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Top Flyer: Dayton’s Obi Toppin leads AP All-American team

Mar 20, 2020 | 10:14 AM

Dayton star Obi Toppin is the lone unanimous first-team choice to The Associated Press college basketball All-America team announced Friday.

Toppin was joined on the first team announced by Iowa’s Luka Garza, Marquette’s Markus Howard, Myles Powell of Seton Hall and Oregon’s Payton Pritchard.

Toppin received first-team votes from the entire 65-person media panel and is Dayton’s first first-team AP All-American after averaging 20 points. 7.0 rebounds and shooting 63% in a breakout season that was cancelled by the coronavirus pandemic. The 6-foot-9 sophomore helped the third-ranked Flyers match the program’s highest ranking in the final AP Top 25.

Garza, a junior forward, averaged 23.9 points and 9.8 rebounds to earn 63 first-team votes. Howard led the nation with 27.8 points per game and Powell, a fellow senior, was 17th at 21.0 points.

Pritchard became the fourth Pac-12 player to lead the conference in scoring (20.5 points) and assists (5.5). The senior guard is the first first-team AP All-American from Oregon.

FIRST TEAM

Obi Toppin, Dayton, 6-9, 220, redshirt sophomore, New York, 20.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.2 blocks, 1.0 steals, 63.3% fg, 39.0% 3-pt fg, 70.2% ft (65 of 65 first-team votes, 325 points)

Luka Garza, Iowa, 6-11, 260, junior, Washington, D.C., 23.9 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, 1.2 assists, 54.2% fg, 35.8% 3-pt fg (63, 321)

Markus Howard, Marquette, 5-11, 180, senior, Chandler, Arizona, 27.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 41.2% 3-pt fg, 84.7% ft (43, 279)

Myles Powell, Seton Hall, 6-2, 195, senior, Trenton, New Jersey, 21.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.2 steals, 79.5% ft (37, 261)

Payton Pritchard, Oregon, 6-2, 190, senior, West Linn, Oregon, 20.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 46.8% fg, 41.5% 3-pt fg, 82.1% ft (37, 259)

SECOND TEAM

Devon Dotson, Kansas, 6-2, 185, sophomore, Charlotte, North Carolina, 18.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.1 steals, 46.8% fg, 83.0% ft (30, 237)

Udoka Azubuike, Kansas, 7-0, 270, senior, Delta, Nigeria, 13.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, 74.8% fg (22, 235)

Malachi Flynn, San Diego State, 6-1, 185, junior, Tacoma, Washington, 17.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.8 steals, 44.1% fg, 37.3% 3-pt fg, 85.7% ft (12, 191)

Cassius Winston, Michigan State, 6-1, 185, senior, Detroit, 18.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.2 steals, 44.8% fg, 43.2% 3-pt fg, 85.2% ft (9, 185)

Vernon Carey Jr., Duke, 6-10, 270, freshman, Southwest Ranches, Florida, 17.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, 1.0 assists, 57.7% fg (3, 132)

THIRD TEAM

Filip Petrusev, Gonzaga, 6-11, 235, sophomore, Belgrade, Serbia, 17.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 56.2% fg (1, 78)

Jordan Nwora, Louisville, 6-7, 225, junior, Buffalo, New York, 18.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 44% fg, 40.2% 3-pt fg, 81.3% ft (0, 69)

Jared Butler, Baylor, 6-3, 190, sophomore, Reserve, Louisiana, 16.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.6 steals, 38.1% 3-pt fg, 77.5% ft (0, 63)

Tre Jones, Duke, 6-3, 185, sophomore, Apple Valley, Minnesota, 16.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.8 steals, 36.1% 3-pt fg, 77.1% ft (3, 62)

Jalen Smith, Maryland, 6-10, 225, sophomore, Baltimore, 15.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.4 blocks, 53.8% fg, 36.8% 3-pt fg, 75.0% ft (0, 59)

Honourable mention (at least 10 points): Daniel Oturu, Minnesota (28); Immanuel Quickley, Kentucky (17); Marcus Zegarowski, Creighton (15); Saddiq Bey, Villanova (13); Mason Jones, Arkansas (11).

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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/MarchMadness and https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

John Marshall, The Associated Press