Dayton Flyers Top 10: Opponents and arenas

The winningest program Dayton hasn’t played is Indiana

To kick off coverage of the 2017-18 Dayton men’s basketball season, David Jablonski will publish a series of top 10 lists on various topics between now and the season opener on Nov. 10.

The Dayton Flyers will play one of the winningest programs in NCAA Division I history this season — and you probably won’t guess the team.

It’s the Penn Quakers, who rank 20th in victories (1,747) and 37th in winning percentage (.615). They visit UD Arena for the first time on Dec. 9.

DAYTON TOP 10: Freshman seasonsA-10 wins; conference gamesbest recordsworst recordstop statsbest namesbest players from Detroitbest players from Chicago; fun facts; memorable openers

Dayton and Penn played once before with the Flyers winning 71-60 in 1997 in the San Juan Shootout.

Dig deep enough into the Dayton men’s basketball media guide, and you can find many interesting facts about Dayton’s history with various opponents and at various arenas. Here are 10:

1. Top 10: Dayton is 60-104 against the 10 winningest teams of all time: Kentucky (2-3); Kansas (1-1); North Carolina (2-1); Duke (1-5); Temple (7-17); Syracuse (2-1); UCLA (0-4); Notre Dame (13-28); St. John's (5-5); and Louisville (27-39).

2. Archie's team: The winningest program Dayton has never played is Indiana, now coached by former UD coach Archie Miller. The Hoosiers rank 11th with 1,801 victories.

3. Shaka's team: Another coach UD fans are familiar with coaches the 17th-winningest program in NCAA history. Dayton has never played Texas, which has 1,750 victories. Former Virginia Commonwealth coach Shaka Smart, who was Dayton's director of basketball operations from 2001-03, coaches the Longhorns.

4. MAC's best: The Flyers open the season Friday against a team from the Mid-American Conference, Ball State. The winningest program in MAC history is Akron, which ranks 50th in NCAA history with 1,577 victories. Akron plays at Dayton on Nov. 29. Dayton leads the all-time series 11-2.

UD ARENA HISTORY: Check out these old photos

5. Ohio history: Dayton could play the Ohio Bobcats in the second game of the Charleston Classic next week. The programs haven't played since 1965.

That’s not the longest gap between meetings for Dayton and another Division I program from Ohio. Dayton hasn’t played Youngstown State since 1948.

UD HOOPS HISTORY: What you should know about the Flyers

Here are the other Ohio D-I programs and the year of their last meeting with Dayton: Miami (2015); Xavier (2015); Bowling Green (2014); Ohio State (2014); Akron (2010); Cincinnati (2010); Toledo (2009); Cleveland State (2008); Kent (1998); and Wright State (1997).

6. Ten left: Dayton has played in 40 states since the 1949-50 season. It has not played in these states: Connecticut; Delaware; Kansas; Maine; Montana; New Hampshire; North Dakota; Oregon; South Dakota; and Vermont.

Credit: File photo

Credit: File photo

7. Garden greats: Outside of UD Arena and the old UD Fieldhouse, Dayton has had the most success at Madison Square Garden. It is 40-24 in that areana, most recently winning two games in the 2010 NIT.

8. Bad memories: In what arena has Dayton had the worst luck? UD fans might guess it's Xavier's Cintas Center. The Flyers are 0-13 there.

However, Dayton is 0-17 at Notre Dame’s Joyce Center.

9. Early tourneys: Dayton will play in an in-season tournament in November for the 10th straight season. The last five years, it has finished 2-1.

10. Bronx home: Dayton has double-digit victories at one opposing Atlantic 10 arena. It is 10-3 at Fordham's Rose Hill Gym.

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