This will be Dayton’s first NIT home game since 2010. The opponent then was also Illinois State.
The Flyers beat Illinois State 63-42 in the first round 16 years ago. They then won road games at Cincinnati and at Illinois before beating Mississippi in the semifinals and North Carolina in the championship game at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Dayton’s NIT game against Illinois State in 2010 came a day after an NCAA play-in game at UD Arena.
With the expansion of the NCAA tournament from 64 to 68 teams and the berth of the First Four in 2011, the NCAA tournament has started in Dayton every season, excluding the pandemic years (2020-21), with games on Tuesday and Wednesday. Those are the same days the NIT first-round games take place.
In recent years, Ohio High School Athletic Association state semifinal and championship games at UD Arena have also prevented Dayton from hosting NIT games. The Flyers would have played at home in 2022 and 2025 if they had won second-round games.
Illinois State (22-12) beat Wake Forest (16-17) on a tie-breaking 3-pointer by Johnny Kinzinger with 1.7 seconds to play.
Illinois State won a home game in the first round Wednesday, 79-58 against Kent State.
Dayton advanced to the quarterfinals with an 80-66 victory at Bradley on Wednesday and an 80-61 victory at North Carolina Wilmington on Saturday.
Dayton last played Illinois State on Dec. 7, 2013. The No. 25 Flyers lost 81-75 in Normal, Ill. A season earlier, Dayton lost 74-73 at home to the Redbirds.
Dayton or Illinois State will advance to the NIT semifinals, which will be held April 2 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The championship game will take place April 5 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the home of the Indiana Pacers, in Indianapolis.
The NCAA Final Four and championship game take place the same weekend — April 4 and 6 — in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium.
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