The Dayton Flyers had not played a game in Wisconsin in 24 years, but they were familiar with Marquette, having beaten the Golden Eagles 71-63 at UD Arena last December.
The Flyers and their fans also had to be confident they could beat a Big East opponent because they did just that in 2023 (St. John’s) and 2024 (Connecticut and Marquette).
With the 77-71 overtime victory in 2025, Dayton improved to 5-0 against the Big East in coach Anthony Grant’s tenure. The other victory came against Butler in the Battle 4 Atlantis in 2018. The Flyers last loss to a Big East opponent was in 2015: 90-61 to Xavier in the AdvoCare Invitational championship game.
Time will tell how much this victory helps Dayton (4-1) because Marquette (3-3) has struggled early this season, but it’s the first building block in a NCAA tournament resume.
“We came in expecting to win,” Dayton guard Javon Bennett said. “We know how big it was for an at-large bid. I’m just happy we were able to pull it out.”
While Bennett led Dayton with 19 points and another starter, De’Shayne Montgomery, added 18, contributions from the bench also played a large part in the victory.
• Redshirt freshmen forward Malcolm Thomas scored eight points on 3-of-4 shooting in 11 minutes. He did not see any action Saturday in a 91-82 victory against Bethune-Cookman and played a total of eight minutes in the two games prior to that.
“He was big time tonight,” Grant said, “and I think that’s a tribute to his character and his toughness. To not to play in the last game and then to bounce back and give the team what he gave it today, it shows a level of unselfishness on his part to be able to do that."
• Redshirt sophomore forward Jaiun Simon scored five points and grabbed four rebounds in 11 minutes. He leads Dayton reserves in scoring (5.2 points per game).
• In his second game since being replaced by Jordan Derkack in the starting lineup, senior forward Jacob Conner scored six points in 22 minutes. He made both of his 3-point attempts, including one in overtime, helping the Flyers shoot 41.2% (7 of 17) from 3-point range.
“The staff and my teammates put me in a good spot to succeed and make shots," Conner said. “I always want to make shots, but it feels good, especially in those moments, being able to hit those.”
Conner played a big role after seeing a season-low 10 minutes of action in the previous game.
“That’s the definition of being ready when your name is called,” Derkack said. “Stay ready. Still got to get ready. He’s putting in that work. He’s been working the whole summer. He’s been working the whole preseason for that moment.”
Dayton played a nine-man rotation. Of the available scholarship players, everyone on the team averages at least 8.0 minutes per game, with the exception of freshman forward Damon Friery, who has not played since the season opener against Canisius.
“We’re five games into this,“ Grant said, ”and one of the things we talked about when the season started was, ‘What would our depth look like?’ I told you it’s a work in progress. I think we’re finding out how to put our guys in position to play to their strengths, and guys are understanding better what we need from them. I think this was a step in that direction."
Credit: David Jablonski
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