Dayton beat Cincinnati at UD Arena in 1984 when Grant was a freshman, ending a nine-game losing streak in the series. The Flyers and Bearcats split two games during Grant’s sophomore season. Dayton lost to UC at its then home, Riverfront Coliseum (now called the Heritage Bank Center), when Grant was a junior. When Grant was a senior in 1987, he scored 20 points as the Flyers rallied from a 20-point deficit to beat UC 67-64 at UD Arena.
Dayton (7-2) and Cincinnati (8-1) play at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Hoops Classic at the Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati. It’s the first meeting between the programs in 13 years.
“You’ve got two historic programs here within an hour of each other with great fan bases,” Grant said. “I think it’ll be just a great opportunity to get our two teams back together. I think our fan bases will enjoy it. It’ll be great for our guys and great for their guys. Having a chance to to play in that game as a player, I know I always enjoyed it.”
Anthony Grant said he had vague memories of playing UC, but he probably would remember this game if I had looked into his matchups against UC before we talked to him today. He had 20 points in his final game against the Bearcats in 1987. pic.twitter.com/CRaT2k9f0g
— David Jablonski (@DavidPJablonski) December 14, 2023
The Flyers and Bearcats played every season and sometimes twice a season from 1954 to 1995. When the Great Midwest Conference disbanded after the 1994-95 season, UC joined Conference USA while UD moved to the Atlantic 10 Conference. They didn’t play again until 1998 when No. 3 Cincinnati beat Dayton 53-51 at Gund Arena in Cleveland.
Then from 2000-05, UD and UC played six games on each other’s home courts. UD had the same six-game contract with three other teams that left the Great Midwest for Conference USA: DePaul; Marquette; and Saint Louis. In the 2005-06 season, UD and UC played twice in a 24-day stretch. Dayton won 75-66 at the Shoemaker Center. UC won 81-63 on Dec. 22 in the Las Vegas Classic at Canyon Springs High School.
In the spring of 2006, the Dayton Daily News reported UC would not be UD’s schedule in the 2006-07 season. UD Athletic Director Ted Kissell said then the series could resume in the 2007-08 season.
“It’s a series we like with a history that benefits both of us,” Kissell said. “They have certain commitments, and I understand their perspective. My sense of conversations I’ve had with (UC Athletic Director Mike Thomas) is this is a series that makes sense.”
In 2009, Dayton coach Brian Gregory said UD called UC every year in an attempt to renew the series but understood UC had few open spots on its schedule.
“They left Conference USA (in 2005) and are still required to play a home-and-home series with UAB and Memphis,” Gregory said, “plus they have 18 league games and a tournament (in the Big East). A lot of things go into trying to set it up.”
Dayton and Cincinnati announced in July they would play this season, resuming a series that was largely one sided for 50 years. Here’s a look back at the series:
Who has the edge: Cincinnati leads the series 60-31. Twenty one of Dayton’s victories in the series came before 1960. Since the 1957-58 season, Cincinnati has a record of 42-10 against Dayton.
Streaks: The Flyers have losing streaks of 14 games (1958-69), nine games (1975-83) and 11 games (1989-2001) in the series. From 1970 to 2005, Dayton lost 15 games in a row on UC’s home court.
Classic game: In 2010, Dayton great Bucky Bockhorn talked to Dayton Daily News columnist Tom Archdeacon about the UD-UC series and recalled a memorable game in 1958. No. 3 Cincinnati beat No. 8 Dayton 70-66 at the Cincinnati Gardens before a crowd of 15,011, the largest to see a game in the history of the arena. Future NBA great Oscar Robertson, then a sophomore, scored 27 for UC.
“I played in a lot of games over the years, but I never — never — felt emotion like that night when I came onto the court,” Bockhorn said.
Fun story: Dayton was 7-4 against Cincinnati in the 1950s. In 2010, Dayton’s winningest coach, Don Donoher, told Archdeacon a story about a memorable 71-69 victory against the Bearcats at Cincinnati Gardens in 1954 when Donoher was a senior and Tom Blackburn was UD’s coach.
“At halftime Coach comes in and says, ‘If this is any incentive to you guys, a fellow just stopped me outside — he’s one of our big fans — and he said, if you win the game, each one of you can go downtown on Monday and get yourself a new suit of clothes,’ " Donoher said. “We ended up winning by two, and sure enough, after the game Coach came in and went right down the roster and said, ‘OK, you go to the Metropolitan, you go to Dunhill’s. You go to the Metro, you to Dunhill’s.’ That wouldn’t fly now, but I guess back then it wasn’t against the rules. But I tell you what, I liked it. Before that I had just one suit. In fact, Chris Harris was my roommate and it was both our suit.”
Clutch shot: Dayton ended a 13-game losing streak in the series with a 70-69 victory at Cincinnati on Feb. 11, 1971. George Jackson won a jump ball with four seconds remaining, tipping the ball to Al Bertke, who made the game-winning shot as time expired. Bertke had missed his first five field-goal attempts.
“I had no business shooting the ball,” Bertke said.
It was Dayton’s first victory against UC since 1957 and the first for Donoher, who lost his first seven games as a coach in the series.
Record crowd: Cincinnati beat Dayton 84-61 on Jan. 12, 1977, at Riverfront Coliseum in front of a crowd of 17,009. That was then the largest crowd to see a college basketball game in Ohio history.
Dayton entered that game with an 8-1 record. The defeat started an eight-game losing streak in a 16-11 season. UC improved to 8-0 by beating Dayton and finished 25-5. It wouldn’t hit the 20-win mark again until 1989-90, the first season for coach Bob Huggins.
A crowd of more than 17,000 watched UC beat UD at Riverfront Coliseum in 1977. It was then the largest crowd to see a college basketball game in Ohio. Who's going to the game Saturday? pic.twitter.com/WNOn1R5AKF
— David Jablonski (@DavidPJablonski) December 14, 2023
Costly defeat: Dayton lost 93-54 at Cincinnati on Feb. 26, 1994. Jim O’Brien learned the next day he would not be returning for a sixth season as Dayton coach. He coached four more games in a 6-21 season.
Most lopsided game: Cincinnati beat Dayton 116-63 on Feb. 12, 1995, at UC’s Shoemaker Center. That remains the worst loss in Flyers history. It broke the record of a 151-99 loss to Oklahoma in December 1987 by one point.
“It seemed like a long game,” Dayton coach Oliver Purnell said.
Beating Huggins: Huggins was 13-1 against the Flyers during his tenure as UC coach. Dayton’s only victory against Huggins came on Nov. 30, 2002. The Flyers beat No. 21 Cincinnati 75-69 at UD Arena, ending an 11-game losing streak in the series. Keith Waleskowski led Dayton with 18 points and eight rebounds.
Last game at UD Arena: The Bearcats haven’t visited Dayton since a 65-55 victory on Dec. 4, 2004. No. 24 Cincinnati pulled away in the last four minutes. Armein Kirkland scored 23 points for UC. It was the last game UD played against a UC team coached by Huggins.
Dayton’s last victory: The Flyers beat the Bearcats 81-66 in the second round of the NIT at Fifth Third Arena in 2010. Marcus Johnson scored 16 points for UD. Deonta Vaughn had 28 for UC.
“This was the equivalent of pounding a stake into the heart of a vampire or drilling a werewolf with a silver bullet,” Archdeacon wrote after the game. “That’s how you kill monsters, and no place has been more horrific to Dayton Flyers players and coaches than this town and especially this basketball building. But that’s all ended now as the Flyers outshot, outrebounded and outhustled the Cincinnati Bearcats.”
Dayton won three more games to win the NIT championship and finish the season 25-12.
Last meeting: Dayton lost 68-34 to UC on Nov. 27, 2010, at U.S. Bank Arena, which is now called the Heritage Bank Center. The Flyers shot 20% from the field (12 of 60) and produced their lowest points total since 1947. It was the most lopsided defeat for the Flyers in Brian Gregory’s eight seasons as head coach.
“We had some pretty good looks at the basket, but we couldn’t make shots,” Gregory said. “Their defense had something to do with it, but we didn’t generate any offense with our defense. I’m disappointed. We didn’t respond well in any important aspect of the game. … If you’re not at the top of your game — playing away from home against a Big East-caliber team — you’re going to get your lunch handed to you. And that’s what (happened).”
SATURDAY’S GAME
Dayton vs. Cincinnati, 7 p.m., ESPN+, 1290, 95.7
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