhode Island last season.
Dayton ranked as high as 11th this week, by Chris Murray, of Nevada Sports Net. Eighteen of the 63 AP voters did not rank the Flyers.
In a weekly power rankings story by Brendan Marks and Kyle Tucker, of The Athletic, Dayton ranked 16th.
“Elite shooting plus a legitimate NBA Draft prospect in (DaRon) Holmes?” Tucker wrote. “That’s a recipe for winning 11 straight games and looking like a team that’ll be a problem in March. Dayton has three KenPom top-50 wins, all away from home, including Cincinnati and St. John’s, and beat a solid LSU team on a neutral court. So let’s be sure we play the NCAA Tournament this time.”
SATURDAY’S GAME
Rhode Island at Dayton, 12:30 p.m., USA Network, 1290, 95.7
Credit: David Jablonski
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