No. 7 seed Dayton (24-7) and No. 10 seed Nevada (26-7) play at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the Delta Center.
“After last year having to get on a plane and not get to Dayton until 1 o’clock in the morning,” Alford said on the CBS Sports Network on Sunday night, “being this close, staying in the west where our fans can get to, we’re excited about that.”
Nevada will make its 11th NCAA tournament appearance as a Division I program. This will be the second under Alford, who’s in his fifth season. He has also coached Missouri State, Iowa, New Mexico and UCLA to the tournament.
Nevada was one of six Mountain West teams to make the tournament. That set a record for the league, which sent five teams in the 2012-13 season. One of the teams, New Mexico, includes Mustapha Amzil, who played the last three seasons at Dayton. Two of the teams, Colorado State and Boise State, will play in the First Four at UD Arena.
The Mountain West was the seventh-ranked conference in the Ken Pomeroy ratings — one spot ahead of the Atlantic 10.
“I think we’ve been really good for a long time,” Alford said. “But this year, top to bottom, it was the best that we’ve ever experienced. I just think the six teams that got in not only did their work in the league, they did their work out of the league. All six teams had incredible metrics. We beat up on each other in the league, but that’s what all the Power Five leagues do as well.”
Ohio history: This is the first time Dayton will play in a NCAA tournament that doesn’t include its old rival, Xavier, since 2000. The last seven times Dayton made the field (2003, 2004, 2009, 2014-17), Xavier also earned a berth.
This will be the first time Dayton has played in a NCAA tournament that hasn’t included at least one of the other major Ohio programs (Xavier, Ohio State and Cincinnati) since 1984. That year, Dayton and Miami University were the only Ohio programs in the tournament. This year, it’s Dayton and Mid-American Conference champion Akron. No. 14 seed Akron plays No. 3 Creighton on Thursday in Pittsburgh.
Big East supporter: Chris Murphy, a U.S. Senator from Connecticut, criticized Dayton’s inclusion in the NCAA tournament on X (Twitter) on Sunday.
“So the Big East gets a 1, 2 and 3 seed and nothing else,” Murphy wrote. “Makes no sense. But Dayton gets in despite beating zero NCAA tournament teams and losing to Loyola, George Mason and Duquesne (power houses!) in the final weeks. Ridiculous. NCAA just begging teams to schedule cupcakes.”
Three Big East teams made the field: No. 1 seed Connecticut; No. 2 seed Marquette; and No. 3 seed Creighton.
NIT bracket: Four Atlantic 10 Conference teams will play in the NIT.
• Richmond will play Virginia Tech at 9 p.m. Tuesday in Blacksburg, Va.
• Loyola Chicago will play Bradley at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Peoria, Ill.
• Virginia Commonwealth will play Villanova at 9 p.m. Wednesday in Philadelphia.
• Saint Joseph’s will play Seton Hall at 7 p.m. Wednesday in South Orange, N.J.
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