Despite the disappointment that came with the cancellation of the postseason, it was a banner year for Dayton basketball, which enters its last game of 2020, Wednesday night against La Salle, with only one loss during the calendar year.
Here’s a look back at the most-read stories of the year with excerpts from each:
1. ESPN’s College GameDay at UD on Saturday: What you need to know (March 6)
ESPN’s College GameDay will film at the University of Dayton’s Frericks Center on Saturday.
Admission is free, according to a UD press release, and fans will be admitted on a first-come, first-serve basis. Fans can begin lining up at 7:30 a.m. Doors open at 9:30 a.m. The show starts at 11 a.m.
The traveling college basketball pregame show precedes Dayton’s 7 p.m. home game against George Washington. It will be the final regular-season game of the season for the third-ranked Flyers.
2. Dayton routs Rhode Island for record-tying win (March 5)
As one famous Dayton Flyers fan likes to say after every victory, “The show goes on.”
And what a show No. 3 Dayton delivered Wednesday at the Ryan Center. Obi Toppin scored 20 points, two short of his age on his birthday, as the Flyers routed Rhode Island 84-57.
Dayton (28-2, 17-0) won by 27 points on the same court where it won by 29 points a year ago. It may have been even more dominant in this game. The Flyers shot 40 percent from 3-point range (8 of 20) and held a 49-38 rebounding advantage.
3. Greatness of Flyers debated on Pardon the Interruption (March 6)
The greatness of the Dayton Flyers was a subject on ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption with Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon on Thursday.
“Wilbon, has Dayton convinced you of their greatness?” Kornheiser asked.
“No,” Wilbon said. “You don’t convince people of greatness on March 5. You convince people of greatness closer to April 5. Despite Duke moving the needle with Zion (Williamson) last year, they weren’t great. They didn’t get to the Final Four. That’s the measure in college basketball.”
4. Flyers move into top 10 of Associated Press top-25 poll (Jan. 20)
The Dayton Flyers moved from No 13 to No. 7 in the Associated Press poll on Monday, earning their highest ranking since they were No. 6 in December 1967. By any measurement, this is Dayton’s most impressive run in the poll in the last 60 years.
Dayton is the first Atlantic 10 Conference team to reach the top 10 since Saint Louis in 2014. It’s the highest-ranked A-10 team since Xavier reached No. 7 on Dec. 15, 2008.
5. Johnson announces he’s withdrawing from UD (Jan. 10)
Dayton Flyers forward Chase Johnson announced on Instagram on Friday he’s “medically withdrawing” from the University of Dayton to continue to receive treatment for post-concussive stress syndrome and “lingering effects from mononucleosis,” which he said he had in August.
6. Flyers win national championship in bracket simulation (March 13)
This news won’t make the Dayton Flyers or their fans feel any better.
The website Sportsline.com simulated the entire NCAA tournament, which was cancelled Thursday, and declared Dayton the national champion. It used the bracket compiled by Jerry Palm, of CBS Sports.
Dayton was the No. 1 seed in the East Region in Palm’s prediction. The simulation predicted Dayton victories over Winthrop, Saint Mary’s, Louisville, Michigan State, Duke and Gonzaga.
7. Tshimanga healthy and ready to go (Oct. 18)
Jordy Tshimanga was one of the few people on the University of Dayton campus in the spring. Classes were being conducted remotely during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic. Everybody who could travel home did. Tshimanga couldn’t get back to his hometown, Montreal, because of travel restrictions at the border.
That made the return of his Dayton Flyers teammates in mid-July all the more special.
“It just felt so good to see everybody,” Tshimanga said. “It was really overwhelming honestly.
8. Former Dayton guard picks UNC Charlotte (April 8)
Former Dayton Flyers guard Jhery Matos did not need much time to pick a new school. He announced Wednesday he will finish his college career at UNC Charlotte.
Matos, a grad transfer who can play right away without sitting out a season, made the decision nine days after entering the transfer portal.
9. Flyers climb in poll for fourth straight week (March 2)
The climb in the Associated Press top-25 poll continued for the Dayton Flyers on Monday.
Dayton has moved from No. 6 to No. 5 to No. 4 and now to No. 3 in the last four weeks. Only No. 1 Kansas (29-2) and No. 2 Gonzaga (26-3) stand above the Flyers (27-2, 16-0) entering the final week of the regular season. Dayton jumped Baylor (25-3), which fell from No. 2 to No. 4 after losing 75-72 at TCU.
10. Dayton now a top-five team (Feb. 17)
The Dayton Flyers are the first Atlantic 10 Conference team to rank in the top five in 16 years.
Dayton climbed from No. 6 to No. 5 in the Associated Press poll Monday. It’s the program’s highest ranking since it reached No. 2 in 1956.
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