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Mike Anderson and Jeff Long are continuing to beef up Arkansas' non-conference schedule with the reported addition of the Dayton Flyers to both this coming and next seasons' schedules.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Dayton + Arkansas will start a home + home series beginning next year in Fayetteville, source told <a href="https://twitter.com/CBSSports">@CBSSports</a>. Return game in Ohio in 15-16.</p>— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) <a href="https://twitter.com/JonRothstein/statuses/469163698918277120">May 21, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Dayton was an 11-seed in the NCAA Tournament this year but made it to the Elite Eight where they lost to Florida. They lost three seniors to graduation - Vee Sanford, Devin Oliver, and Matt Kavanaugh - but will still be a solid Atlantic 10 opponent next season.
They were not included in the CBS nor USA Today way-too-early preseason rankings, but SB Nation has them ranked #25 heading into the offseason, with this to say:
The Flyers have never had a problem proving they're capable of competing with the big boys when given the chance, but for whatever reason, they've struggled tremendously with consistency in the Atlantic 10 over the past decade or so. They were given an opportunity by the Selection Committee three weeks ago, and it's safe to say they took full advantage. Two of Archie Miller's three leading scorers — Jordan Sibert and Dyshawn Pierre — return to a UD campus that will be buzzing through the summer, but which also will head into the fall with heightened expectations.
With non-conference road games already scheduled at SMU, Iowa State, and Clemson - and presumably a game in North Little Rock - it seems doubtful Arkansas would schedule any further true road games. A neutral court preseason tournament remains a possibility, but other than that, the focus now shifts toward filling up the Bud Walton Arena non-conference slate.
Dayton is the first team we know of coming to Fayetteville in a non conference role this fall. It's a good first piece. It is difficult convincing teams to play at Bud Walton partly due to the Razorbacks' excellent reputation when playing there, but let's hope this is a sign we won't see too many RPI 250+ teams this fall.
