Bracketology 2024: Dayton and Saint Mary's lead teams that are climbing the seed list

Dayton Flyers 19-3 (9-1 in Atlantic 10)

If you want to talk about a team that has flown under the national radar and deserves more of our attention, I present to you the Dayton Flyers. They're now 19-3 and atop the Atlantic 10 standings at 9-1 after a win over Saint Joseph's last time out. The Flyers have lost just one game since losing to Houston before Thanksgiving to the team they're battling for first place, Richmond.

That puts Dayton at 17-1 in that span and continually climb up the seed ladder as teams around them battle with inconsistency. Even though the Flyers' best wins are over bubble teams Saint John's and Cincinnati this is a talented team that continues to win despite losing starting point guard Malachi Smith to an injury after just seven minutes of play.

When you pull up Dayton’s team sheet you can see why they have top-4 seed potential. The metrics love them with an average of 14.75, they have an 8-3 record in quads 1 and 2 as well as an 8-3 record in road/neutral games. But, it’s not just the results that are impressive, the statistics are impressive as well. They are very good on both ends of the floor. They are 12th in offensive efficiency, as well as top-60 in effective field goal percentage, and two-point shooting, and are the 6th-best team in the country from behind the line.

At the other end of the floor, they are just as good, ranking in the top 50 in the country in all of those categories on the defensive end. The Flyers need to keep winning because the Atlantic 10 won’t be helping their resume much as every other team ranks 67th or worse in the NET.