Dayton (10-2), now at No. 18 in the RPI rankings after back-to-back wins against Georgia Tech and Ole Miss, hosts Duquesne (5-6) in its conference opener at 1 p.m. today at UD Arena.
“You are trying to make the NCAA tournament, and you’re (not only) able to play quality teams with the schedule we’re playing but also able beat people,” Dayton coach Archie Miller said. “To be able to have a Texas A&M, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss — some of these games we are playing, those are teams that are going to be playing in battles all the way in January, February in big Power 5 leagues.
“To have those wins is big, but the Eastern Michigan game, the Bowling Green game, they all count the same. You have to be ready to go every time.”
As Miller pointed out, though, the level of importance for every game “really goes up” now.
Dayton, picked in the preseason to finish third in the A-10, is trying to improve on a 10-6 conference record last season. The Flyers currently have the best winning percentage (83.3 percent) in the A-10, and only Virginia Commonwealth has a better RPI, ranking No. 4. Two others rank in the top 40, as George Washington is 26th, Massachusetts 38th.
St. Louis was the conference’s 2013-14 regular-season champion, while St. Joseph’s beat VCU in the tournament championship.
“We haven’t had as many non-conference marquee wins (in the A-10 overall), but I do think the Davidsons, the VCUs, the George Washingtons have played tremendous teams and they’ve won. You look at UMass, who has played the hardest non-conference schedule in the country maybe. The league will go all the way down to the last week. It always will.
“By playing 18 games, it’s really going to be a grind. I think you’ll have a couple at the top and then four to six to figure out, can they break through? … I think it’s going to be a great league.”
Duquesne has won two of its last three games — all at home — after a stretch of four consecutive losses. Two of the Dukes’ losses were against Penn State and Pittsburgh. They are 1-2 on the road.
The Dukes boast two of the top 3-point shooters in the country in guards Derrick Colter and Micah Mason. Colter leads the nation in 3-point shooting percentage (.577) and Mason led last year (.560). Colter averages 12.2 points per game, while Mason adds 11, and fellow guard Jordan Stevens chips in 12 points per game off the bench.
“To have a chance to be at home in our conference opener, I’m really excited about that,” Miller said. “Duquesne is going to be really good at the guard spot with Colter and Mason. I think our kids know that, and they will be ready to go Saturday at 1 o’clock. It’s the first opportunity of the second season.”
Dayton has risen to the occasion in big games so far, especially the past three outings — wins against Boston, Georgia Tech and Ole Miss — since the dismissal of two player, including one of its few “big men” inside. At one point in Tuesday’s win against Ole Miss, the Flyers had four walk-ons, a freshman and a first-year transfer on their bench.
Miller said he likes the scrappy play he’s been seeing, especially on defense. Against Ole Miss, the Flyers had six steals in the first half and scored 10 points off turnovers in that stretch, as they took a lead they would never lose.
“Part of it is our guys and our staff embrace an opportunity to do something a lot of people think we can’t right now, and that’s to continue to play good basketball,” Miller said. “As we continue to evolve, teams will start to pick on us in different ways, and we will have to adjust, but we are forcing teams to do things they don’t want to do just because of who we are.”
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