Where: HP Fieldhouse at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in the Walt Disney World Resort in Kissimmee, Fla.
When: 1:30 p.m. Friday, or 20 minutes after the conclusion of the 11 a.m. game between Miami and North Texas
TV/Radio: ESPN/95.7 and 1290 WHIO. Dick Vitale will be one of the announcers on the ESPN broadcast.
Series: Kansas leads 2-1. Dayton beat Kansas 61-48 in the NIT championship game in 1968 at Madison Square Garden. Kansas beat Dayton 60-43 in the second round NCAA tournament in Minneapolis in 2009 and 90-84 in overtime in the Maui Invitational championship game in 2019.
Last game: In first-round games Thursday, Dayton beat Miami 76-60 and Kansas beat North Texas 71-59.
Coaches: Anthony Grant is 80-44 in five season at Dayton. Bill Self is 526-118 in 19 seasons at Kansas.
Probable Dayton starters
Name, Ht., Class, Pos., Points per game
Elijah Weaver, 6-6, R-Jr., G, 10.2
Toumani Camara, 6-8, So., F, 10.2
DaRon Holmes II, 6-10, Fr., F, 8.8
R.J. Blakney, 6-6, R-Fr., G, 6.2
Malachi Smith, 6-0, Fr., G, 7.8
Probable Kansas starters
Ochai Agbaji, 6-5, Sr., G, 26.3
Christian Braun, 6-6, Jr., G, 10.7
Remy Martin, 6-0, Sr., G, 9.7
Dajuan Harris, 6-1, So., G, 4.0
David McCormack, 6-10, Sr., F, 9.3
About Dayton: KenPom.com gives Dayton an 8 percent chance of winning this game and predicts a 77-62 score. ... Dayton ranks 119th in the Ken Pomeroy ratings. Kansas hasn’t lost to an opponent ranked that low since Feb. 6, 2013, when it fell 62-55 at No. 265 Texas Christian. Kansas hasn’t lost to a non-conference opponent ranked below 100 since Dec. 13, 2008, when it fell 61-60 to No. 138 UMass. ... Dayton ranks 43rd in the nation in height. Kansas ranks 287th.
About Kansas: The Jayhawks opened the season with a 77-64 victory against Michigan State and then beat Tarleton State and Stony Brook at home. ... Agbaji leads the nation in scoring. He’s shooting 41.7 percent (10 of 24) from 3-point range. ... Kansas has the fourth most efficient offense in the country and the 10th-best defense. It’s shooting 57.9 percent from 2-point range and 39.2 percent from 3-point range. ... Kansas has won its last six in-season tournaments: the 2014 Orlando Classic; the 2015 Maui Invitational; the 2016 CBE Classic; the 2017 HoopHall Miami Invitational; the 2018 NIT Season Tip Off; and the 2019 Maui Invitational.
Looking ahead: Dayton will play Iona (6-0) or Belmont (4-2) on Sunday in the championship game or the third-place game. The order of the games has not been decided. One will take place at 1 p.m., the other at 4 p.m.
Belmont beat Drake 74-69 in the first round. Iona beat Alabama 72-68. Iona and Belmont play at 6:30 p.m. or 7 p.m. today, while Drake plays Alabama at 4:30 p.m.
About the Author