Dayton off to a Hot Start
Photo from David Jablonski.
When basketball returned to the city of Dayton, Ohio in November, so did the fans. During the 2022-23 season, Flyers fans were disappointed with a loss to Virginia Commonwealth University in the Atlantic-10 conference championship 68-56. After a successful recruiting campaign with the transfer portal, Anthony Grant’s squad looked ready to finally take the next step in 2023-24.
Dayton roared to a 12-2 start to the season, with key wins over St, Johns, LSU, and Cincinnati. With their lone losses coming to number two ranked Houston, and Northwestern. Dayton looks to be the runaway favorite to win the A-10 this year and hopes to finally break into the NCAA tournament.
In ESPN’s Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology, Dayton is listed as a six seed, set to face off with 11 seed Grand Canyon. Dayton has not reached March madness since 2017, when they were a seven seed. If the Flyers are able to keep up their dominant play and run the A-10, as many expect them to do, we could see Dayton keep climbing up the rankings.
Clip from Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology.
In the latest Associated Press poll, Dayton finds themselves on the outside looking in, as they received just 22 less votes than number 25 Texas. Dayton’s win over Cincinnati in December will continue to be a key part of the Flyers ranking. If Cincinnati continues to rack up big time wins in the Big 12 Conference, Dayton will continue to rise, as long as they simply keep winning.
Dayton started 2-0 in conference play, with wins over Davidson on January 1st, and UMass on January 7th. In both games, star center, Daron Holmes II shined, posting 18 points, and four rebounds, with another 18 points and six rebounds against UMass.
Another key component for Dayton has been guard Kobe Elvis. Elvis is averaging 11 points and 2.3 rebounds per game, with a monster game against Cincinnati, where he posted 27 points and five rebounds. Unfortunately for Dayton fans, Elvis went down early in the game against UMass with a knee injury. There has been no further report on Elvis’ status, as Dayton prepares for games against Duquesne this upcoming Friday, and Saint Louis next Tuesday.
Kobe Elvis in game against Cincinnati. Photo from David Jablonski.
Dayton has sold out 54 consecutive home games, and that streak will likely continue throughout this season, as fans are seeing the best team since the 2019-20 team that featured Obi Toppin. Fans are still upset about the cancellation of the NCAA tournament in 2020 and are desperately hoping to see their team play deep into march, which this team has proven they are capable of doing.