DAYTON – The University of Dayton men's basketball team kicks off the 2026-27 regular season by welcoming NJIT to the Epicenter of College Basketball, UD Arena on Monday night.
Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on WHIO TV, streamed on ESPN+, and will be available on WHIO Radio.
Dayton (0-0, 0-0 A10) finished the exhibition campaign with a 2-1 record, sprinting past Morehead State in the preseason finale, 88-56. The Flyers showcased their depth in their exhibitions, with no player averaging more than 22 minutes per game, with newcomer
Zaide Lowery playing a team-high 22.0 minutes per contest.
NJIT (0-0, 0-0 America East) were selected to finish fourth in the America East Preseason Coaches' Poll, the highest preseason selection since joining the conference back in 2020. NJIT is led by David Bolden, who was the 2026 America East Rookie of the Year after averaging 11.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.9 steals per game.
BALANCED ATTACK PUSHES FLYERS PAST EAGLES
In Dayton's final preseason tune-up, the Flyers jumped ahead to a 12-point halftime lead and sprinted by the Eagles in the second half, outscoring Morehead State by 20 in the stanza, to lead to an 88-56 victory.
No Flyer played more than 20 minutes in the game, with senior
Zaide Lowery and junior
Travis Perry clocking in at 20 minutes played.
UD had five players finish with 10+ points in the game, led by junior
Amaël L'Etang, who had a team-high 14 points to go along with six rebounds. Freshman
Aiden Derkack scored 13 points, all in the first half, shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor and 3-for-3 from the free throw line.
Junior
Malcolm Thomas added 11 points and six rebounds and had a team-leading five blocks. Lowery and sophomore
Damon Friery each finished the game with 10 points.
PRESEASON: BY THE NUMBERS
Dayton finished the preseason 2-1, picking up victories over Notre Dame and Morehead State, while falling to Xavier in the opener as part of the CareSource Invitational at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.
UD averaged 79.7 points in the three games, shooting .509 from the floor and .355 from behind the arc. The Flyers' three opponents averaged 67.7 points, .405 from the floor and .291 from beyond the three-point line.
Three Flyers averaged 10+ points during the preseason, led by junior
Malcolm Thomas's 11.7. Freshman
Aiden Derkack averaged 11.0 and Landen "Dunk" Joseph added 10.
PRESEASON POLL
The University of Dayton was picked to finish third in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll, the league office announced prior to the 2026 A10 Media Day in Washington, D.C.
The Flyers collected 279 points and two first-place votes, trailing VCU (308/11) and Saint Louis (307/10). George Mason was fourth (240), followed by George Washington (207) in fifth. The rest of the top 10 were Saint Joseph's (181), Fordham (169), Davidson (144), Richmond (138) and Duquesne (130).
In the same announcement,
Amaël L'Etang was named A-10 Preseason First Team. The Bastia, France, native averaged 11.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks last season while also registering 1.6 assists per game. L'Etang finished last season with 16 double-digit scoring performances in the final 17 games and had six double-doubles on the campaign.
L'Etang, who is the tallest men's basketball player in UD history, has played in 67 games in his Flyer career, making 49 starts. While still in the distance, the 1,000 point and 500 rebound clubs are both visible, as L'Etang needs 365 points and 157 rebounds to get there. He would become the 16th Dayton men's basketball player to be in both the 1,000 point and 500 rebound club.
SELLOUT STREAK REACHES SIX YEARS
The University of Dayton announced last week that the Flyers have sold out the entire season for the sixth consecutive season. The sell out streak currently sits at 94 games and will hit the century mark against Loyola (Md.) in early December.
18 more sellouts this season will extend a regular-season sellout streak to 112 games dating back to 2019-2020. Dayton will be one of seven institutions to have active sellout streaks of 100 games or more when the time comes, joining Duke, Michigan State, Kansas, Gonzaga, Purdue and Rutgers.
