http://www.basketballforum.com/atlan...26-dayton.html
DAYTON
W - MT SAINT MARYS
W - AKRON
W - at Ole Miss
W - SAVANNAH STATE
W - FLORIDA A&M
L - At Cincinnati
W - EAST TENNESSEE STATE
W - MIAMI
W - CENTRAL CONN STATE
L - At Old Dominion
W - WESTERN CAROLINA
W - WINTHROP
L - At Seton Hall
W - GEORGE MASON
W - NEW MEXICO
12-3 Nonconference
The key to Dayton's succcess this year will depend on the following: solid point play from touted frosh Juwan Staten and transfer Josh Parker; improved outside shooting by the likes of Parker, Paul Williams, Chris Johnson and others; better production down low from Searcy, Benson and Kavanaugh; and the development of several reliable bench players.
I expect this team to be the best one in the Gregory era, even better by year end than the team that won the NIT. Wright and C. Johnson are two of the best players in the league. The Flyers have more balance and better outside shooting. They should get more offensive production at point and center, without much dropoff in defense. All the experience will also help.
The Flyers start off easy with Mt Saint Marys. Akron is always good under coach Keith Dambrot, but the team is young and ripe. Ole Miss has a borderline NCAA team on paper, but Dayton gets them at the right time. I expect the Flyers to lose to Ole Miss or Cincy, but not both. Cincy gets some home cooking.
East Tennessee is always one of the best teams in its conference and is capable of an upset. So is Miami of Ohio. I could see Dayton falling asleep in one of these games, but I call them both a win. ODU returns four starters and they are always tough at home. Western Carolina is not as talented as last year's 20-win team and Winthrop struggles to score. Dayton should win both at home.
Seton Hall is arguably the only team on Dayton's schedule with just as much talent. This is a tough game if Herb Pope plays. Hazell is a terrific scoring guard. Mason returns all five starters and gave the Flyers a scare last season. I expect GM to give Dayton a scare once again. Finally the Flyers get revenge on a New Mexico team that falls a bit from last year's exalted perch.
BONUS
A-10 PREDICTION: 11-5.
The Flyers pair up with Xavier, Duquesne and St. Louis. They go to UMass, LaSalle, URI and GW on the road. Not the toughest among unbalanced skeds. It's favorable enough to merit a 12-4 finish, but I go a bit conservative based on Dayton's historic road woes in the A-10.
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Honestly, I think this Dayton team should be better than I predict. If Staten plays as advertised and Parker is a big help, the Flyers should win the A-10. I expect Paul Williams to have a big year, CJ to make another leap and CW to make up for last year's "relative" disappointment. No reason Benson can't be one of the league's better bigmen, either.
On the Cincy game: I know it's not at the Bearcats' true home arena, but it's still in Cincy and these regional rivalry games are tough. Cincy will be looking for revenge from the NIT loss and they will play HARD. I know you know we can count on that.
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