1. NCAA rematch: Dayton last played Oklahoma in the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2015 in Columbus. Dayton led 49-40 with 13 minutes go play but lost 72-66.
» VIRGINIA GAME: Late 3-pointer a dagger | Solomon coaches against his alma mater | 20 photos | Flyers enjoying Atlantis resort
2. All-time series: Oklahoma leads 3-1. Dayton's lone victory came in the 1984 NCAA tournament. The Flyers won 89-85 in the second round in Salt Lake City, Utah.
3. Strong program: Oklahoma lost in the Elite Eight in 2015 but advanced to the Final Four in 2016. It finished 11-20 in 2016-17, ending a streak of four straight NCAA tournament appearances. It returned to the big dance last season, finishing 18-14.
4. Veteran coach: This is the eighth season for coach Lon Kruger. His teams have won at least two games in these in-season tournaments in each of his first seven seasons. They have not lost two games in a row in November during his tenure.
5. Preseason expectations: Oklahoma was picked to finish eighth in the Big 12. It began the season ranked 52nd in the Pomeroy rankings.
6. First-round victory: Oklahoma beat Florida 65-60 on Wednesday, winning the rebounding battle 48-34 to overcome poor shooting from long range (4 of 18). Christian James, a 6-foot-3 senior guard, scored 18. He leads the team with 20.8 points per game.
7. Second-round loss: Wisconsin beat Oklahoma 78-58 in the semifinals Thursday. The Sooners committed 15 turnovers and allowed Wisconsin to shoot 63.6 percent from 3-point range (14 of 22). Wayne grad D'Mitrik Trice set a tournament record with seven 3-pointers and scored 25 points for Wisconsin.
Credit: DaytonDailyNews
Credit: DaytonDailyNews
About the Author
