Dayton Flyers headed to NIT for second time in three years

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It’s an interesting matchup for Dayton senior guard Jalen Crutcher, who’s from Memphis. The Tigers (16-8) are coached by Penny Hardaway, who is 59-32 in three seasons. Dayton leads the series against Memphis 12-7. The teams last played in 1995.

The game will come 15 days after the Flyers lost 73-68 to Virginia Commonwealth in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament.

The NIT was reduced from 32 teams to 16 teams this season, and the entire tournament will be played in Texas. Dayton’s chances of making the field improved when Duke, Louisville, Xavier, St. John’s and Seton Hall all turned down NIT bids. The NIT starts Wednesday, and the eight first-round games will take place over four days.

The Dayton-Memphis winner will play No. 2 seed Boise State or No. 3 seed Southern Methodist in the quarterfinals March 25. The semifinals take place March 27 at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas. The championship game takes place at noon March 28 at the same site.

Dayton last played in the NIT in 2019, losing 78-73 at Colorado in the first round. Prior to that, Dayton had not played in the NIT since 2012 when it lost 84-75 at Iowa in the first round. That was the fourth NIT appearance in five seasons.

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This will be Dayton’s 26th NIT appearance. It ranks second behind St. John’s (30) in total appearances. It has a 40-23 record and won the championship in 1962, 1968 and 2010 and finished as runner-up in 1951, 1952, 1955, 1956 and 1958.

The Atlantic 10 Conference, which saw St. Bonaventure and VCU earn NCAA tournament bids, earned four of the 16 spots in the NIT. No. 2 seed Davidson will play No. 3 N.C. State in the first round. No. 2 seed Richmond will play No. 3 Toledo. No. 1 Saint Louis will play No. 4 Mississippi State.