The University of Dayton men’s basketball team closed its exhibition season with an 88-56 victory over Morehead State at UD Arena, finishing exhibition play with two wins, according to reports on the Flyers’ final tune-up.
Dayton previously defeated Notre Dame and lost to Xavier in its earlier exhibitions, a three-game preseason run used to blend a substantially rebuilt roster before the regular season begins. The 32-point margin over Morehead State was the Flyers’ most comfortable result of the three exhibitions.
The Flyers carry nine newcomers this season, including three freshmen and six transfers, and the exhibition slate was the staff’s last chance to test rotations and combinations in game conditions at UD Arena. With that much turnover, minutes together in a real arena, in front of a crowd, are the point of October basketball.
Morehead State arrived as the final test after the higher-profile exhibitions against Notre Dame and Xavier, and Dayton controlled the closing tune-up from the start on its home floor. The result sends the Flyers into the regular season on a win rather than a loss, with the rotation questions largely answered in public.
With the Morehead State win, Dayton heads into the games that count with its opening stretch at home, starting with the regular-season opener against NJIT on Monday, Nov. 2, at UD Arena. Dayton plays its first five games at UD Arena, a home-heavy start that gives the new roster time to settle before its first road trip.
The non-conference schedule that follows includes home games against Cincinnati and South Florida and road trips to Florida State and Liberty, tests that will measure how quickly the new roster has come together once the opposition is playing for keeps.
Exhibition results do not count in the standings, but the margin over Morehead State gives Dayton a confident final look before the opener, after the split of its first two exhibitions against Notre Dame and Xavier.
Dayton opens the 2026 regular season at home against NJIT on Nov. 2, the first of five straight games at UD Arena to start the season, with the rebuilt roster now done with rehearsals.
Photo: Gump840, CC BY