It’s just not the basketball most members of the Flyer Faithful want to watch.
Dayton likely will settle for a National Invitation Championship berth for the second season in a row and the fifth time in Grant’s nine seasons after suffering its latest Atlantic 10 Conference tournament disappointment. After first-game exits in the quarterfinals in 2024 and 2025, Dayton made a run to the final game in 2026 but suffered a familiar fate.
Twenty two tournaments have come and gone — or 23 if you count the cancelled tournament of 2020 — without Dayton hoisting the trophy. It won its only championship in 2003 at UD Arena. It has still never won the event outside Dayton. It has lost four championship games (2011, 2015, 2023 and 2026) since winning 23 years ago.
By comparison, VCU has won eight tournaments in the same span (four in the Colonial Athletic Association and four in the A-10).
VCU has been the best A-10 program in its 14 seasons in the league. By most measures, Dayton ranks second in success in that span.
However, with VCU beating Dayton three times this season and improving to 3-0 in A-10 finals and 5-0 in the A-10 tournament against Dayton, the gap between No. 1 and No. 2 is growing.
First-year VCU coach Phil Martelli Jr. became the third VCU coach to beat Dayton in a championship game, following Shaka Smart in 2015 and Mike Rhoades in 2023.
Grant fell to 7-15 as Dayton coach against the program he led from 2006-09 in his first head coaching opportunity.
“They’ve done a great job with different coaches that have come through there,” Grant said. “They’ve had really good talent. The coaches have done a good job of putting the talent in position to win.”
VCU (27-7) never trailed in its latest victory against Dayton (23-11). Here are three takeaways from Dayton’s 34th game:
1: The Rams took control with strong shooting in the first half: Nyk Lewis made a 3-pointer on VCU’s first possession, setting the tone in a first half that VCU would dominate.
VCU made 8 of 14 3s in the half, stretched its lead to as many as 17 points and took a 40-25 lead into halftime.
The Rams rank 35th in the country in 3-point shooting percentage (36.7). Three-point defense is a weakness for Dayton, which ranks 389th (35.6).
“We tried to see what we did last game against them and tried to follow the scouting report and see tendencies in the other players,” said Dayton guard Javon Bennett, who led the team with 14 points and made the all-tournament team along with teammate Jordan Derkack. “They just hit shots, and when it’s going like that for them, we’ve got to be able to stop the momentum. I think we did a good job in the second half kind of fighting back.”
VCU made 3 of 10 3s in the second half to finish at 45.8% (11 of 24). Lewis led VCU with 17 points and made 4 of 5 3s.
“I think they’ve got great talent and great depth,” Grant said, “and they play a style that’s somewhat unique that allows their players to play with great freedom. I think if you look at the three games we’ve had against them, it’s been a different guy pretty much every game for them that’s stepped up and had big games.
“The first time we played them, it wasn’t competitive. But (Jadrian) Tracey had a big game. I think he made six or seven threes in the game. The last game at our place, (Barry) Evans, stepped up and really was a catalyst for them. No. 6 (Terrence Hill Jr.) has been their leading scorer and a guy that provides a spark for them. Today, you look at No. 1’s (Nyk Lewis) line, and he was huge. When you can have a variety of weapons like that, I think that is probably the first thing that jumps out.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
2: Dayton’s comeback stalled with free-throw misses: Dayton faced a double-digit deficit for most of the second half but trimmed the VCU lead to 10 points with 5 minutes, 13 seconds to play.
On its next two possessions, with a chance to cut the lead to single digits, Amaël L’Etang and Keonte Jones missed the front end of 1-and-1 opportunities. Then Derkack made 1 of 2 free throws.
Dayton shot 80.7% (46 of 57) in the first two games of the tournament and 53% (9 of 17) in the final game.
“It definitely was frustrating for everybody,” Derkack said. “We work on those every day, and for us to get in a game and miss a couple to cut the lead, it’s definitely tough.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
3: Dayton made the NCAA tournament selection committee’s job easier: Bubble teams around the country were rooting for Dayton to lose. The Flyers entered Selection Sunday as the last bid thief alive.
Dayton’s loss means VCU won’t have to sweat during the selection show. It will receive the A-10’s automatic berth. Saint Louis (28-5), which Dayton beat 70-69 in the semifinals, is expected to receive an at-large berth.
VCU became the first A-10 repeat champion since Temple (2008-10).
“Hats off to VCU,” Grant said. “Obviously, disappointed in the outcome, but I’m really proud of the fight our guys showed to put ourselves where we could be here on championship Sunday. Obviously, it’s hard immediately after you lose. Our guys felt we had a great opportunity today. Unfortunately we came up short. But like I said, just proud of the fight, the resiliency that this group has shown all year, the leadership that we got from our senior group throughout the journey to get here.”
Credit: David Jablonski
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