“We’re excited we get a chance to continue to play,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said. “We’re happy for Josh (Cunningham) 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.”
The game matches the Flyers against former Dayton commit McKinley Wright, Colorado’s starting point guard. He changed his mind after Archie Miller left for Indiana and Dayton hired Anthony Grant. Wright averages 13.1 points and 4.8 assists.
Dayton has played once before in Boulder, losing 77-59 to Colorado on Jan. 10, 1987, in Anthony Grant's senior year. He had seven points. pic.twitter.com/pMNnk55mhX
— David Jablonski (@DavidPJablonski) March 18, 2019
Dayton and Colorado will also play in the 2019-20 regular season on Dec. 21 in the Chicago Legends at the United Center.
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.
» FIRST FOUR: Temple, Arizona State among teams coming to Dayton
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.
Dayton (21-11) heads to the NIT after a quarterfinal loss to Saint Louis in the Atlantic 10 tournament in Brooklyn, N.Y. The No. 6 seed Billikens won the A-10 title on Sunday by beating No. 4 seed St. Bonaventure 55-53.
If Dayton beats Colorado, it could play Anthony Grant’s former team, Alabama in the second round. Alabama plays Norfolk State on Wednesday. The other games in Dayton’s corner of the bracket are: Toledo at Xavier and South Dakota State at Texas.
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