NCAA Basketball: 10 biggest storylines from 2022 “Feast Week” matchups

6. Dayton needs a fully ready Malachi Smith to compete in Battle 4 Atlantis

While Arkansas is still waiting for its lead guard this week, Dayton got theirs to return on Saturday in Malachi Smith, who was a freshman star for them last season. He’s been out for weeks with an injury and the team has suffered as a result, including a road loss last week at UNLV.

Smith returned against Robert Morris this weekend, starting and playing in 21 minutes in the Flyers’ 60-51 victory. He had five points, three rebounds, three assists, and three steals on 2/8 shooting from the field. He’s certainly far from 100% but he was able to get on the court for the team’s upcoming big tournament.

Dayton takes on Wisconsin in the opening round and will face off against either Kansas or NC State afterward. It would be ironic if they face the Jayhawks since the upset win over them in the Maui Invitational a year started the Flyers’ ascent into national relevance.

They started out ranked this season but the loss to the Runnin Rebels likely will take that away from them. What matters is the Flyers putting themselves into an at-large position out of the Atlantic 10 and they’ll need a 2-1 performance at least to feel good about their overall chances. To feel good about these next few games, they’ll need the best of Smith running the offense.