# 2020–21 Dayton Flyers men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Dayton Flyers men's basketball team represented the University of Dayton in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Anthony Grant, in his fourth season with the Flyers. The Flyers played their home games at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 14-10, 9-7 to finish in 7th place. They defeated Rhode Island in the second round in the A10 Tournament before losing to VCU in the quarterfinals. They were invited to the NIT where they lost in the first round to Memphis.

## Previous season

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.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Obi Toppin | 1 | F | 6'9" | 220 | RS Sophomore | Ossining, NY | Declared for 2020 NBA draft |
| Trey Landers | 3 | G | 6'5" | 221 | Senior | Huber Heights, OH | Graduated |
| Jared Becker | 4 | G | 6'4" | 180 | Freshman | Milford, OH | Walk-on; did not return |
| Sean Loughran | 11 | G | 6'3" | 200 | Freshman | Pittsburgh, PA | Walk-on; did not return |
| Jheury Matos | 31 | G | 6'5" | 196 | RS Junior | Santo Republic, DR | Transferred to Charlotte |
| Ryan Mikesell | 33 | F | 6'7" | 217 | Graduate Student | St. Henry, OH | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Elijah Weaver | 11 | G | 6'6" | 205 | Junior | Cocoa, FL | Transferred from USC. Weaver would sit out for first semester of the 2020–21 season until all transfers Ruled eligible. |

### 2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| R. J. Blakney #74 SG | Windsor, CT | The Loomis Chaffee School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 174 lb (79 kg) | Oct 25, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| 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 #71 PG | Mentor, OH | Lake Catholic | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Jun 11, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| 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. ||||||

### 2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2021 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Mustapha Amzil #58 PF | Washington, PA | First Love Christian Academy | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Nov 16, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| DaRon Holmes II #10 PF | Montverde, FL | Montverde Academy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Malachi Smith #23 CG | Bronx, NY | St. Raymond for Boys | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 155 lb (70 kg) | Sep 22, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Kaleb Washington #26 SF | Mableton, GA | Pebblebrook | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Sep 22, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| 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: "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Schedule and results

Dayton had to cancel its games against Cedarville, Alcorn State, and Purdue Fort Wayne due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They also postponed their game against George Washington.
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Nov 28, 2020* Canceled | | Cedarville | | | | | | UD Arena Dayton, OH |
| Regular season |||||||||
| Dec 1, 2020* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Eastern Illinois | W 66–63 | 1–0 | 16 – Watson | 8 – Tshimanga | 6 – Crutcher | UD Arena (0) Dayton, OH |
| Dec 5, 2020* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | SMU | L 64–66 | 1–1 | 23 – Watson | 12 – Tshimanga | 7 – Crutcher | UD Arena (0) Dayton, OH |
| Dec 8, 2020* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Northern Kentucky | W 66–60 | 2–1 | 19 – Watson | 10 – Johnson | 8 – Crutcher | UD Arena (0) Dayton, OH |
| Dec 12, 2020* 3:00 p.m., ESPNU | | vs. Mississippi State Holiday Hoopsgiving | W 85–82 $^{2OT}$ | 3–1 | 23 – Crutcher | 7 – Johnson | 5 – Watson | State Farm Arena (0) Atlanta, GA |
| Dec 19, 2020* 2:30 p.m., NBCSN | | Ole Miss | W 65–62 | 4–1 | 23 – Crutcher | 5 – Tshimanga | 4 – Tied | UD Arena (0) Dayton, OH |
| Dec 30, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | La Salle | L 65–67 | 4–2 (0–1) | 22 – Amzil | 7 – Tied | 7 – Chatman | UD Arena (0) Dayton, OH |
| Jan 2, 2020 4:30 p.m., NBCSN | | George Mason | W 75–64 | 5–2 (1–1) | 26 – Crutcher | 6 – Tied | 7 – Crutcher | UD Arena (0) Dayton, OH |
| Jan 5, 2020 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Fordham | L 54–55 | 5–3 (1–2) | 14 – Crutcher | 16 – Tshimanga | 3 – Crutcher | Rose Hill Gym (0) New York, NY |
| Jan 8, 2021 9:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Davidson | W 89–78 $^{OT}$ | 6–3 (2–2) | 29 – Crutcher | 8 – Tshimanga | 7 – Weaver | John M. Belk Arena (0) Davidson, NC |
| Jan 13, 2021 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | Duquesne | W 72–63 | 7–3 (3–2) | 19 – Watson | 9 – Tshimanga | 6 – Weaver | UD Arena (0) Dayton, OH |
| Jan 17, 2021 4:30 pm, NBCSN | | at George Washington | W 67–54 | 8–3 (4–2) | 23 – Crutcher | 8 – Tshimanga | 6 – Weaver | Charles E. Smith Center (0) Washington, D.C. |
| Jan 23, 2021 3:30 pm, CBSSN | | at VCU | L 43–66 | 8–4 (4–3) | 10 – Tied | 5 – Tied | 4 – Weaver | Siegel Center (250) Richmond, VA |
| Jan 26, 2021 8:30 pm, CBSSN | | at No. 22 Saint Louis | W 76–71 | 9–4 (5–3) | 27 – Crutcher | 10 – Tshimanga | 3 – Tied | Chaifetz Arena (0) St. Louis, MO |
| Jan 30, 2021 4:00 pm, CBSSN | | Rhode Island | W 67–56 | 10–4 (6–3) | 22 – Watson | 8 – Tshimanga | 6 – Weaver | UD Arena (0) Dayton, OH |
| Feb 2, 2021 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Duquesne | L 64–69 | 10–5 (6–4) | 28 – Crutcher | 11 – Amzil | 6 – Crutcher | UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (212) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Feb 5, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | George Mason | W 74–65 | 11–5 (7–4) | 21 – Crutcher | 14 – Tshimanga | 7 – Crutcher | UD Arena (0) Dayton, OH |
| Feb 9, 2021 5:00 p.m., CBSSN | | VCU | L 67–76 | 11–6 (7–5) | 20 – Watson | 12 – Tshimanga | 8 – Crutcher | UD Arena (0) Dayton, OH |
| Feb 16, 2021 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Rhode Island | L 89–91 $^{2OT}$ | 11–7 (7–6) | 29 – Nwokeji | 9 – Nwokeji | 5 – Crutcher | Ryan Center (0) Kingston, RI |
| Feb 19, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Saint Louis | W 76–53 | 12–7 (8–6) | 19 – Crutcher | 8 – Tshimanga | 6 – Crutcher | UD Arena (0) Dayton, OH |
| Feb 24, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Saint Joseph's | L 84–97 | 12–8 (8–7) | 17 – Crutcher | 9 – Amzil | 4 – Tied | Hagan Arena (0) Philadelphia, PA |
| Mar 1, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPNU | | at St. Bonaventure | W 55–52 | 13–8 (9–7) | 14 – Watson | 7 – Tshimanga | 5 – Crutcher | Reilly Center (0) Olean, NY |
| A-10 tournament |||||||||
| March 4, 2021 3:30 pm, NBCSN | (7) | vs. (10) Rhode Island Second Round | W 84–72 | 14–8 | 25 – Watson | 7 – Tshimanga | 7 – Tied | Siegel Center (250) Richmond, VA |
| March 5, 2021 3:30 pm, NBCSN | (7) | vs. (2) VCU Quarterfinals | L 68–73 | 14–9 | 21 – Crutcher | 10 – Tshimanga | 2 – Tied | Siegel Center (250) Richmond, VA |
| NIT |||||||||
| March 20, 2021 Noon, ESPN | (4) | vs. (1) Memphis First Round – Memphis bracket | L 60–71 | 14–10 | 16 – Weaver | 8 – Amzil | 3 – Tied | UNT Coliseum (0) Denton, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
Source:

## Rankings

Ranking movements :
| | Week | Week | 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 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Not released |
| Coaches | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |