Buffs Face Quality Foe In Flyers In NIT Opener
March 18, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — When it comes to the NIT, there are usually two kinds of teams in the field.
Those who aren't too excited about the opportunity and those who want to keep playing.
Colorado coach Tad Boyle believes his Buffs fit into the latter category — and they will have a chance to prove it Tuesday night when No. 4 seed Colorado hosts No. 5 Dayton in a 9 p.m. game at the CU Events Center (ESPN2).
Boyle has coached both kinds of teams in his tenure in Boulder.
In 2011, his Buffs were the first team out of the NCAA Tournament and instead had to settle for the NIT's No. 1 overall seed. But those Buffs didn't sulk, and they channeled their energy into an NIT Final Four run.
Two years ago, however, a senior-laden Colorado team couldn't overcome an 0-7 Pac-12 start and never got back in contention for an NCAA berth. That group, Boyle admits, had a number of players with NCAA Tournament experience who weren't too excited about "settling" for an NIT bid — and it showed in a first-round defeat.
This year, however, Boyle believes his team isn't yet ready to explore its spring break opportunities.
For starters, CU has only one player in uniform — junior Lucas Siewert — who has played in a Division I postseason game. The majority of the roster is made up of freshmen and sophomores, and they are anxious to get a taste of postseason play, no matter the acronym attached.
It is also a team that finished the regular season on a strong note — winning nine of its last 12 games — and one whose players enjoy playing with each other.
"This group, we don't have a senior playing for us," Boyle said. "They're young, this will be great postseason experience for us, and we want to make it last as long as possible. We're starting with a home game; you can't ask for anything more than that."
It is also an intriguing matchup. Colorado brings a 21-12 mark to the tournament; Dayton is 21-11. The Flyers are also have plenty of postseason experience in their history — the Flyers have been to 18 NCAA Tournaments, including four in a row from 2014-17; and this is their 25th NIT berth.
"Dayton is a quality program," Boyle said. "Anybody that follows college basketball closely knows Dayton is a quality program. They have quality players, they've had quality coaches and they have one now in Anthony Grant. They're big freshman (Obi Toppin), holy cow — he's a future NBA guy, there's no doubt about it in my mind."
The 6-foot-9 Toppin is indeed a solid post presence, averaging 14.2 points per game — one of four Flyers averaging in double figures — along with 5.6 rebounds. Toppin was a first team all-Atlantic 10 selection as well as the league's rookie of the year, and he comes into Tuesday's game shooting .662 percent from the floor, the nation's fifth-best percentage.
Along with Toppin, the Flyers have another solid presence in the middle in 6-foot-8, 240-pound Josh Cunningham (13.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg) and a dangerous point guard in Jalen Crutcher, who averages 13.1 points and 5.7 assists.
"They've got some guys who can make shots, they've got toughness, they shoot 50 percent from the field and they hold their opponents to 40 percent," Boyle said.
The Flyers are also definitely not afraid of Power 5 teams. Their non-conference schedule this year included games against Virginia, Oklahoma, Mississippi State and Auburn — all of whom are in this year's NCAA field.
"The thing about Dayton is they have tough kids," Boyle said. "They've won seven road games, we've won five. They're not intimidated on the road. They've played some good teams. They're battle tested and the Atlantic 10 is a good basketball league."
But the Buffs also have some tough-minded youngsters who would like very much to use the NIT as a way to get some postseason experience and set the stage for an NCAA Tournament appearance a year from now. Colorado's starting lineup Tuesday will include a freshman, three sophomores and a junior.
"As I look at this team and you project into next year, we expect ourselves to be an NCAA Tournament team next year," Boyle said. "We're not there right now, but we can use the NIT as a springboard. That's what we've talked about. We'd like it to last more than one game. The only way you do that is by taking care of business. With a bunch of young guys gaining postseason play experience, there's nothing like it. The NIT is a great tournament to do that."
CU officials are expecting a good crowd, and went out of their way to offer 500 free tickets to students, something Boyle said he and athletic director Rick George discussed. Those aren't "free" tickets, as NCAA and NIT tournament tickets must be paid for by the schools.
"This is a great home-court advantage because of our fans," Boyle said. "You need to have people in here with great excitement. This is postseason play. It's a gesture that Rick and I talked about on the phone … Hopefully entice those first 500 to come and we'll pick up the tab. We're stepping up on that."
This will be CU's eighth postseason appearance in Boyle's nine years in Boulder (four NCAA, three NIT and one CBI).
UP NEXT: The winner of Tuesday night's game will face the winner of Wednesday night's Alabama-Norfolk State game. If Alabama wins, the Crimson Tide will host; if Norfolk State wins, Tuesday night's winner in Boulder will host. Second-round games are scheduled for Thursday through Monday.
FAMILIAR FACE: This won't be the first time Boyle and the Buffs have seen Dayton coach Anthony Grant. When Colorado played in the 2011 NIT semifinals, Grant coached the Alabama team that took a 1-point win over CU.
"He comes from the Billy Donovan coaching tree," Boyle said. "They run good stuff offensively. After timeouts they usually have some pretty good things drawn up. Anthony's a good coach. He's been in college as a head coach many years, he's been in the NBA as an assistant."
THE SERIES: Colorado holds a 2-1 all-time series edge, with their last meeting coming in the 2012 Charleston Classic, a 67-57 CU win. The two teams will also meet next December in the Chicago Legends Classic.
BROADCAST: The game will be televised by ESPN2 with Chuckie Kempf and Adrian Branch. The radio broadcast can be heard on KDSP (760 AM) with Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
