Newsletter: The NCAA tournament is back (once again without Dayton)

The NCAA returned to Nationwide Arena in Columbus this week for the first time in four years. In 2019, I took my then 7-month-old son Chase to the open (and free) practices the day before the games. He wasn’t even walking then — much less dunking, which he’s still not doing being 40 inches tall and all.

On Thursday, he had basketball class at his preschool, the Jewish Community Center. Then I surprised him by picking him up early to once again take him to the NCAA tournament practices. He was more excited about the hot dog I promised to buy him. I brought a bag of Matchbox cars, knowing he wouldn’t be as interested in layup lines and weave drills as I was.

Chase and I watched the end of Fairleigh Dickinson’s practice and the beginning of Florida Atlantic’s. I was one of the first Associated Press voters to put FAU in my top 25 earlier this season and had it ranked No. 23 in my final poll this week. The Owls play Memphis in the late game tonight. It wouldn’t be a big upset if they won.

That’s all happening because Dayton’s season ended after last weekend’s A-10 tournament.

Giving Dayton credit for the 2020 tournament, which was canceled, the program has earned a bid seven times in the last 20 years, nine times in the last 30 and 12 times in the last 40 — so on average about three times every 10 years. By comparison, Virginia Commonwealth, the team that beat Dayton in the Atlantic 10 Conference championship game on Sunday, has played in the NCAA tournament 13 times in the last 20 years. Dayton fans don’t need me to give them the numbers on Xavier and Cincinnati in the same span.

The Flyer Faithful want more. I’ve seen the comments on social media. I’ve gotten emails on the subject. All I know is the loyalty will be rewarded again some day with a shining moment. Until then, the series of gut punches continues. Let’s review.

• 2020: Dayton’s greatest regular-season performance (29-2) ended without a postseason game because of the pandemic.

• 2021: A senior-laden team played in front of empty arenas all season and finished 14-10, settling for a NIT bid.

• 2022: One of the least-experienced teams in the country started 1-3, beat the eventual national champion Kansas a week later and again received a NIT bid after being the first team left out of the NCAA tournament.

• 2023: The first Dayton team to return its entire starting lineup battled injuries all season but reached the A-10 championship game for the first in time in eight years only to miss its last 15 shots and fall 68-56 to VCU. UD then cited injuries as its reason for declining a spot in the NIT.

A season-ending decision

Upon arriving at the Barclays Center on Sunday morning, I took note of the ladder and the confetti machines near the basket — everything you need for a championship Sunday. Adding insult to injury later for Dayton fans, the confetti was red, white and blue. VCU didn’t seem to care that it was celebrating on a confetti carpet of UD colors. After the game, Anthony Grant, DaRon Holmes II and Toumani Camara appeared at the press conference. I asked Grant if he hoped for a NIT bid. His words gave a clue to what would happen later.

» A-10 TOURNAMENT DIARY: Day 5 in Brooklyn

“I think our group has been banged up quite a bit,” Grant said. “No excuses, but we’re far from healthy. We’ve got guys that are available. So I think we have to look at it and see what’s best individually and collectively for this group.”

I planned to stay up until the NIT selection show at 10 p.m., even though I had a 6:30 a.m. flight home on Monday. Dayton’s longtime sports information director, Doug Hauschild, then sent me an email around 8:30 p.m. with UD’s statement about declining any postseason opportunities — namely the NIT because Dayton has never played in the other postseason tournament, the CBI.

Dayton fans seemed split over the decision. There’s a portion of the fanbase that will never care about the NIT. I understand that. Growing up as a UC fan, I got used to seeing the team in the NCAA tournament. The NIT was such a letdown when that became the option.

I think the NIT makes sense for a young team that can gain from playing more games. For Dayton this season, with Malachi Smith likely needing offseason surgery to fix his ankle issues and Kobe Elvis nursing another knee injury, as well as Mike Sharavjamts, there was no reason to extend this season for a tournament so many fans don’t want to watch. Add in the fact that Dayton had just played three games in four days and would have had to turn around for another road trip two days later, and it became a sensible decision.

Five reasons why Dayton didn’t meet expectations this season

On Tuesday, I summed up Dayton’s season with a look at all that went wrong. I could have written a separate piece on what went right to get the team to 22 victories (the performances of DaRon Holmes II and Toumani Camara, for instance), but UD fans have been in an awful mood all week and I doubt anyone wanted to read anything positive about such a disappointing season.

» PHOTOS: Dayton vs. VCU

The injuries can’t be overlooked. No team goes through a full season healthy, but Dayton had more bad luck than most this season. On the other hand, even when it had its full roster available, Dayton was 1-2.

Another issue for Dayton was the lack of confidence the coaches had in the players at the end of the bench. They decided to redshirt Tyrone Baker, who then entered the transfer portal in December. Kaleb Washington again started the season on the bench and was suspended twice before leaving the program a day after Baker. Richard Amaefule received meaningful minutes in two games all season. Zimi Nwokeji saw his minutes increase but didn’t return to the role he had in his first season and played a total of one minute in the A-10 tournament. Those four players made up a third of the scholarship players on the roster.

Another big problem was the lack of consistent shooters. Dayton shot 35% or worse from 3-point range in its first eight games, improved as the season went along but ended the season with its worst performance in more than six years (3 of 22 against VCU).

The offseason begins in the transfer portal

Judging by the reports on Twitter by the numerous recruiting writers, Dayton coaches got right back to work in recruiting this week. The players, on the other hand, went on vacation — well, at least two of them, according to their Instagram accounts, which showed them in Panama City Beach, Fla.

I put together a list of players in the transfer portal Dayton has been linked to and will continue to update it as more names emerge. Dayton has three open scholarships. I expect it will have more, even though theoretically every player could return.

Toumani Camara has spent four years in college basketball. I don’t know if another season would improve his chances of playing at the next level. He explored the draft process last year and will do so again this spring, I’m sure. I’d also expect DaRon Holmes II to enter his name in the draft and get feedback. If he’s not a surefire first-round pick, I could see him returning to Dayton, especially given that he can make NIL money while in college. I asked both players after the game Sunday how they would approach their decisions. Both said they would seek feedback from their coaches.

No matter what those players do, Dayton will need help in the 2023-24 season if it’s going to compete with VCU, which should be an easy pick to be the A-10 preseason favorite next season.

Fast Break

Each week, I’ll spotlight news from around the A-10 or other news that might interest Flyer fans.

🏀 The New York Post predicted VCU will make an Elite Eight run. No A-10 team has advanced past the first weekend of games since Dayton in 2014. VCU plays Saint Mary’s in the first round this afternoon.

🏀 The only other A-10 team still playing is Duquesne, which joined the 16-team College Basketball Invitational. This was the first time since the 1970s the A-10 put only one team in the NCAA tournament and no teams in the NIT.

🏀 Here’s a story from KnicksWall.com posted today analyzing former Dayton star Obi Toppin’s tenure with the Knicks and his spot going forward.

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