DAYTON – The University of Dayton men's basketball program's second season under the direction of head coach Anthony Grant will feature a home game against Mississippi State, a first-ever trip to the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas, and a road game at Auburn.  

Dayton's first public appearance on Tom Blackburn Court this season will be an exhibition game against Division III Capital, who is coached by Grant's former teammate and Flyer Hall of Famer Damon Goodwin.

Not counting the exhibition game, the Flyers' non-conference slate will include eight home games, one on the road and four neutral site games. 

The home game with Mississippi State features an opponent who returns all five starters from a team that won 25 games and reached the Final Four of the NIT.  Auburn has four starters back from a 26-8 team that reached the NCAA tournament.  

The Battle 4 Atlantis exempt event features three tournament games and one mainland game.  The Flyers will open with a first-round battle with Butler.  The rest of the field includes of Florida, Middle Tennessee State, Oklahoma Stanford, Virginia and Wisconsin.  The mainland game will be at home against Coppin State.  

UD will also play a neutral court game at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's Holiday Showcase against Tulsa at Mohegan Sun Arena.

One coach will be making his second visit to UD Arena in as many years.  New Detroit Mercy coach Mike Davis coached Texas Southern to a win in last year's First Four.

Not counting the teams in the Battle 4 Atlantis, UD's nine non-conference opponents include:
• Eight who return three or more starters (two with five, three with four)
• Six with .500 or better records
• Three with 20 or more wins

"Our goal is to build a non-conference slate that stands the greatest possibility of earning an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament," UD Vice-President and Director of Athletics Neil Sullivan said, "and we think this year's schedule gives us that chance. In total, we were able to build a schedule that gives us the opportunity to prove ourselves and set us up for a rigorous Atlantic 10 conference season."

Dayton opens the regular season at home against North Florida on Wednesday, Nov. 7. The following two weekends, UD will host Coppin State (Saturday, Nov. 10) and Purdue Fort Wayne (Friday, Nov. 16).  The Flyers then travel to the Bahamas to play in the Battle 4 Atlantis Nov. 21-23. 

Dayton returns home to play two games – Mississippi State (Friday, Nov. 30) and Detroit Mercy (Tuesday, Dec. 4) – before going on the road at Auburn (Sunday, Dec. 8).  The game at Mohegan Sun Arena with Tulsa in the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase is on Sunday, Dec. 16.

UD then has three more home games to close the non-conference schedule – Western Michigan (Wednesday, Dec. 19), Presbyterian (Saturday, Dec. 22) and Georgia Southern (Saturday, Dec. 29).

Game times will be announced at a later date, as will the complete Atlantic 10 schedule.

Dayton finished the 2017-18 season 14-17 and returns four starters, five of its top six scorers and three of its top four rebounders. Leading the way is All-Atlantic 10 performer Josh Cunningham, a two-time captain who led the Flyers in both categories (15.6 ppg., 8.4 rpg.).