Dayton Flyers to play in Holiday Hoopsgiving event in Atlanta

The game was officially announced Thursday after being first reported April 27.

“We are excited to be a part of the 2020 Holiday Hoopsgiving in Atlanta,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said in a press release. "It will be a great test for our guys against an always talented Mississippi State program led by Coach Howland. We are looking forward to playing in front of our fans in Atlanta and the southeast.”

Three other games will take place in Atlanta on the same day Dayton plays Mississippi State: Auburn vs. Memphis; Alabama vs. Clemson; and LSU vs. South Florida. The games will benefit various charities in the southeast.

State Farm Arena, the home of the Atlanta Hawks, opened in 2018. Dayton last played in Atlanta on Nov. 20, 2013, beating Georgia Tech, then coached by former UD coach Brian Gregory, 82-72.

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Dayton is 0-3 against Mississippi State. The teams played a two-game series in 2017 and 2018. Dayton lost both games: 65-58 on Nov. 30, 2018, at UD Arena and 61-59 on Dec. 3, 2017, in Starkville, Miss.

The game against Mississippi State is one of at least two Dayton will play against teams from the Southeastern Conference. It will also play  Mississippi in Chicago, according to a source.

A date for that game has not been announced. It could be part of the Chicago Legends event. Dayton played Northwestern at the United Center in 2016 as part of that event and played Colorado last season, losing both games.

Mississippi State finished 20-11 last season. It loses leading scorer Reggie Perry to the NBA Draft but expects to return four other starters.

Dayton is 6-0 against Ole Miss and swept a two-game series six years ago, winning 83-80 in overtime on Devin Oliver’s last-second 3-pointer in Oxford, Miss, on Jan. 3, 2014, and then 78-74 the next season at UD Arena.

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The Rebels finished 15-17 last season and graduated leading scorer Breein Tyree.

Dayton's non-conference schedule next season also includes a game Dec. 6 against Nevada in Reno, Nev. That game is part of a scheduling partnership between the Atlantic 10 Conference and the Mountain West Conference.

Dayton also will play in the Myrtle Beach Invitational in South Carolina on Nov. 19, 20 and 22. Possible opponents are Charlotte, Loyola, Missouri, Nebraska, Penn, Pittsburgh and Utah State.