BEVERLY HILLS (MI) — In any sport, the mark of a true champion is the ability to win away from the friendly confines and home cooking of your own building. Thus far, the Dayton Flyers have been up to that task, as they are one of only four teams in the country (UD, San Diego State, Baylor and Gonzaga) to boast a perfect road record. The latest roadie vs. Richmond was a full frontal assault on all things Flyer, as the Sons of Anthony Grant faced a sea of “No Fly Zone” t-shirts, a shirtless Spider baseball team, a sold-out Robins Center and chants of “Obi sucks” and “Overrated.”

None of that mattered as Obi Toppin and Jalen Crutcher combined for 48 points in a 87-79 Dayton victory. The game provided two outstanding memes for the Flyer Faithful to enjoy:

Obi waving at the camera as Ibi shoots FTs:

https://twitter.com/levelbest/status/1221238623422550017

Ryan Mikesell mimicking Obi’s windmill motion on #1’s statement dunk:

https://twitter.com/DavidPJablonski/status/1221224571585662978

Head Arachnid Chris Mooney was highly complimentary of the Flyers in his post game remarks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=DEA1lyaK9ek&feature=emb_logo

UD’s next road challenge will be Wednesday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh vs. the improved Duquesne Dukes. “From the Swamp” will be there to take it all in…stop by and say “hi” if you are in attendance!

Elsewhere in hoopdom:

— ICYMI, this is a fantastic video analysis of AG’s NBA-style offense and why it is so hard for teams to defend the Flyers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT8ozvgKHEM

This is analogous to the offense run by the New England Patriots in the NFL, where receivers don’t necessarily run set “routes” but are expected to react to what the defense gives them.

— If Dayton is the “hardest team to cover” in college basketball, then I’ll give you three guesses what that makes Obi:

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/28525803/who-toughest-players-guard-college-basketball

— TSN Mike has Obi One on his All-America Team at the half-way mark of the season:

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa-basketball/news/sporting-news-2019-20-college-basketball-midseason-all-america-team/fd4dflbifvy512g6bnbm53gnh

— Pickin’ Splinters chronicles the Bonnies brush with “Obimania”:

https://pickinsplinters.com/2020/01/21/bonnies-get-their-brush-with-obimania/

— CBS Sports College Basketball Power Rankings has UD at #4 in the land:

https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/college-basketball-power-rankings-louisville-makes-a-big-jump-duke-and-kentucky-are-outside-the-top-10/

— UD is included in this short list of teams that could win their first National Championship:

https://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/2020/1/24/21080055/college-basketball-national-championship-contenders-2020

— The success of this years Flyer team means a lot to the entire City of Dayton:

https://www.daytondailynews.com/business/flyers-the-toast-town-and-beyond/go9wXQZwlESxDojVNfgdxH/

— AG is getting attention as a Coach of the Year candidate and rightfully so:

https://watchstadium.com/ranking-the-college-basketball-coach-of-the-year-candidates-01-13-2020/

Dickie V sees it this way:

https://www.daytondailynews.com/sports/dick-vitale-anthony-grant-candidate-for-national-coach-the-year/ElYw1gmB2ShDA48pZEhxPP/

And with all of that notoriety, comes the inevitable rumors of Coach Grant moving on for a better opportunity. I don’t see that happening, but AG is included in this list of potential NBA coaching candidates:

https://watchstadium.com/nba-execs-say-these-college-coaches-are-perfect-for-the-pros-01-15-2020/

— Athleticdirectoru.com provides an investigation into college basketball buy games:

https://www.athleticdirectoru.com/articles/investigating-college-basketball-buy-games/

— John Feinstein of The Washington Post believes that college basketball rules are broken and has some suggestions to fix them:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/college-basketballs-rules-are-broken-heres-how-to-start-fixing-them/2020/01/17/a704469a-393a-11ea-bb7b-265f4554af6d_story.html

— Excellent verbal history from The Ringer on “The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Stuart Scott”:

https://www.theringer.com/2020/1/15/21066392/stuart-scott-espn-sportscenter-career-death-broadcaster

— An in-depth piece on the R&D of the landmark first generation Buick Riviera, my all-time favorite of the several dozen cars that I have owned:

https://auto.howstuffworks.com/1963-1965-buick-riviera.htm

— As a guy who spent a couple of decades in radio, I am deeply disturbed by the mass consolidation of a great medium by corporate goliaths. This has led to the elimination of all local content in favor of “voice streaming” from remote locations. Here’s how one iHeartMedia station in Des Moines fought back...and won:

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/iheartmedia-radio-layoffs-murph-andy-937985/

— Rush the Court with the “Not So Sweet Tweet of the Week” if you happen to be a Big Ten hoops fan:

On Dec. 9, Michigan and Ohio State were both in the top 5 of the @AP_Top25 and appeared to be among the best teams in the country.

These two squads are now a combined 5-12 in Big Ten play. Ouch!

That’s it “From the Swamp.”
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