Dayton Flyers hope to redeem themselves in NIT after A-10 loss

No one mentioned the Colorado Buffaloes (21-12) as a possible opponent. The NIT selection committee threw Dayton (21-11) a curveball by giving it a road game five states and two time zones away on Tuesday and scheduled the game at 11 p.m. Eastern time (9 p.m. in Boulder).

A 2018-19 season full of twists and turns will continue in a postseason tournament Dayton fans haven’t seen since 2012 but will have now seen 25 times over seven decades. Dayton has played in the NIT seven more times than the NCAA tournament. While the NIT is a consolation prize, it is something everyone on the roster wanted as opposed to the alternative: the end of the season.

“It’s very exciting,” Dayton forward Josh Cunningham said. “We get a chance to go out and compete again with each other.”

Here are four storylines to watch Tuesday:

1. Familiar face: Colorado's starting point guard and second-leading scorer is McKinley Wright IV, who committed to Dayton during Archie Miller's final season and then changed his mind when Miller left for Indiana and Dayton hired Anthony Grant.

» FIRST FOUR: Temple, Arizona State among teams coming to Dayton

Grant tried to keep Wright in the recruiting class in his first weeks on the job, but lost him and Nahziah Carter, who was also released from his letter of intent and signed with Washington instead.

Wright averaged 14.2 points and 5.5 assists as a freshman and 13.1 points and 4.8 assists as a sophomore. He has been a starter throughout his two seasons.

“I know he’s had a great two years there,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said. “I had a chance his freshman year to see one or two games. I know he’s had a great impact on the team.”

2. Health status: Grant said redshirt freshman forward Obi Toppin practiced on Sunday and will play against Colorado. He banged his knee Friday in the first half of a 64-55 loss to Saint Louis in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 tournament and didn't look 100 percent when he returned to the game at the start of the second half.

» MORE ON FIRST FOUR: Fans can watch practices Monday, Tuesday

3. Bouncing back: Dayton has not lost consecutive games since December, following every defeat with a strong performance. It will have to forget the second half of the loss to Saint Louis, especially the last five minutes, if it wants to advance in the NIT.

“Guys are resilient,” Grant said. “Young people are resilient. The chance to continue to play will be exciting.”

“You don’t want to end the season like that,” Dayton forward Ryan Mikesell said. “After the game, we were pretty upset about how it went, but after hearing today (about the NIT), it kind of gives you some sense of relief knowing we get to play and hopefully redeem ourselves.”

4. Tournament history: Dayton will play in the NIT for the first time since 2012 when it lost 84-75 at Iowa in the first round. That was the fourth NIT appearance in five seasons.

» TWENTY PHOTOS: Dayton vs. Saint Louis

This will be Dayton’s 25th NIT appearance. It ranks second behind St. John’s (30) in total appearances. It has a 40-22 record and won the championship in 1962, 1968 and 2010 and finished as runner-up in 1951, 1952, 1955, 1956 and 1958.

“We’re excited we get a chance to continue to play,” Grant said. “We’re happy for Josh and Jack (Westerfield) that they get a chance to continue their careers and play with their brothers, and obviously, for our team, we’ve got a lot of young guys and the chance to play in the postseason and gain that experience and the chance to compete for a championship, all those things are a positive things. I think it’s a great opportunity for us.”

TUESDAY’S GAME

Dayton at Colorado, 11 p.m., ESPN2, AM 1290 and News 95.7 WHIO