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2012 CHARLESTON CLASSIC NEXT UP FOR THE FLYERS
Looking for their third in-season tournament championship in the last five years, the University of Dayton Flyers head to the The Palmetto State for the 2012 Charleston Classic, presented by Foster Grant. The games will be televised on the ESPN family of networks, carried by WHIO Radio and are available with live streaming video, stats and streaming audio at DaytonFlyers.com.
Dayton, 1-0 overall, will open the tournament against the Colorado Buffaloes on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. ET. The Flyers are coming off a 74-61 opening day victory against the Arkansas State Red Wolves. Vee Sanford led the Flyers with 18 points, while Kevin Dillard recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists. Dayton in that game shot 8-of-16 (.500) from beyond the arc. Under Archie Miller’s tenure at UD, the Flyers are 8-0 when they shoot 40 percent or better from three-point range.
ABOUT COLORADO
The Colorado Buffaloes enter the Charleston Classic 1-0 as well. CU won the 2011-12 Pac-12 Conference Championship last season advanced to the NCAA Third Round. The Buffs are led by All Pac-12 Conference First Team selection Andre Roberson. He ranked third nationally last season in rebounds per game with 11.1 and recorded 20 double-doubles. CU showcased a strong defense last season ranking 36th nationally and first among Pac-12 schools in defensive field goal percentage by limiting opponents to 40.4 percent shooting from the field. In the opening win against Wofford, forward Josh Scott scored a team-high 14 points, while guards Askia Booker and Spencer Dinwiddie chipped in with 13 points.
SERIES STUFF
The series is tied at 1-1. The last time the Flyers played the Buffaloes was at Colorado, losing 77-59 on Jan. 10, 1987.
IN-SEASON TOURNAMENT NOTES
The University of Dayton has won three of the five early-season basketball tournaments it has played in since 2003. The Flyers won the 2011 Old Spice Classic after defeating Wake Forest, Fairfield and Minnesota. UD won the EA Sports Maui Invitational in 2003 and in 2008, Dayton defeated No. 15 Marquette in the finals of the Chicago Invitational Challenge. The Flyers’ in-season tournament history goes all the way back to 1949 when they placed second in the National Catholic Invitational in Denver. UD has won 11 other in-season tournament championships, including the 1955 University of Kentucky Invitational and the 1999 CoSIDA Classic played at The Pit in Albuquerque.
OTHER NOTES
- The 2012 Charleston Classic will be the fifth consecutive in-season tournament Dayton will have participated in. The Flyers won the 2011 Old Spice Classic, the Chicago Invitational Challenge in 2008, played in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off and came in second at the Global Sports Main Event.
- UD won the 2011 Old Spice Classic after defeating Wake Forest, Fairfield and Minnesota. Kevin Dillard won the tournament Most Valuable Player award after averaging a team-best 15.3 points.
- The Flyers are 16-7 against BCS opponents in the last five seasons. Dayton finished 4-2 last year versus BCS opponents with wins against Alabama, Ole Miss, Minnesota and Wake Forest.
- Dayton is 12-9 all-time against PAC 12 opponents. However, the Flyers have not played a PAC 12 opponent since facing Arizona on Nov. 21, 2000 in the Maui Invitational.
- In the 2012 Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll, the Flyers were picked to finish in eighth.
- Leading the returnees is All-Atlantic 10 point guard Kevin Dillard. Dillard, a First Team Pre-Season All-Atlantic 10 selection, was second in the A-10 and tied for 16th in the NCAA in assists per game with 6.0.
- In the opener against Arkansas State Kevin Dillard recorded his fourth double-double in a Dayton uniform and his eighth career with 12 points and 10 assists.
- Vee Sanford, a transfer from Georgetown, scored a collegiate career high 18 points against Arkansas State. He shot 7-of-10 from the field and went 3-of-5 from 3-point range.
- After missing conference play with a torn ACL, Josh Benson returned with a 14-point, eight rebound performance against Arkansas State. He came back 10 months ago from surgery.
- Since being inserted in the starting lineup late last season, Devin Oliver continues to produce at an efficient level. He had eight points and a career-high five assists versus Arkansas State.
- In the Arkansas State victory, the Flyers shot 8-of-16 (.500) from three-point range. In Archie Miller’s two seasons as head coach, Dayton is 8-0 when they shoot 40 percent or better from beyond the arc.
- UD has shot 70 percent or better from the free throw line in 17 of their last 18 contests.
- Dayton returns two starters from last year’s team that went 20-13 and advanced to the NIT.
- The Flyers are on a stretch of five consecutive seasons with 20 or more victories. That is the first time that has happened since the 1999-2000 thru 2003-04 seasons.
- Dayton is also coming off a postseason bid for the fifth straight year. The Flyers went to the NIT for the third straight season.
- The NCAA Graduation Success Rate report released on Oct. 25 placed the University of Dayton in familiar territory: among the nation’s best in graduating its student-athletes. UD’s 94 GSR in this year’s report placed the University tied for 27st in the nation and tied for second in the Atlantic 10.
