Having fun yet, folks?
Earlier this evening, Dayton announced….wait for it…..a schedule change. The Flyers already open up with an exhibition game on Saturday against Cedarville, but now will open the regular season again the Alcorn State Braves.
The game against Alcorn State will be on Tuesday, December 1st at 7:00 PM at UD Arena. Although no TV viewship was announced with it yet, my guess that it will be on ESPN+.
A bit about ASU: Alcorn State will come into UD Arena looking to build off of a decent season a year ago, finishing 5th in the SWAC and a 15-15 overall record. They finished last season at #324 in KenPom and open up this season at #336. ASU was picked to finish 5th in the pre-season SWAC poll. The name Flyer fans will want to watch on the Braves is Troymain Crosby, who is their senior leader this year and their starting small forward. Crosby was also named to the Preseason All-SWAC First Team as well.
Alcorn State will be playing their third game by the time their game with Dayton rolls around. The Braves play road games against UAB and Kent State before December 1st.
Personally, I was excited when this was announced, not only because it’s an actual Dayton Flyers basketball game, but also because it’s not a big opponent. Originally, Dayton was scheduled to play only the exhibition game against Cedarville before opening up against SMU. If you remember last season well, Dayton opened up against Indiana State and did not look like what the team would eventually become as we know now. They were definitely rusty being that it was the first real game that the team was playing together with 5-6 new players on the roster. That game against Indiana State, along with two more games soon after, allowed Dayton to work out the kinks and rust before heading off to Maui. The rest was history.
This game against Alcorn State will give Dayton a chance to get a real game in that counts and also one that does not look to be too difficult to handle right before the Flyers host SMU on the Saturday after. It’s not a game that is going to help the at-large resume by any means, but it is a game, and any added game will only help the Flyers prepare for their tougher games later on in the non-conference.
Get excited, Flyer fans. The season is almost here.
And as always, wear red and BE LOWD.
