COLUMBUS, Ohio – Dayton is headed to Columbus after a come-from-behind win in a first-round NCAA tournament game on the Flyers’ home court.
Ohio State plays Virginia Commonwealth Thursday afternoon.
Kendall Pollard scored 17 points, and Dayton used every bit of that home-court advantage on Wednesday night, rallying for a 56-55 win over Boise State in the First Four.
The Flyers (26-8) will play sixth-seeded Providence on Friday at Nationwide Arena, one of six scheduled games this weekend:
Friday-First Session
2:10 p.m. – No. 5 Seed West Virginia (23-9) vs. No. 12 Buffalo (23-9) on TNT
30 minutes following – No. 4 Maryland (27-6) vs. No. 13 Valparaiso (28-5) on TNT
Second Session
7:27 p.m. – No. 3 Oklahoma (22-10) vs. No. 14 Albany (24-9) on truTV
30 minutes following – No.6 Providence (22-11) vs. No. 11 Dayton on truTV
Fans attending the games can enter Nationwide Arena beginning at 12:40 p.m.
It was the first time since 1987 that a school has played an NCAA Tournament game on its home court, an anomaly resulting from Dayton hosting the opening games. The Flyers went 16-0 at home during the regular season and have won 22 straight at UD Arena, seventh-longest active streak in Division I.
The Flyers trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half and by seven with 3:43 to go. With the crowd of 12,592 behind them — the biggest attendance for a First Four game — Dayton closed with a 10-2 run.
Robert Morris beat North Florida 81-77 in the other First Four game. Lucky Jones scored 21 points, including a key free throw, Rodney Pryor had 20 and Marcquise Reed 19 to lead the Colonials (20-14) back from a 14-point second-half deficit.
Eighth-seeded Cincinnati faces Purdue in a second-round game Thursday. The Bearcats are making their fifth straight trip to the tournament, giving them the edge in postseason experience.
Purdue won six of its final nine games to earn the No. 9 seed in the Midwest Regional. The winner likely plays top-ranked Kentucky on Saturday.
Xavier faces Mississippi Friday in Jacksonville, Fla.