Who? The Flyers of Dayton.
What? Named after the Wright Flyer; if you've ever seen an Ohio quarter, you know Ohio takes its history of flight seriously. Rudy Flyer gets his name from UD.
Where? Dayton, Ohio, where the first cash registers were produced.
When? March 5th, on the campus of St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Why? They won the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament.
How? The Flyers surged out to a 27-5 lead on top seed St. Bonaventure, then held off a furious second-half rally by the Bonnies to win 56-53. Justine Raterman had 13 points and eight rebounds, while Patrice Lalor and Andrea Hoover hit their free throws to fend off the Bonnies in the last 1:13.
Partner: Arkansas of the SEC.
For more on the game, check out St. Bonaventure alum Ray Floriani's analysis of the game.
Surprise? An upset based on seeding; the third-place Flyers took out second seed Temple and first seed St. Bonaventure to take the conference crown. They and Temple were the favorites in the A-10 preseason poll.RPI (as of 3/5): 38
SOS (as of 3/5): 102
Record: 23-6 (12-2 Atlantic-10)
Good wins: Their best wins look to have come in the conference tournament, versus Temple and St. Bonaventure to revenge home regular season losses.
Bad losses: Nothing really egregious, though I'd be embarrassed at losing to Cincinnati.
Who's running this show? Jim Jabir, since 2003. He's a well-traveled coach.
This season's fate has rested on the shoulders, and recovering knee, of senior forward Justine Raterman; she started off shaky, and Dayton did not look like the favorites they were expected to be. As she found her groove, so did the Flyers. She leads her team in scoring with 14.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. But the rest of the team has picked up any slack Raterman might have left; eleven Flyers average double-digits in minutes. They rely on their seniors- except for freshman guard Andrea Hoover.