Dayton basketball was at its peak March 7, 2020.
The No. 3 Flyers had just beaten George Washington in front of a sold-out arena and the “ESPN College GameDay” personalities. On their way to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the COVID-19 pandemic ended the college basketball season and, in the process, capped Dayton’s dream season.
The Flyers have been chasing the glory of that season ever since, and this year’s campaign might be the closest they’ve come.
Ranked No. 21, Dayton (13-2, 3-0 Atlantic 10) has won 10 straight games entering Tuesday’s meeting with visiting Saint Louis — and looks to extend its longest winning streak since the 2019-20 season.
Leading the Flyers’ revival has been junior DaRon Holmes II, a member of the Preseason Wooden Award Watch List.
Holmes II (18.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg) tallied 33 points and 12 rebounds on 12-for-18 shooting from the field in Dayton’s most recent victory against Duquesne, a 72-62 road win.
“That’s what you want to see out of, in my opinion, one of the best players in the country,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said. “The maturity to come into this environment on the road and to understand what needed to be done and to take control like that, I’m just really proud of him.”
Joining Holmes atop the Dayton scoring leader board is Pitt transfer Nate Santos (11.9 ppg) and Koby Brea (11.0 ppg).
At 48.3 percent (43-for-89), Brea ranks second nationally in 3-point shooting.
“He’s playing really well,” Grant said of Brea earlier this season. “He’s in his fourth year of college. He’s a veteran who knows what he’s capable of. We know what he’s capable of. So we’re just proud of him.”
Brea’s long-range success has helped guide Dayton to the fifth-best 3-point shooting percentage in the country, at 40.3 percent. Last season, the Flyers made just 33.8 percent of their threes.
Against Saint Louis Tuesday, Dayton will try to continue its domination against Atlantic 10 opponents. Through three games, the Flyers have yet to trail at any point in conference play.
Saint Louis coach Travis Ford is no stranger to the difficulties that UD Arena presents. The Billikens are 0-7 at Dayton under Ford, and haven’t won there since January 2014.
Ford’s Billikens (8-8, 1-2) snapped a three-game losing skid last Wednesday, topping Saint Joseph’s 88-85 at home.
Led by Gibson Jimerson’s 27 points — including seven triples — Saint Louis rallied from an early 20-point deficit.
“We’re not a great assisting team,” Ford said. “Tonight, we passed the ball. We really found the open man. We made the simple play, not the hard play. When you do that, we have the offensive weapons to make shots.”
Along with Jimerson’s 17.2 points per game, Bradley Ezewiro scores 15.2 points per contest after debuting Dec. 16 for the Billikens.
Saint Louis won the previous meeting with the Flyers, 65-61 at home last March.
–Field Level Media