Dayton awaits result of GW-UMass game in A-10 tournament

“It’s a really nice facility,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said before practice. “We’re really grateful they allowed us to use it.”

At the time of the practice, No. 2 seed Dayton (22-9) did not know who they would play at 6 p.m. Friday: No. 7 George Washington (12-17) or No. 10 Massachusetts (14-16). Those teams played at 6 p.m. Thursday in the second round.

Dayton beat George Washington 83-58 on Jan. 8 in Washington, D.C., and 80-54 on Feb. 12 at UD Arena and beat UMass 82-61 on Feb. 23 at UD Arena. The Flyers have won five straight games against both programs.

“We’ll have the scout ready for both of them based on our games before and based on their most recent games,” Grant said, “and then we’ll see what happens tonight.”

Dayton made 18 of 32 3-pointers in the two regular-season routs of George Washington. It shot a season-best 62.3% from the field in the second game. Dayton was just as dominant against UMass, making 10 of 17 3-pointers.

While George Washington lost three of its last four games in the regular season, UMass won its last two games against Fordham and George Mason. Those two victories followed the announcement by UMass that coach Matt McCall will not return for a sixth season.

“I think the guys have really rallied around Matt,” Grant said.

Grant and McCall were hired one day apart in March 2017. They worked together at the University of Florida for five seasons and were part of the program’s first national championship team in 2006. Grant was an assistant on Florida Gators coach Billy Donovan’s staff from 1996-2006. McCall was a student manager at Florida from 2001-04 and then a graduate assistant for two seasons.

Grant said he reached out to McCall after the news of his firing broke.

“He’s doing good,” Grant said. “I think he’s handled it about as well as any coach could handle the situation.”

FRIDAY’S GAME

Dayton vs. George Washington/UMass, 6 p.m., USA Network, 1290, 95.7