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Atlantic 10 Basketball: Richmond, Saint Louis on top in opening weeks

By Benjamin Zacher

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 09: The Atlantic-10 logo on the floor before a college basketball game between the George Washington Colonials andthe Dayton Flyers at the Smith Center on January 9, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 09: The Atlantic-10 logo on the floor before a college basketball game between the George Washington Colonials andthe Dayton Flyers at the Smith Center on January 9, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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Atlantic 10 Basketball Dayton Flyers Anthony Grant Jalen Crutcher David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports /

7. Dayton Flyers

  • 2020-21 record: 1-1
  • Wins: vs. Eastern Illinois (66-63)
  • Losses: vs. SMU (66-64)

The Flyers were projected to regress in their first season without Obi Toppin, but they were still expected to be in the top-three in the A-10 – largely due to the return of Preseason All-Conference First Teamer Jalen Crutcher – but they have fared much worse than initially expected to start the season.

They struggled to put away a decent Eastern Illinois team in their season-opener and then fell at home to SMU on a buzzer-beater.  The loss to SMU is not awful, necessarily – they rank 53rd in KenPom and have been considered a sleeper in the AAC – but it is less than ideal for a Dayton team trying to find its identity without Toppin.

The positive for Dayton is that their starting five have been performing well to start the season.  Ibi Watson (19.5 ppg), Chase Johnson (14.0), and Crutcher (11.5) have been carrying the load, while Jordy Tshimanga has added 9.0 points and 10.0 boards a night – with Rodney Chatman rounding things out with 8.0 points a game.

The issue is: that is all the Flyers have.  Anthony Grant has gone four deep into his bench – and has gotten a total of six points across both games.  That was enough to get Dayton past a team like Eastern Illinois, but it will ail them in games against opponents as good – if not better – than them, which they will certainly run into in the A-10.

They are not shooting poorly by any means – 49.5% on FGs, 38.7% on 3PT, and 74.3% on FT are, obviously, great marks.  But they need to fix their bench woes and find players who can produce – and fast.  They have two SEC showdowns coming up against Mississippi State and Mississippi – neither game they can afford to drop if they hope to make the NCAA Tournament.

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