By Stretch Jenkinson

GAME NOTES

https://daytonflyers.com/documents/2024/3/22/Dayton_NCAA_2nd_Round.pdf

SALT LAKE CITY — The University of Dayton men’s basketball team advanced to the second round of the 2024 NCAA tournament where the Flyers will meet Arizona in Salt Lake City, Utah on Saturday, March 23. Game time is 12:45 p.m. ET. Dayton advanced by coming from 17 down with 7:39 to go to edge Nevada 63-60 on Thursday. It was UD’s first double-digit, second-half comeback since erasing a 12-point Kansas second-half lead at the 2021 ESPN Events Invitational to beat the Jayhawks 74-73 in the tournament semifinals.

Saturday’s game will be carried by WHIO Radio, televised on CBS and streamed on NCAA.com.  Streaming live stats are available at DaytonFlyers.com.

Dayton coach Anthony Grant is one of six coaches who has his alma mater in the tournament.

 #TRENDING 
• Anthony Grant is on the Naismith National Coach of the Year the Late-Season Watch List, and will be recognized as an NABC Guardian of the Game at this year’s Final Four.
• DaRon Holmes II was named A-10 Co-Player of the Year and A-10 Defensive Player of the Year. He was the only player on the first team and the all-defensive team.
• Holmes is on four prestigious preseason watch lists — Atlanta Tip-Off Club’s Naismith Award (1 of 10 semifinalists), the Los Angeles Athletic Club’s John R. Wooden Award (15-man ballot), the USBWA Oscar Robertson Watch List (top 40) and the Karl Malone Award (Top 5 finalist).
• Holmes leads the A-10 in scoring (20.3) and rebounding (8.4).  He is the only player in the league’s top 10 in scoring, rebounding, FG%, and blocked shots.
• Holmes is now the Dayton career record holder for blocked shots (214) and dunks (240).
• He is one of two players in D-I who has more than 66 blocks, 68 dunks and 66 assists this season.  Zach Edey is the other.  Holmes has 66, 67 and 78 respectively.   Holmes also has 30 threes and is shooting .380 (30-79) from deep.  He had just seven threes coming into the year.
• He has been named to five All-America teams so far this season.
• Nate Santos is Third Team All-Atlantic 10. He was named to the Charleston Classic All-Tournament Team.  UD finished second in Charleston, falling in the finals to Houston.
• Santos needed 10 games to match what he scored in two years at Pitt (116 points in 54 G).
• Koby Brea is the A-10 Sixth Man of the Year for the second time in his career.  He is just the second two-time Sixth Man (James Posey of Xavier in 1997 and 1998). Brea leads the nation in 3-pt. FG% (min. 2.5/game.).  Brea is shooting .497 (96-193).
• As a team, Dayton is third in D-I in 3-pt. FG% (.402, 303-753).  The school record is .392.
• Brea is second at UD in career 3-pt. FG% (.433, 220-508).  Brian Roberts is first (.441).
• Kobe Elvis missed his first free throw of the season, and made his next 37, breaking old the UD record held by Damon Goodwin and Darrell Davis.  He was A-10 Player of the Week twice.
• Javon Bennett leads the A-10 in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.4) by nearly a full assist (2.6).
• Enoch Cheeks has scored in double figures in eight of the last 12 games (twice in first 20).
• Malachi Smith was injured seven minutes into the opener, and after successful surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee, is out for the rest of the year.

UP NEXT 
• Saturday’s winner will advance to the West Regional semifinals in Los Angeles on March 28.

COURTESY DAYTON MEDIA RELATIONS

GAME NOTES

https://arizonawildcats.com/documents/2024/3/22/Notes-G35-NCAA2-Dayton.pdf

SALT LAKE CITY –  After a 20-point win over Long Beach State in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, the second-seeded Arizona Wildcats will take on No. 7 seed Dayton on Saturday at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The winner will advance to Los Angeles next weekend to compete in the West Region.

Saturday’s game starts at 10:45 a.m. MT on CBS with Brad Nessler, Brendan Haywood and Dana Jacboson on the call.

STARTING FIVE

1) Arizona improved to  of 59-36 (.621) in 38 all-time appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

2) Thursday’s win over Long Beach State improved Arizona to 10-2 in NCAA Tournament games played in Salt Lake City.

3) Pac-12 Player of the Year and Second Team All-American Caleb Love needs one more three-pointer to become must the fifth player in Arizona history to make 90 3FG in a season. He posted his second career double-double with 18 points, 11 rebounds Thursday vs. LBSU. His only other double-double came Feb. 8 at Utah.

4) First Team All Pac-12 honoree Oumar Ballo has 19 double-doubles this season and 33 for his career, both totals rank fourth in Arizona history in their respective categories. He had 11 points, 13 rebounds vs. LBSU on Thursday and moved into 10th in school history with 812 career rebounds.

5)  Sophomore Kylan Boswell scored a career-high 20 points vs. LBSU and dished out eight assists, the most by a Wildcat in a Tournament game since Nic Wise in 2009.

NOTING THE WILDCATS

• Five players scored in double figures against LBSU, the 19th time Arizona has done that this season (leads NCAA).

• Head coach Tommy Lloyd is 87-19 (.821) in his third season at Arizona. He is two wins shy of tying the NCAA record for wins by a first time head coach in his first three seasons.

•A win over Dayton would give Arizona its 20th all-time appearance in the Sweet 16 and second under head coach Tommy Lloyd (2022).

• The Wildcats are 18-8 all-time in the NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 seed.

• With Ballo and Love both recording double-doubles against LBSU, it was the first time Arizona has had two double-doubles in the same game since Channing Frye and Hassan Adams in the 2005 Sweet 16.

• Arizona is one of three teams in the country with three players recording 110+ assists this season, joining BYU and Creighton.

• The 634 assists by Arizona this season ranks sixth in school history. Under Lloyd, Arizona has registered three of the top six seasons in team assists in program history.

• Senior Pelle Larsson earned Second Team All Pac-12 honors and scored 15 points and dished out five assists against LBSU, both of which are personal highs in the NCAAT.

• Senior Keshad Johnson keyed the Arizona offense to start the second half vs. LBSU, going on a personal 7-0 run to extend the lead. He earned Pac-12 All-Defensive Team Honorable Mention accolades while also setting personal career highs in nearly every offensive category this season. Johnson has made 35 3FG this season after making a total of 28 in four years at San Diego State and is connecting at a 39.8% clip this season from behind the line. Johnson has scored in double figures 23 out of 34 games this season at Arizona. In his four seasons, and 113 games, at San Diego State, he scored in double figures 25 times.

• Sophomore Kylan Boswell leads the team with 127 assists and 47 steals.  He is averaging 10.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game while shooting 38.9% from the 3-point line and has a 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

• Freshman KJ Lewis was a Pac-12 All-Freshman Team Honorable Mention player this season. He led all scorers with 15 points on 6 of 10 shooting from the floor vs. USC at the Pac-12 Tournament. He also added six rebounds. His top two scoring games of the year have come in the last four games (18 pts at UCLA on 3/7/24). His 36 steals are tied for 10th-most by an Arizona freshman in program history.

• Sophomore Jaden Bradley is in his first season in Tucson after playing his freshman year at Alabama. Coming out of high school, his final two schools were Alabama and Arizona. He finidhed with eight points, three rebounds and one steal in 23 minutes off the bench vs. LBSU. While his numbers may not jump off the page (6.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists), it is his impact at the defensive end that is noteworthy. According to EvanMiya.com, Bradley is one of the top 10 players in the country in defensive impact on a game. His season high scoring output was a career-high 21 points against Arizona State on Feb. 17.

• Motiejus Krivas is averaging 5.5 points and 4.3 rebounds while playing 12.5 minutes per game this season. The 7-foot-2 post player from Lithuania is also 49-63 (77.8%) at the free throw line and is shooting 54.3% from the floor. His top offensive game came on Nov. 17 when he scored 20 points against Belmont. He did not attempt a shot from the floor, but he had six rebounds and was a defensive force in the paint at UCLA on March 7.

• Caleb Love is a semifinalist for the Wooden Award and the Naismith Trophy and a finalist for the Jerry West Award for the top shooting guard in the country.

ARIZONA IN SALT LAKE CITY NCAA TOURNAMENT RESULTS

Arizona is 10-2 all-time in NCAA Tournament games played in Salt Lake City.

The Wildcats are 21-25 all-time in games played in SLC, including a 105-99 3-overtime thriller against the Utes this season.

March 14, 1991 – [2] Arizona defeats [15] St. Francis (PA), 93-80 (Huntsman Center)

March 16, 1991 – [2] Arizona defeats [10] BYU, 76-61 (Huntsman Center)

March 18, 1993 – [15] Santa Clara defeats [2] Arizona, 64-61 (Huntsman Center)

March 16, 2000 – [1] Arizona defeats [16] Jackson State, 71-47 (Huntsman Center)

March 18, 2000 – [8] Wisconsin defeats [1] Arizona, 66-59 (Huntsman Center)

March 20, 2003 – [1] Arizona defeats [16] Vermont, 80-51 (Huntsman Center)

March 22, 2003 – [1] Arizona defeats [9] Gonzaga, 96-95 (Huntsman Center)

March 21, 2013 – [6] Arizona defeats [11] Belmont, 81-64 (Delta Center)

March 23, 2013 – [6] Arizona defeats [14] Harvard, 74-51 (Delta Center)

March 16, 2017 – [2] Arizona defeats [15] North Dakota, 100-82 (Delta Center)

March 18, 2017 – [2] Arizona defeats [7] St. Mary’s, 69-60 (Delta Center)

March 21, 2024 – [2] Arizona defeats [15] Long Beach State, 85-65 (Delta Center)

COURTESY ARIZONA ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS