No matter the result, this is as good a time as any to sum up the seventh decade (2010-19) in the modern era of Dayton basketball.
Best season: While the seven-man team of 2014-15 won the most games (27-9), this is a sport defined by the NCAA tournament, and the 2013-14 Flyers accomplished something no Dayton had team done in 30 years by reaching the Elite Eight. It beat Ohio State, Syracuse and Stanford before losing to Florida, finishing 26-11.
Worst season: Dayton had only one losing season in the decade (14-17 in 2017-18), so this is an easy choice. UD also had one losing season in the 2000s (14-17 in 2005-06) after six losing seasons in the 1990s. It had four losing seasons in the 1980s, one in the 1970s and none in the 1960s or 1950s.
Best player: Chris Wright played half his career in the last decade and half in this one (2007-11). He averaged in double figures in each of his four seasons and ranks 15th in school history with 1,601 points.
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Biggest accomplishment: The 2016-17 senior class set a school record with 102 victories in four seasons. Scoochie Smith led the group with 1,273 points. He ranks 28th in school history. Kendall Pollard (1,149), Charles Cooke (957) and Kyle Davis (820) also rank among UD's top 70 scorers.
Best coach: Archie Miller compiled a 139-63 mark in six seasons. He took Dayton to the NCAA tournament four straight seasons for the first time and won back-to-back regular-season conference championships for the first time. Dayton won its first and so far only outright Atlantic 10 championship in 2017, Miller's final season before he left for Indiana.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Best moment: Dayton beat Ohio State 60-59 in the first round of the 2014 NCAA tournament in Buffalo, N.Y. Vee Sanford's bank shot with 3.8 seconds to play set the stage for the Elite Eight run.
Worst moment: Saint Joseph's beat Dayton 60-57 on a last-second 3-pointer by Langston Galloway at UD Arena on Jan. 29, 2014. It was Dayton's fourth loss in a row and fifth in six games in A-10 play. The Flyers seemed to have squandered a strong performance in non-conference play and looked to be on their way to missing the NCAA tournament for the fifth straight season and the third straight season in the Miller era. However, the Flyers won won their next six games and nine of their last 10 regular-season games to clinch a NCAA bid.
Decade summary: Dayton played in the NCAA tournament four times and the NIT four times from 2010-19. In the previous decade, it played in four NCAA tournaments and three NITs.
Here’s how the other decades compare: 1990s (one NCAA, one NIT); 1980s (two NCAAs, three NITs); 1970s (two NCAAs, three NITs); 1960s (four NCAAs, four NITs); and 1950s (one NCAA, 7 NITs).
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