24. Dayton (24-6)
After dropping a few games back in November against probable Tournament teams, Dayton went on quite a run that continued into A-10 play. They’ve dropped several road games and fell short of the regular season title in the A-10, but still have an impressive resume and got back in the win column in impressive fashion this past week.
Tuesday saw them take care of business in Saint Louis, winning 100-83 on the road against the Billikens. It was another classic performance from DaRon Holmes (25 points, 13 rebounds) while both Koby Brea and Kobe Elvis scored 21 points. The Flyers were certainly more challenged three days later on Senior Night, hanging on for a thrilling 91-86 win in overtime over VCU. Holmes led the way with 23 points and 10 rebounds while Nate Santos added 21 points and 8 rebounds.
Certainly far from perfect at times, Dayton has still played very solid basketball and should be in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in seven years. The Flyers have the A-10’s most talented roster, yet are saddled with the 3-seed in the conference tournament. We’ll see how the Flyers handle themselves this next week, though they’ll certainly still be in the Tournament field regardless of how things go.