Gotta Start Someplace

BEVERLY HILLS (MI) – Last year's University of Dayton men's basketball team rebounded from a disastrous 1-3 start to win the ESPN Events Invitational, defeating Miami, eventual national champ Kansas and Belmont in the process. As we are all too aware, there will be no such holiday tournament turnaround this year, as the Red and Chapel Blue dropped all three ball games in the Bahamas. One look at the remaining schedule and the opportunities for a marquee victory are few and far between–save one–Wednesday’s roadie at Virginia Tech.

VA Tech is currently #35 in the Ken Pom rankings. No other game comes close to providing a meaningful resume building win. Altho at this point, who the heck are we kidding? There is no ‘resume’ to be built–the Flyers are gonna have to win the Atlantic 10 Tournament in order to punch their ticket to the Big Dance. Still, a V vs. VT is a good place to start.

Elsewhere in Flyerland:

– The initial version of the NCAA Men’s Basketball NET Rankings has been released. Read ‘em and weep:

https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basket...l-net-rankings

– Highlights from UD’s most recent buy game victory over Southeastern Louisiana:

https://twitter.com/DaytonMBB/status...CiodTG0bIsAAAA

– I think any questions about “Mongolian Mike” and his ability to play PG have been emphatically answered:

https://twitter.com/StephNoh/status/...CokZytibQsAAAA

– Here is a “Sleeper Deep Dive” on Deuce:

https://www.noceilingsnba.com/p/slee...aron-holmes-ii

– Ever wanted to read Obi Toppin’s in-depth profile on Basketball Reference? Here is your chance:

https://www.basketball-reference.com...medium=linker-

– This right here is why Obi is #1:

https://twitter.com/NBA/status/15981...Cpxfas1K0sAAAA

– Toppin’s good buddy Jalen Crutcher has been lighting it up for the Greensboro Swarm as of late:

https://twitter.com/nbagleague/statu...39414682066944

– 10 minutes of Victor Wembanyama highlights, the next big thing to hit the NBA Draft board:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCcV83SKL2Y

– ICYMI, Steph Curry hit 5 consecutive full-court shots after practice the other day:

https://twitter.com/TommyBeer/status...DRyYKC5LIsAAAA

– The Pine Club’s 75th anniversary celebration includes the opportunity to enjoy a meal at 1947 prices:

https://dayton937.com/dayton-dining/...47-prices.html

That’s it “From the Swamp.”
You can email me at: swampy@udpride.com