At the beginning of the tournament, most people had Dayton out in the first round. No one predicted the team would beat Ohio State before going on to beat Syracuse. For years, the team watched several mid-major programs like Butler or George Mason have the success and this year the Flyers believe it is their turn. However, if Dayton wants to continue their magical tournament run, they will face another top program in Stanford in the Sweet 16.
Stanford has had a similar run as a No. 10 seed. The Cardinals were not expected to make the run that they have so far. Stanford was underdogs in both games, but managed to get wins against New Mexico and Kansas to reach the Sweet 16. Forward Josh Huestis believes the team is not the underdog that everyone says they are, remaining confident that Stanford can keep winning. Stanford already beat UConn, Oregon and UCLA during the regular season, proving they are no fluke of a team.
The Cardinals defense will pressure Dayton. The team held Kansas freshman Andrew Wigging to just four points in their second-round game. The team has the veterans to keep the Cardinals moving. The Stanford roster has three juniors and two seniors, something that showed against the young Jayhawks. Stanford's size will also help against Dayton. Five of their players stand at 6-6 or higher. That will certainly create some matchup problems for the Flyers.
While Dayton might lack in experience, their deep bench has been in overdrive during the tournament. The team has been working an 11-man rotation that has kept players fresh and aggressive. It paid off as their offense simply dominated both Ohio State and Syracuse. 11 players have all reached double-digit figures during March.
Dayton is carrying all of the Atlantic 10 on their shoulders, being the conference's lone representative at this point in the tournament. Six teams receiver a bid, but only Dayton stands. The Flyers have won their last 12 of 14 games which should create some momentum after the few days off.
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