NCAA Basketball: North Carolina, Gonzaga still sit atop updated top 25 ranking
By Joey Loose
21. Dayton (2-0)
Three seasons ago, Dayton was one of the best teams in the nation, and it remains a tragedy that Obi Toppin and that fantastic squad didn’t get a chance at the NCAA Tournament. Now, it’s a different team put together by Anthony Grant but these Flyers look fierce and tough and are defending their early ranking, returning virtually every player from last year’s roster.
Opening night ended in a 73-46 win over Lindenwood, knocking off the Lions in their first-ever D1 game. Mustapha Amzil was the leading scorer with 14 points off the bench, while Daron Holmes II had 13 points and Toumani Camara grabbed 11 boards. Against a more impressive opponent, Dayton got a 74-62 win over SMU for their second victory. The offense went through Amzil and Holmes again, with each of them scoring 20 points, along with 18 rebounds for Camara in a near-double-double.
If you don’t know anything about these Flyers, know that there’s a lot of talent on this roster, even for an A-10 team. It’s not likely (though not impossible) that the Flyers will blast through conference play as they did three years ago, but the offense and defense have both been solid early and the Flyers are certainly a team on the rise. They’ll get their first road test against UNLV next week and have an intriguing holiday tournament before the end of the month.