# 2019–20 Dayton Flyers men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Dayton Flyers men's basketball team represented the University of Dayton during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Flyers were led by third-year head coach Anthony Grant and played their home games at the University of Dayton Arena as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference.
The Flyers finished the season with an overall record of 29–2 and were undefeated regular season champions of the Atlantic 10. Grant was named consensus national coach of the year while sophomore Obi Toppin became Dayton's first consensus first-team All-American and earned the majority of major college player of the year awards, including the Naismith College Player of the Year and the John R. Wooden Award. The season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic prior to the Flyers’ first game of the Atlantic 10 tournament. They finished ranked third in both major polls, their highest ranking in a major media poll since the Don Donoher era.

## Previous season

The Flyers finished the 2018–19 season 21–12, 13–5 in A-10 play to finish in third place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the A-10 tournament to Saint Louis. They received an at-large bid to the NIT where they lost in the first round to Colorado.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Josh Cunningham | 0 | F | 6'7" | 233 | RS Senior | Chicago, IL | Graduated |
| Frankie Policelli | 2 | F | 6'8" | 235 | Freshman | New Hartford, NY | Transferred to Stony Brook |
| Jordan Davis | 4 | G | 6'2" | 195 | Sophomore | Irmo, SC | Transferred to Middle Tennessee |
| Jack Westerfield | 23 | G | 6'1" | 180 | Senior | Cincinnati, OH | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Chase Johnson | 40 | F | 6'9" | 219 | RS Sophomore | Ripley, WV | Transferred from Florida. Under NCAA transfer rules, Johnson would have sat out the 2019–20 season, but was granted a waiver to play immediately. |

### Recruiting class of 2019

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Moulaye Sissoko PF | Atlanta, GA | Lincoln Academy | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 223 lb (101 kg) | Oct 8, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 79 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 25, 2019. ||||||

### Recruiting class of 2020

US college sports recruiting information for 2020 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| R.J. Blakeny SF | Hagerstown, MD | Loomis Chaffee School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 223 lb (101 kg) | Oct 25, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 75 |||||||
| Koby Brea SG | Bronx, NY | Monsignor Scanlan High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Nov 13, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Lukas Frazier PG | Mentor, OH | Lake Catholic High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Jun 11, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 25, 2019. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 2, 2019* 5:00 pm | | Cedarville | W 93–60 | 0–0 | 17 – Watson | 9 – Sissoko | 4 – tied | UD Arena (13,207) Dayton, OH |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 9, 2019* 7:00 pm, SPECN1 | | Indiana State | W 86–81 | 1–0 | 29 – Toppin | 12 – Toppin | 6 – Crutcher | UD Arena (13,407) Dayton, OH |
| November 16, 2019* 7:00 pm, FSOH | | Charleston Southern | W 90–61 | 2–0 | 21 – Toppin | 11 – Toppin | 8 – Chatman | UD Arena (13,407) Dayton, OH |
| November 19, 2019* 7:00 pm, SPECN1 | | Omaha | W 93–68 | 3–0 | 21 – Toppin | 6 – Toppin | 7 – Crutcher | UD Arena (13,193) Dayton, OH |
| November 25, 2019* 2:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Georgia Maui Invitational tournament quarterfinals | W 80–61 | 4–0 | 25 – Toppin | 4 – Tied | 3 – Crutcher | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Lahaina, HI |
| November 26, 2019* 8:00 pm, ESPN | | vs. Virginia Tech Maui Invitational Tournament semifinals | W 89–62 | 5–0 | 24 – Toppin | 8 – Toppin | 9 – Crutcher | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Lahaina, HI |
| November 27, 2019* 5:00 pm, ESPN | | vs. No. 4 Kansas Maui Invitational Tournament championship game | L 84–90 $^{OT}$ | 5–1 | 19 – Mikesell | 9 – Toppin | 8 – Crutcher | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Lahaina, HI |
| December 3, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 19 | Houston Baptist | W 99–68 | 6–1 | 18 – Johnson | 10 – Toppin | 7 – Chatman | UD Arena (13,166) Dayton, OH |
| December 8, 2019* 4:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 19 | vs. Saint Mary's Jerry Colangelo Classic | W 78–68 | 7–1 | 21 – Crutcher | 8 – Landers | 6 – Crutcher | Talking Stick Resort Arena (3,563) Phoenix, AZ |
| December 14, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 14 | Drake | W 78–47 | 8–1 | 20 – Watson | 10 – Landers | 5 – Chatman | UD Arena (13,407) Dayton, OH |
| December 17, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 13 | North Texas | W 71–58 | 9–1 | 16 – Tied | 7 – Toppin | 6 – Tied | UD Arena (13,129) Dayton, OH |
| December 21, 2019* 6:30 pm, CBSSN | No. 13 | vs. Colorado Chicago Legends | L 76–78 $^{OT}$ | 9–2 | 19 – Crutcher | 7 – Toppin | 4 – Tied | United Center Chicago, IL |
| December 23, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 18 | Grambling State | W 81–53 | 10–2 | 30 – Watson | 9 – Landers | 6 – Tied | UD Arena (13,407) Dayton, OH |
| December 30, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 20 | North Florida | W 77–59 | 11–2 | 31 – Toppin | 8 – Toppin | 9 – Chatman | UD Arena (13,407) Dayton, OH |
| Atlantic 10 regular season |||||||||
| January 2, 2020 8:30 pm, CBSSN | No. 20 | at La Salle | W 84–58 | 12–2 (1–0) | 20 – Toppin | 8 – Landers | 6 – Landers | Tom Gola Arena (2,241) Philadelphia, PA |
| January 5, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 20 | at Saint Joseph's | W 80–67 | 13–2 (2–0) | 18 – Tied | 9 – Landers | 10 – Crutcher | Hagan Arena (2,544) Philadelphia, PA |
| January 11, 2020 12:30 pm, NBCSN | No. 15 | UMass | W 88–60 | 14–2 (3–0) | 16 – Toppin | 14 – Mikesell | 3 – Tied | UD Arena (13,407) Dayton, OH |
| January 14, 2020 8:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 13 | VCU | W 79–65 | 15–2 (4–0) | 24 – Toppin | 9 – Tied | 5 – Crutcher | UD Arena (13,407) Dayton, OH |
| January 17, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 13 | at Saint Louis | W 78–76 $^{OT}$ | 16–2 (5–0) | 21 – Crutcher | 10 – Toppin | 3 – Tied | Chaifetz Arena (10,007) St. Louis, MO |
| January 22, 2020 7:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 7 | St. Bonaventure | W 86–60 | 17–2 (6–0) | 23 – Crutcher | 9 – Toppin | 7 – Crutcher | UD Arena (13,407) Dayton, OH |
| January 25, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 7 | at Richmond | W 87–79 | 18–2 (7–0) | 24 – Tied | 12 – Toppin | 7 – Crutcher | Robins Center (7,201) Richmond, VA |
| January 29, 2020 7:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 7 | at Duquesne | W 73–69 | 19–2 (8–0) | 22 – Toppin | 10 – Toppin | 6 – Crutcher | PPG Paints Arena (7,001) Pittsburgh, PA |
| February 1, 2020 2:00 pm, NBCSN | No. 7 | Fordham | W 70–56 | 20–2 (9–0) | 18 – Tied | 8 – Landers | 6 – Crutcher | UD Arena (13,407) Dayton, OH |
| February 8, 2020 2:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 6 | Saint Louis | W 71–65 | 21–2 (10–0) | 17 – Tied | 8 – Mikesell | 4 – Crutcher | UD Arena (13,407) Dayton, OH |
| February 11, 2020 7:30 pm, CBSSN | No. 6 | Rhode Island | W 81–67 | 22–2 (11–0) | 22 – Toppin | 14 – Landers | 4 – Chatman | UD Arena (13,407) Dayton, OH |
| February 15, 2020 12:30 pm, NBCSN | No. 6 | at UMass | W 71–63 | 23–2 (12–0) | 19 – Toppin | 7 – Tied | 5 – Crutcher | Mullins Center (5,030) Amherst, MA |
| February 18, 2020 8:30 pm, CBSSN | No. 5 | at VCU | W 66–61 | 24–2 (13–0) | 18 – Crutcher | 7 – Landers | 3 – Watson | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| February 22, 2020 2:00 pm, Stadium/FSOH | No. 5 | Duquesne | W 80–70 | 25–2 (14–0) | 28 – Toppin | 11 – Landers | 5 – Tied | UD Arena (13,407) Dayton, OH |
| February 25, 2020 7:00 pm, Stadium/FSOH | No. 4 | at George Mason | W 62–55 | 26–2 (15–0) | 19 – Toppin | 8 – Tied | 3 – Crutcher | EagleBank Arena (4,703) Fairfax, VA |
| February 28, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 4 | Davidson | W 82–67 | 27–2 (16–0) | 23 – Toppin | 12 – Toppin | 7 – Crutcher | UD Arena (13,407) Dayton, OH |
| March 4, 2020 9:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 3 | at Rhode Island | W 84–57 | 28–2 (17–0) | 20 – Toppin | 14 – Landers | 5 – Crutcher | Ryan Center (7,895) Kingston, RI |
| March 7, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 3 | George Washington ESPN College GameDay | W 76–51 | 29–2 (18–0) | 27 – Toppin | 10 – Landers | 5 – Tied | UD Arena (13,407) Dayton, OH |
| Atlantic 10 tournament |||||||||
| March 13, 2020 12:00 pm, NBCSN | (1) No. 3 | vs. TBD Quarterfinals | A10 Tournament Canceled | A10 Tournament Canceled | A10 Tournament Canceled | A10 Tournament Canceled | A10 Tournament Canceled | Barclays Center Brooklyn, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
Source

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Final |
| AP | RV | RV | RV | RV | 19 | 14 | 13 | 18 | 20 | 15 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Coaches | RV | RV* | RV | RV | 17 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 18 | 15 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings