‘Room for improvement’ — Flyers look to take step forward in second game of season

Toppin has become the face of the Dayton Flyers in the 2019-20 season and lived up to the hype in the season opener, scoring 29 points in an 86-81 victory against Indiana State.

"He's a first-round draft choice," Indiana State coach Greg Lansing told the Tribune-Star after the game, "and he's even better in person than he is in watching the games on film."

On paper, Toppin has the skills to contend for the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year award — something no Dayton player has won — not to mention several national awards. On paper, his team has just as much as potential, but the Flyers showed in the opener that paper is still a blueprint, not yet a reality. They came dangerously close to losing at home to a team picked to finish in the middle of the pack in the Missouri Valley Conference and a team that lost its second game 91-62 at No. 4 Louisville on Wednesday.

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It was only one game and only the first game, but Dayton will have to make fast progress in the next two games if it wants to compete at the Maui Invitational later this month.

“Both offensively and defensively, we have room for improvement,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said, “but on Nov. 9, I didn’t expect us to be playing our best basketball. Hopefully, we’ll get a lot better.”

The Flyers return to action at 7 p.m. Saturday, playing Charleston Southern (1-2) in front of another sold-out crowd at UD Arena. Here are things to know about Dayton’s second game:

1. All eyes will be on Dayton's defense: Indiana State scored on nine of its last 12 possessions in the final six minutes. Only two missed 3-pointers by Jordan Barnes in the final six seconds prevented the Sycamores from tying the game. Dayton had four returning players and one newcomer on the court during that stretch: Toppin, Jalen Crutcher, Ryan Mikesell, Trey Landers and Chattanooga transfer Rodney Chatman.

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Dayton won its 15th straight season opener, and this was the highest points total it surrendered in any of those games.

“For about 28 minutes, our defense was kind of where we wanted,” forward Ryan Mikesell said, “and toward the end of the game, it was a lot closer than what we wanted. We’re watching film and learning from it. It’s a lot easier to learn from a win than a loss.”

2. Team chemistry will still be a work in progress: Even though Dayton is a veteran team, three players who saw double-figure minutes had not played in a game that counted in more than a year: Chatman, Ibi Watson and Chase Johnson. Injuries throughout the roster also prevented the newcomers from getting as much time with the returning players in the preseason as Dayton would have wanted.

» VOLLEYBALL: Flyers take perfect A-10 record into final weekend

The first three games of the season versus Indiana State, Charleston Southern and then Nebraska Omaha on Tuesday give Dayton a chance to work on its on-court chemistry against heavy underdogs. In the three games in Maui (Nov. 25-27) following this stretch, Dayton might be the underdog in every game.

“We have several guys who haven’t really played in front of a crowd in a long time,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said. “It’s been quite a while, especially for our transfers, and also just playing with each other, we’ve had some guys out for extended periods of time. We haven’t had a chance in practice to really mix different lineups and see different combinations out there. That was the first time for some of those guys to play together.”

3. Dayton will have to adjust to the officiating: Dayton committed 21 fouls against Indiana State. That would tied for Dayton's fourth-highest total last season. The Sycamores made 21 of 27 free throws. Only one opponent, Saint Louis (20 of 32 on Feb. 5) shot more free throws against Dayton last season.

Dayton guard Trey Landers said he has to do a better job of controlling himself when he’s unhappy with a whistle.

“They’re just doing their job,” Landers said. “I have to do a better job of emotionally regulating myself because at the end of the day they don’t want to be showed up.”

SATURDAY’S GAME

Charleston Southern at Dayton, 7 p.m., Fox Sports Ohio, 1290 and 95.7 WHIO