The 2014–15 Dayton Flyers men's basketball team represented the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a Private university, private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary (Marianists), Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the U ...

during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Flyers, led by fourth year head coach Archie Miller, played their home games at the

University of Dayton Arena University of Dayton Arena (commonly known as UD Arena) is a 13,409-seat multi-purpose arena located in Dayton, Ohio. The arena opened in 1969. It is home to the University of Dayton Flyers basketball teams. From 2001 to 2010, the facility hoste ...

and were members of the

Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. The A-10's member schools are located most ...

. They finished the season 27–9, 13–5 in A-10 play to finish in a tie for second place. They advanced to the championship game of the A-10 tournament where they lost to VCU. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Boise State in the First Four and Providence in the second round before losing in the third round to Oklahoma. When the Flyers were selected to play at home in the First Four, they became the first team since 1987 to play an NCAA Tournament game in their home arena. The NCAA made a rule in 1989 that no team could play a tournament game in their home arena. However, with UD Arena always hosting the First Four, Dayton is the only exception to the rule.

Previous season

The 2013–14 Dayton Flyers finished the season with an overall record of 26–11, with a record of 10–6 in the Atlantic 10 regular season for a tie for a fifth-place finish. In the 2014 Atlantic 10 tournament, the Flyers were defeated by Saint Joseph's, 70–67 in the quarterfinals. They received an at-large bid to the

2014 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2014 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2013-14 ...

, where they upset

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

and

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

in second and third rounds and the sweet sixteen before falling to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in the elite eight to end their Cinderella run.

Offseason

Departures

Incoming transfers

Incoming recruits

Season synopsis

The Flyers entered the season with three players capable of playing as centers, but by the start of 2015, none of the three were available to the team. First, the NCAA declared incoming freshman Steve McElvene a "partial qualifier", rendering him ineligible for the entire 2014–15 season. Then, in December 2014, starting center

Devon Scott Devon Patricia Scott (born November 29, 1958) is an American actress and daughter of actor George C. Scott. She appeared as Roberta Franklin, daughter of Judge Walter Franklin (Tony Randall), in the first season of ''The Tony Randall Show'', wh ...

and intended backup Jalen Robinson were dismissed from the team after allegedly being caught committing theft in a campus dormitory. Two other players were sidelined by injuries. Junior college transfer Detwon Rogers was lost for the season to a knee injury, and graduate transfer Ryan Bass quit basketball on medical advice due to post-concussion symptoms. These departures and injuries left Dayton with arguably the most limited roster, in both depth and physical size, in Division I. The Flyers played the bulk of their season with only six players who started the season on scholarships. In January 2015, Bobby Wehrli, who had begun the season as a

walk-on Walk On may refer to: Music Albums * ''Walk On'' (Boston album) or the title song, 1994 * ''Walk On'' (John Hiatt album) or the title song, 1995 * ''Walk On'' (Randy Johnston album) or the title song, 1992 *''Walk On'', by Kellie Coffey, 200 ...

, was given a scholarship, but only for the spring of 2015. No one left on the active roster, whether on scholarship or not, was taller than 6'6" (1.98 m). CBS Sports journalist Gary Parrish had this to say about the Flyers' roster limitations (emphasis in original):

"To put this into perspective, consider that
Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
has ''seven'' scholarship players taller than ''6-8'', and that UK's starting ''backcourt'' ( Andrew Harrison and
Aaron Harrison Aaron Malik Harrison (born October 28, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for Diablos Rojos del México of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP). He was considered one of the top high school recruits in 2013 and pla ...
) is just as tall as Dayton's starting ''frontcourt'' (Dyshawn Pierre and Kendall Pollard)."

Despite these limitations, the Flyers remained in contention for the A10 title for most of the season, ultimately finishing second in the regular-season standings, and advanced to the A10 tournament final, losing there to VCU.

Roster

Schedule

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Rankings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2014-15 Dayton Flyers Men's Basketball Team Dayton Flyers Men's Dayton Flyers men's basketball seasons

Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

2014 in sports in Ohio 2015 in sports in Ohio