Dayton seeks first victory vs. top-five team in 35 years

Flyers face high-ranked opponent in November tournament for second straight season
Dayton against Virginia Tech in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2019, at the Lahaina Civic Center.

Credit: David Jablonski - Staff Writer

Credit: David Jablonski - Staff Writer

Dayton against Virginia Tech in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2019, at the Lahaina Civic Center.

Neil Sullivan doesn’t want to “get too far ahead of his skis,” but the Dayton Flyers athletic director sees what everyone else has seen in the Maui Invitational: a Dayton team living up to its potential.

» UD VS. KANSAS: ‘A big-boy game’ on Wednesday

"It's exciting for what it is for these couple games," Sullivan said Tuesday after an 89-62 victory against Virginia Tech in the semifinals. "I think they've played really, really well. It's the first phase of a marathon sprint into March, but I think it's OK to have checkpoints along the way clearly and so I think the pace of the marathon obviously looks pretty good right now."

Listen to the Flyers game live at 5 p.m. today, Nov. 27, on AM 1290 and News 95.7 WHIO, or by streaming the WHIO Radio live stream. Don't miss Flyer Feedback live after the game.

Dayton is 5-0 for the first time since 2015-16 and will play No. 4 Kansas (5-1) at 5 p.m. Wednesday in the championship game at the Lahaina Civic Center.

According to the Dayton media guide, the program has played 57 games against top-five teams in its history and won 11 times. Eight of those victories came before 1970. Dayton last beat a top-five team in 1984, knocking off No. 3 DePaul 72-71 at UD Arena.

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Kansas is the highest-ranked team Dayton has played since it lost 66-59 to No. 4 Virginia last season in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas.

“That’s why we’re here,” Sullivan said. “You’ve got to play teams that are NCAA-caliber teams. You’ve got to play the best to be the best.”

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

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