‘We feel it’s a monster schedule’ — Dayton AD happy with 13-game non-conference slate

Aug. 11—University of Dayton Athletic Director Neil Sullivan doesn’t rank the non-conference men’s basketball schedules he helps build every season for the Dayton Flyers, but he did describe the latest creation as a “monster schedule.”

The Flyer Faithful would rank it high, if not first overall, on the list of non-conference schedules in recent years.

“The best non-conference schedule Dayton has assembled in at least a decade,” wrote Dan Sullivan, the former host of the Talking Out Lowd podcast, on X (Twitter).

“What you have to know from this crazy awesome schedule is that the Flyers believe they have a very good team this year,” wrote another fan, Chris Pyle. “This is a confident schedule.”

“We’re going to find out how good this team is very early,” wrote Dayton fan Chris King. “Love the job Neil and Co. did with this schedule. Masterclass.”

How good is the 13-game 2024-25 schedule, even with one game against a NCAA Division III program, Capital University? Here are a couple standout facts:

—Four of the known opponents ranked in the top 80 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool last season: No. 14 Marquette; No. 37 Cincinnati; No. 53 Northwestern; and No. 76 UNLV.

—Dayton’s potential opponents in the Maui Invitational all ranked in the top 75 of the NET last season: No. 2 Connecticut; No. 5 Auburn; No. 6 Iowa State; No. 8 North Carolina; No. 24 Michigan State; No. 25 Colorado; and No. 75 Memphis.

—The non-conference schedule could have eight top-100 teams. Last season, Dayton played seven, and that was considered one of the best recent schedules. The 2021-22 and 2022-23 non-conference schedules each included five top-100 teams.

Neil Sullivan, who held the UD AD position since 2015, said in April, “Our schedule has to be elite,” and the 2024-25 schedule puts Dayton in a strong position to compete for a second straight NCAA tournament at-large berth. Dayton secured a No. 7 seed in 2024 in a large part because of three Quadrant 1 wins — vs. St. John’s, Northwestern and Southern…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/feel-monster-schedule-dayton-ad-141500658.html

Author : Dayton Daily News, Ohio

Publish date : 2024-08-11 14:15:00

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