Editor’s note: The Dayton Flyers start the season Nov. 11. In the 26 days leading to the opener, the Dayton Daily News will explore different aspects of the program in the A-Z Guide to Dayton Basketball. This is the fifth installment. E: Expectations. In a game to forget for the Dayton Flyers, one image will stands out. In the final moments of Dayton’s 70-51 loss to Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA tournament in March, point guard Scoochie Smith pulled his jersey over his face to obscure his tears. From Smith’s side came Syracuse’s Trevor Cooney, one of the few remaining Syracuse players who experienced a loss to Dayton in the second round of the 2014 tournament. Cooney patted Smith on the back to console him. A season that saw the Flyers reach rare heights in the national polls and pull off several of their biggest non-conference victories in years — beating Alabama, Iowa, Vanderbilt and Arkansas among others — ended in disappointment. After five tournament wins in the previous two seasons, the Flyers left St. Louis empty handed, forced to ponder their early for the last five-plus months. RELATED: Ranking senior classes in A-10 SCOOCHIE: Career has…
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