Dayton Flyers receive a first-place vote in final AP poll of season

In the final Associated Press top-25 poll of the season, Dayton received one first-place vote. John Feinstein, author of numerous sports books, including “Season on the Brink” and “A Good Walk Spoiled,” jumped Dayton from No. 2 to No. 1, ranking them ahead of Kansas.

Dayton, a top-25 team for a school-record 16 weeks, ranked third in the final poll of the season Wednesday. UD matched the 1955-56 team for the best finish in the poll in program history.

“The voters who deemed us worthy to be one of the top five teams in the country and finish in the poll in the top three, we appreciate that,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant told the AP. “Having that recognition hopefully is something — another thing that you can look back on and will be in the history books, that this team was able to accomplish a top-five ranking.”

Dayton finished the season 29-2. No. 1 Kansas and No. 2 Gonzaga ranked ahead of it. The season ended last week with the cancellation of the Atlantic 10 tournament and NCAA tournament due to Coronavirus pandemic.

There was only one change in the top 10 this week as Villanova moved from No. 11 to No. 10 and Duke fell from No. 10 to No. 11. Ohio State stayed at No. 19.

Dayton broke the school record for most consecutive weeks in the top 25. The 1955-56 team was ranked in the poll in 15 straight weeks. That team finished 25-4. Dayton ranked in every poll, 14 in all, in the 1954-55 season as well.

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Dayton entered the top 25 at No. 19 on Dec. 2, following its runner-up finish at the Maui Invitational. It climbed to No. 14 on Dec. 9 and to No. 13 on Dec. 16.

The Flyers fell to No. 18 on Dec. 23 after a 78-76 overtime loss to Colorado at the United Center on Dec. 21. They dropped to No. 20 on Dec. 30 before climbing to No. 15 on Jan. 6, to No. 13 on Jan. 13 and to No. 7 on Jan. 20. It stayed at No. 7 on Jan. 27 and then climbed to No. 6 on Feb. 3 and stayed there Feb. 10. It moved to No. 5 on Feb. 17 and to No. 4 on Feb. 24 and to No. 3 on March 2. It remained at No. 3 last week.