Battle 4 Atlantis: One year after November tournament win, Flyers feel ‘we can do it again’

For coach Anthony Grant and his players, this November tournament provides a chance to build a NCAA tournament resume. It’s the biggest event on Dayton’s non-conference schedule every season for that reason. This is Dayton’s second appearance at Atlantis and first since 2018.

The Flyers (3-1) play Wisconsin (3-0) in the first round at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.

“It’s a pleasure for our team to be back here in the Bahamas playing,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said Tuesday at a press conference before the team’s first practice at Imperial Arena. “We’re excited about the field. It’s another excellent field put together with very, very competitive teams. Our first game against Wisconsin will be a great challenge for our team. Watching them on film, I’m really impressed with them. As a group, they’re obviously extremely well coached and and off to a great start this season. So we’re looking forward to the opportunity to come out here and compete.”

A year ago, Dayton’s championship at the ESPN Events Invitational would have paved the way to an at-large bid if not for three disastrous early-season losses. The Flyers hope the experienced gained in winning three games in four days then will help them win three games in three days this week.

“We’ve able to prove that we are capable of beating anybody when we’re doing our thing and really focusing on ourselves and not really worrying about who we are playing,” Dayton forward Toumani Camara said Tuesday at a press conference before Dayton’s first practice at Imperial Arena.

“If we continue to take things one game at a time,” forward DaRon Holmes II said, “and just listen to what we’re supposed to do and we execute, I think we’ll be perfectly fine. This team is capable of a lot, and I feel like we can do it again.”

Dayton will play No. 3 Kansas (4-0) or North Carolina State (4-0) on Thursday. Dayton will play at 11 a.m. Thursday if it beats Wisconsin and 4 p.m. if it loses.

Dayton did not head to the tournament with a full roster. Coach Anthony Grant said Tuesday guard Koby Brea did not travel with the team because he’s still dealing with a viral infection. Brea returned to action in Dayton’s 60-52 loss at UNLV on Nov. 15 but sat on the bench because of the illness on Saturday during a 60-51 victory against Robert Morris.

Dayton’s opponent, Wisconsin, finished 25-8 last season and won its November tournament, the Maui Invitational, which was played in Las Vegas, Nev., because of the pandemic. It lost its top two scorers from that season: Johnny Davis (19.7 points per game), who was was drafted 10th overall by the Washington Wizards after being named Big Ten Player of the Year; and Brad Davison (14.1), who scored 1,827 points in five seasons.

Three starters returned: fourth-year forward Tyler Wahl; third-year center Steven Crowl; and sophomore point guard Chucky Hepburn. Those three are averaging 35.7 points between them through three games. The fourth-double digit scorer, Jordan Davis (10.0), averaged 1.3 points in limited action last season.

Wisconsin has shot well from 3-point range in three games (38.5%), while Dayton (29.5%) has not. The national average is 33.2.

Wisconsin also leads the nation in 3-point field-goal percentage defense (11.1). South Dakota, Stanford and Green Bay have combined to make 5 of 45 3-pointers against the Badgers.

Wisconsin has played in a November tournament 15 times in the last 17 seasons and is 26-12 with five championships.

In Dayton’s last 15 November tournaments, it is 32-15 with four championships. The Flyers won the ESPN Events Invitational in Florida last season by beating Miami, Kansas and Belmont.

This will be Dayton’s second game with Malachi Smith back in the starting lineup. He missed the first three games with an ankle injury and had five points and three assists against Robert Morris in 21 minutes.

“I think (having Smith back) will help us a lot,” Camara said. “Everybody has a big role on this team. Everybody can impact the game differently. Since the season started, we haven’t been able to play with the same team twice, and every time the roster has been different.”

WEDNESDAY’S GAME

Dayton vs. Wisconsin, 2:30 p.m., ESPN2, 1290, 95.7