Bennett has worn a number of different shoes this season, including Nike Zoom Kobe 5 Protro shoes in Dayton’s last game before the holiday break.
There’s little doubt Dayton players may return home after Christmas with even more sneakers. What could be a better gift for basketball players?
The Flyers, of course, would have rather received an early Christmas gift in the form of a 10th victory. Instead, the Liberty Flames handed them their fourth loss, winning 64-61 on Saturday at UD Arena.
The result against Liberty ruined what had been an acceptable, if not spectacular, performance by Dayton in non-conference play. It finished 9-4.
That’s the fourth-best non-conference record Dayton has posted in the last nine seasons, trailing the 11-2 record in 2019-20, the 10-2 record in 2023-24 and the 10-3 mark in 2024-25.
Unlike the last two seasons when Dayton put itself in the NCAA tournament at-large berth conversation with strong victories in non-conference play, its best victories this season — against Marquette, Georgetown and Florida State — won’t impress anyone on the selection committee.
In all likelihood, Dayton will have to finish at least 15-3 in Atlantic 10 Conference play or win the A-10 tournament for the first time in 23 years to achieve its biggest goal: playing in the NCAA tournament.
Dayton returns to action at 2 p.m. Dec. 31 against Fordham (9-4) in the first of 18 A-10 regular-season games. Before attention turns to league play, here’s a look back at what transpired in the non-conference season.
Credit: David Jablonski
MVP: Bennett leads Dayton in scoring (16.5 points per game) and minutes played (33.2). He has improved his scoring average every season he has played at Dayton. He averaged 8.4 as a sophomore and 11.6 last season.
Bennett’s 3-point shooting percentage has fallen from 39% last season to 31.2% this season.
Top newcomer: Until his scoreless performance against Liberty, Montgomery, a transfer from Georgia, had an argument to be the MVP of the non-conference season. He had the exact same points total as Bennett entering that game. Now Montgomery is averaging 15.2 points.
Montgomery also has been Dayton’s top 3-point threat (23 of 54, 42.6%).
Most improved player: Sophomore forward Amaël L’Etang has improved his scoring average (7.1 to 12.8) and rebounding average (4.3 to 6.5). His 2-point shooting percentage has fallen (61.3 to 58.0), but his 3-point percentage (33.8 to 35.7) and free-throw percentages (64.3 to 76.4) have climbed.
Best team stat: Dayton ranks 10th in the country in turnovers forced per game (16.8). If it stands, that would be Dayton’s highest total since the 1993-94 season (16.8).
Worst team stat: Dayton ranks 337th in the country in opponents’ 3-point shooting percentage (38.7). That would tie the 1998-99 team, which allowed the same percentage, for the second-worst mark in school history. Only the 1996-97 team had a worse 3-point defense (39.5).
Best individual stat: Senior guard Jordan Derkack leads the nation in free-throw rate (158.8), a stat that measures a player’s knack for getting to the line. He has made 56 of 81 free throws (69.1%).
Best victory: Dayton beat Georgetown 84-79 in overtime in the first round of the ESPN Events Invitational on Nov. 27.
Georgetown (8-4) ranks 137th in the NCAA Evaluation Tool and 103rd in the Ken Pomeroy ratings. Dayton ranks 91st in the NET and 66th on KenPom.com.
Worst defeat: The loss to Liberty, which is No. 113 in the NET and 104th in the Pomeroy ratings, was Dayton’s first non-conference home loss since November 2021.
Best signs for the future: Two of the youngest players on the roster, redshirt freshman forward Malcolm Thomas and sophomore guard Bryce Heard have played limited roles but have shown signs of being more important players in the future.
Thomas has averaged 5.0 points in 10.3 minutes per game. He has scored in double figures three times.
Heard is averaging 6.3 points in 16.0 minutes per game. He made an important 3-pointer in overtime against Georgetown and scored a season-high 16 points in the next game against Brigham Young.
Biggest roster news: After losing freshman guard Jaron McKie to a season-ending injury and sophomore guard Adam Njie Jr. to an eligibility issue, Dayton found help overseas, signing Sean Pouedet, a 6-foot-2 guard from Belgium. He scored two points in his debut Saturday.
NEXT GAME
Who: Fordham at Dayton
When: 2 p.m., Dec. 31
TV: Spectrum News 1
Radio: 95.7-FM, 1290-AM
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