Dayton will not play a game on Thanksgiving for the first time since 2021 when the season didn’t start until Dec. 1 because of the pandemic. In Grant’s first six seasons, the Flyers played on Thanksgiving and the day after the holiday in tournaments in 2019, 2021 and 2022.
The Flyers (3-2) had time to eat and celebrate Thursday this week but return to action at 7 p.m. Friday against Youngstown State (3-2) at UD Arena. This is the first of five remaining non-conference home games in which Dayton will be a big favorite.
The Flyers were 7-0 in non-conference home games last season. Two years ago, they lost three consecutive home games in November to UMass Lowell, Lipscomb and Austin Peay but then won their last four non-conference home games.
Any slip-up against Youngstown State, Grambling State, UNLV, Troy, Oakland or Longwood — none of whom rank in the top 125 of the Ken Pomeroy ratings — would damage the NCAA tournament resume Dayton started to build with victories against LSU and St. John’s in the Charleston Classic.
With a runner-up finish in Charleston, Dayton learned what it can be. Now it needs to stay consistent.
“When we played LSU, we knew there were some things that we’d have to do really well to be able to win,” Grant said. “Rebounding was one of them. Defensively, they’re very aggressive, and they got us in a hole. They’re a really talented group. The fight our guys showed to be able to come back and put us in a position to win, it showed a level of resiliency. Then obviously with St. John’s and coach (Rick) Pitino, their players are really talented. To be able to come out and get that win, I think that gave our guys a lot of confidence.
“This early in the year, we’ve played the Big 10 (Northwestern), the SEC (LSU), the Big East (St. John’s) and the Big 12 (Houston). You’re testing yourself against some of the best teams in the country. You can’t help but learn who you are, what you you do well and what you need to get better at.”
Dayton leads the series against Youngstown State 5-4. The first seven matchups took place between 1940 and 1951.
The Flyers and Penguins last played on Dec. 12, 1983. The Flyers won 73-64 at UD Arena. Roosevelt Chapman led Dayton with 22 points. Dayton evened its record at 2-2 in a season that would end with it in the Elite Eight.
Youngstown State finished 24-11 last season, winning the Horizon League regular-season championship for the first time and earning a NIT berth for the first time. It was the winningest season in school history. It ranked 127th in the NCAA Evaluation Tool. Former Dayton guard Dwayne Cohill, playing his final season, led the team with 18 points per game.
This season, the Penguins opened with double-digit road losses to Louisiana and Michigan. They have since beaten a NAIA program, Ohio Christian, and a Division II program, Lake Erie, as well as one Division I team, Utah Tech.
Brandon Rush, a 6-3 guard in his second season at Youngstown State after three seasons at Fairleigh Dickinson, leads the team with 13.4 points per game. Another fifth-year player, 6-7 forward DJ Burns averages 11.4 points and leads the team with 8.2 rebounds per game. He played two seasons at Southern and two seasons at Murray State before transferring to Youngstown State.
One Youngstown State starter, 6-6 forward Ziggy Reid, also in his fifth year, started at Merrimack last season alongside Dayton guard Javon Bennett.
Youngstown State coach Jerrod Calhoun, who’s in his seventh season, called Dayton one of the best programs in Ohio in his postgame press conference Sunday after a 79-57 victory against Lake Erie.
“I put it up there with anybody,” he said. “There’s 13,000 at every game. It seems like it’s a party. I’ve been to games (at UD Arena) scouting. It’s incredible. Great, great program. Elite Eight, NCAA tournaments, it’s a basketball school. Shocked they’re not in the Big East. I look at as a power five. They’re paying us $90,000. There’s going to be 13,000 people screaming against us. They’re the elite class of mid-major basketball, if you want to even call them that. They’ve already beat two power fives, so it’ll be a really good test for us. They’re going to pressure us, and they play with a style. We’ve got to be ready. It’s another great game that gets you ready for conference play, which is next after that. That’s what we’re here for.”
FRIDAY’S GAME
Youngstown State at Dayton, 7 p.m., Bally Sports Ohio, 1290, 95.7
Credit: David Jablonski
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