DaytonDailyNews.com

MINNEAPOLIS — By the seedings handed out — Kansas, a three, Dayton, an 11 — the bracket builders of the NCAA basketball tournament see the Jayhawks as better than UD.

And Vegas oddsmakers have made the defending national champs an 8-point favorite over the Flyers in today's March 22 NCAA tournament second-round game in Minneapolis.

But if things were decided by a history test — at least if you go by some informal quizzing Saturday afternoon — Dayton would win in a rout.

"Dayton ... aaah, it's in Ohio ... right?" asked Kansas guard Conner Tehan.

Jayhawks affable 6-foot-11 center Cole Aldrich claimed he knew about Dayton: "Oh yeah, they've done some great damage in the tournament the past few years."

Never mind the Flyers' victory over West Virginia Friday was UD's first NCAA Tournament win in 19 years.

Freshman Marcus Morris — who'll likely guard Chris Wright — felt he knew something: "I guess 'cause they have all those high jumpers in that school is why they're called the Dayton Flyers. A lot of 'em go flying around."

To be fair, all the Jayhawks know of Wright. "He's a freak," said guard Tyshawn Taylor. "A freak athlete with a lot of bounce."

Aldrich agreed: "We watched film and even their two guard is going up for an alley-oop and dunking. We kinda looked like, 'Wow, dang, those guys are good.'"

Did he know the guard's name?

He shook his head, unable to come up with Marcus Johnson.

But Kansas All-American guard Sherron Collins — who has the skyline of his hometown Chicago tattooed in exacting detail across his right forearm — knew of Mickey Perry:

"He's from Chicago. Went to Proviso East."

Did he play against him?

Collins shook his head: "Don't think so."

Meanwhile, in the Flyers Metrodome quarters, Perry said: "I played Sherron a lot in high school. I know him pretty well."

Just as Perry remembered more of their meetings, his teammates knew more than you'd guess about Kansas.

"One thing I always remember is that Wilt Chamberlain went there," said Wright. "It's a program based on tradition and a lot of history. They won a lot of championships."

Teammate Charles Little piped in: "Dr. James Naismith coached there, didn't he? The founder of the game, to come from Kansas, is just big. And Paul Pierce and Jacques Vaughn — those were my favorite teams growing up in the '90s."

Marcus Johnson nodded: "And they're defending national champs."

But that's when Little put things into historical perspective: "We never feel like the underdog going into any game. So America might think we're killing brackets and have no chance, but we think we can play with anybody.

"And while it was great to get one win, it's just like now let's get two."

The Flyers don't just know history, they want to make it.