NCAA Basketball: 3 remain in tight 2019-20 National Player of the Year race

Stats: 19.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.3 bpg

Obi Toppin and Dayton continue to obliterate everyone and everything in front of them. They faced Rhode Island on the road this week, which was supposed to be the toughest game remaining on their schedule as the Rams were projected to be in the NCAA Tournament at the time.

Instead of getting that tough test, Dayton flat-out dominated from start to finish. They won 84-57 with Toppin leading the way with 20 points and several of the highlight-reel dunks we’ve come to expect from him.

The case for Toppin is obvious. On top of his talent and production – just look at those dunks! – he’s the undisputed best player for a Dayton team that has won 19 games in a row and is ranked No. 3 in the country. Guys like him and seasons like this don’t come around very often in the mid-major ranks.

Yet the case against him is obvious, too. While being really good against the two best teams Dayton has played (Kansas, Colorado), he wasn’t dominant and wasn’t able to make a ton of plays down the stretch. In their toughest conference games, too, he was held to 12 points at VCU and it was Jalen Crutcher who saved the Flyers at Saint Louis.

I’m a huge fan of Toppin and his game, and I think he’ll be a star at the next level. I also know it’s tougher for mid-major players to win awards like this because of the minimal opportunities they have to make real impactful performances. Toppin has done just about as much as you could want him to, but he is just slightly behind the top two because of those performances.