BROOKLYN, N.Y. — I typically scan the stands for familiar faces when the Dayton Flyers play on the road. The lighting at the Barclays Center makes that difficult. I couldn’t make anyone out beyond the first row. Darkness bathed the Flyer Faithful, who probably liked it that way as the final minutes unfolded. I write this at JFK Airport on my way home to Ohio after No. 3 seed Dayton lost 65-57 to No. 6 Duquesne in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament. I found a new flight home as soon as I could last night after the postgame press conference. I was fortunate to get a non-stop flight to Columbus at 10:30 this morning because five years ago Tom Archdeacon and I had to drive home from Brooklyn after another quarterfinal exit by Dayton. I only made a hotel reservation for two nights because I thought Dayton might lose Thursday, so at least I didn’t have to cancel anything on that front. In other travel news, I picked up a NYPD toy and a New York City snow globe at the airport for my 5-year-old son Chase. Last year, I got him a Staten Island Ferry toy in Brooklyn. He’s a bit spoiled — definitely a Power 5 kid and not a mid-major in terms of his toy collection. The Flyers planned to leave their hotel in Brooklyn at 10 a.m. Friday with a flight home scheduled for noon. Dayton’s loss is not surprising considering its sad and tortured Atlantic 10 Conference tournament history — 20 straight appearances now without a championship. It is surprising considering how rare Dayton loses to Duquesne — four losses in the last 20 meetings. It is not surprising considering how well Duquesne is playing. The Dukes have won six straight games. In short, Duquesne is peaking late in the season. I predict it will beat St. Bonaventure in the semifinals before losing Sunday to Virginia Commonwealth, which is the opposite of Dayton when it comes to A-10 tournament success. “We’ve just been talking about being winners,” Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot said. “That’s all we’ve talked about in the last probably six, seven weeks, is just what it takes to win. I think they’ve really improved in that area.”
As expected, Dayton fans ranted and raved on social media after the latest A-10 tournament disappointment and an overall flat performance by a team that ended the regular season on such a high note six days earlier with a 91-86 overtime victory against VCU at UD Arena. “Don’t even bother getting on the bus for the first round if y’all are gonna play like this,” one fan wrote. “Putting my whole account on us being first round exits,” another fan wrote. “Dayton choking in the A-10 tournament is a tale as old as time,” added another fan. On the other hand, the four teams remaining in the A-10 tournament — No. 5 seed VCU, No. 6 Duquesne, No. 7 St. Bonaventure and No. 9 Saint Joseph’s — would all trade places with Dayton right now because all the experts expect Dayton to receive a NCAA tournament at-large berth. Dayton has been far above the cut line for weeks because of its standing in the NCAA Evaluation Tool. The loss to Duquesne dropped it from No. 21 to No. 22. Dayton’s loss will keep some other team closer to the bubble out of the tournament because another A-10 team that wasn’t in the at-large discussion will steal a bid on Sunday by winning the A-10′s automatic berth. Dayton’s loss was good for the A-10 because it will see multiple teams receive NCAA tournament bids for the 17th time in the last 18 tournaments. How much will the loss hurt Dayton’s seeding? • Joe Lunardi dropped Dayton from a No. 8 seed to a No. 9 seed in his latest ESPN bracket. • Brian Bennett, of The Athletic, did not change Dayton’s seed Friday morning. He still has the Flyers as a No. 8. • Jerry Palm, of CBS Sports, dropped Dayton from a No. 8 to a No. 10 on Friday. Plenty of fans across college basketball, including many UD fans, wonder why Dayton is a lock for the tournament because it is 8-5 since a 16-2 start, but the selection committee considers the full body of work. Dayton’s non-conference performance was good enough to get it in the Big Dance.
Many Dayton fans have written me to ask about fifth-year forward Zimi Nwokeji in recent weeks. He was with the team when it traveled to Saint Louis and then was honored on Senior Night. Now he’s again absent. I asked Anthony Grant in the postgame press conference about Nwokeji last night. “He’s suspended from team activities for right now,” Grant said. I don’t know exactly what happened with Nwokeji. Grant wouldn’t tell us if we tried to grill him about specifics. Tom Archdeacon reported last week he will likely enter the transfer portal for his final year of eligibility. I heard the same thing from someone close to Nwokeji. I would be surprised if he made any announcement while Dayton’s season is ongoing, however. There could be more transfer news as soon as the season ends. That’s just the nature of college basketball these days.
Here’s other news that might interest Flyer fans: 🏀 Alan Saunders, of Pittsburgh Sports Now, provided the Duquesne perspective on the game against Dayton last night. 🏀 Abby Schnable, of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, also had a report on the game. 🏀 Dayton’s loss could be bad news for Indiana State on Selection Sunday, ESPN’s John Gasaway wrote Friday. “The Flyers are a lock at Bubble Watch, but now there will be two A-10 teams in the field of 68 instead of just one. In effect, that takes an at-large bid off the board. The Sycamores are believed to be right on the cut line, so even one bid more or less could make the difference.
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