In the first game of the day, the tournament favorite, No. 2 Connecticut, rallied from a 13-point deficit only to lose 99-97 in overtime to unranked Memphis in part because two-time national champion coach Dan Hurley picked up a technical foul at a crucial moment in the final minute.
In the third game of the day, No. 5 Iowa State, which likely has more fans at the tournament than any other school, blew an 18-point lead in a 83-81 loss to No. 4 Auburn (5-0), which won the game on a tip-in by All-American forward Johni Broome with a second to play.
In the last game of the day, the Dayton Flyers suffered perhaps the most frustrating loss of the day, though there was plenty of competition for that honor, blowing a 21-point lead and falling 92-90 to No. 12 North Carolina. The Maui magic that had carried UD to first-round victories in its first four appearances ran out in the second half.
“Give North Carolina credit,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said. “They played 40 minutes. It’s always going to be a 40-minute game. We understood that. I thought our guys battled. We gave ourselves a chance. I’m proud of the effort. This is a heck of a field. We’ve got a quick turnaround. We need to get prepared to play one of the best teams in the country again tomorrow.”
Dayton (5-1) will play Iowa State (3-1) in the consolation round at 8:30 p.m. today. The game will start at 3:30 p.m. in Maui. It will air on ESPNU.
Here are are three takeaways from Dayton’s first loss of the 2024-25 season:
Credit: David Jablonski
1. Dayton could not stop North Carolina in the second half: The Flyers led 51-33 at halftime thanks to a team effort in which all 10 players who saw action scored. They pushed the advantage to 56-35 less than three minutes into the second half. The Tar Heels had a 7.2% chance of winning at that point, according to KenPom.com.
Then, slowly but surely, the Tar Heels started to chip away at the lead. A 9-2 run and then a 13-0 run, then an 8-2 run and then an 8-0 run. Dayton made timely 3-pointers to keep the lead in double digits for the first nine minutes.
North Carolina climbed back into the game by making 7 of 12 3s in the second half. It also converted four 3-point plays. It scored on all but two possessions in the last five minutes.
“I thought their defensive pressure kind of sped us up,” Grant said. “We kind of lost our composure and made some questionable decisions. They’re great in transition. They were able to get lot of 3-point plays. Transition, the free-throw line, those things I thought really were the difference.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
2. Both teams made big shots: Players on both teams made clutch shots at key moments in the final three minutes.
• Dayton freshman Amaël L’Etang, who scored 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting, made a 3 at the 2:50 mark to give Dayton an 84-80 lead.
• North Carolina’s All-American guard RJ Davis, who led all scorers with 30 points, gave North Carolina its first lead of the second half on a 3 at the 1:52 mark.
• Dayton’s Malachi Smith, who had 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting, answered with a go-ahead 3 with 1:36 to play.
• Drake Powell gave North Carolina an 88-87 lead on a 3-pointer with 1 minute, 13 seconds to play.
• Dayton then appeared to tie the game on a 3-pointer by Nate Santos with six seconds remaining, but it was ruled a 2-pointer on review.
Davis made two free throws with four seconds to play to push North Carolina’s lead back to three points. North Carolina didn’t let Dayton attempt a tying 3 in the final seconds, fouling Smith, who made his first free throw and missed the first on purpose. North Carolina got the rebound to clinch the victory.
The 21-point comeback by North Carolina tied the second largest in school history. It also rallied from 21 points in the second half to beat Florida State in 1993.
“Credit to them,” Santos said. “They went on a roll. They punched back. We’ve got to keep our composure.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
3. Dayton missed an opportunity: Dayton fell short of its first 6-0 start since the 2008-09 season when it won its first eight games. A program that has made a name for itself in the last two seasons with big comebacks blew perhaps its biggest lead since a 79-75 overtime loss to Brigham Young at the Battle 4 Atlantis in 2022. Dayton had a 23-point lead in that game.
Dayton lost because it could not keep North Carolina off the free-throw line. The Tar Heels made 27 of 34 free throws (79.4%). Dayton made its free throws (12 of 15, 80%) unlike in the previous game against New Mexico State, but could not get to the line enough to keep up with North Carolina.
The Flyers lost despite shooting a season-best 43.8% (14 of 32) from 3-point range. Javon Bennett, Enoch Cheeks and L’Etang all made three 3s.
What hurt Dayton in the second half was an inability to make mid-range jumpers and shots at the rim. It made 12 of 19 2-point field goals in the first half and 6 of 23 in the second half. Smith made both of his 3-point attempts but was 2 of 10 inside the arc.
North Carolina coach Hubert Davis, whose program improved to 2-2 against Dayton all time, told his team at halftime it wasn’t making comeback plays.
“You’re not getting the rebounds,” Davis said. “You’re not getting defensive stops. You’re not getting through screens. You’re not getting loose balls. You’re not taking the ball strong to the hoop. You’re not dunking when you get around the basket. You’re just not making those plays. If you would change that, this game would flip.”
And Davis said, “They were able to do that against a really good Dayton team.”
STAR OF THE GAME
Davis scored 20 of his 30 points in the second half. He made 8 of 19 field goals, including 4 of 10 3-pointers, and 10 of 11 free throws. He has scored 30 or more points six times in his career and now has 2,189 points in five seasons.
STAT OF THE GAME
Dayton had won 27 games in a row when scoring 90 or more points. It had not lost when scoring 90 or more since a 93-91 loss at Rhode Island in 2009.
LOOKING AHEAD
Dayton and Iowa State will play for the third time in the consolation bracket. The programs played a two-game series in 1987 and 1988. Dayton lost both games: 72-62 on Jan. 7, 1987, at Iowa State and 84-80 on Jan. 9, 1988, at UD Arena.
Dayton’s third opponent in Maui will be No. 2 Connecticut (4-1) or Colorado (4-1). Dayton will play at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday (9:30 a.m. in Maui) if it beats Iowa State or at 12 a.m. (7 p.m.) if it loses to Iowa State.
TUESDAY’S GAME
Dayton vs. Iowa State, 8:30 p.m., ESPNU, 1290, 95.9
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