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The 2024 Maui Invitational ended with the Auburn Tigers defeating the Memphis Tigers to be crowned tournament champions. Bruce Pearl's team defeated Iowa State, North Carolina, and Memphis in three days, and Johni Broome entered the Player of the Year conversations. However, the biggest story was UConn's stunning 0-3 trip, which was capped off by a loss to Dayton on Wednesday night.
Dayton had lost to North Carolina and Iowa State by a total of seven points in the first two games. But, the Flyers got a statement win over UConn, 85-67, in the final game of the Maui Invitational.
After the game, Dayton head coach Anthony Grant kept on saying how proud he was of the team during an interview with Andy Katz.
“I'm just proud of our group. This was a loaded field,” Grant said after the win. “I gotta give our guys credit. I really do. I think it just came down to a level of toughness, grit, and fight…This didn't feel like a 7th place game…These were really big opportunities for Dayton to be able to play this type of competition for a number of reasons. I'm just proud of our guys to be able to take advantage of the opportunity that was in front of them.”
Postgame with @DaytonMBB coach Anthony Grant after knocking off @UConnMBB here @MauiInv @MarchMadnessMBB @A10MBB pic.twitter.com/DwQkvZN6PT
— Andy Katz (@TheAndyKatz) November 28, 2024
Dayton began the year 5-0 with wins over St. Francis (PA), Northwestern, Ball State, Capital, and New Mexico State, so the Maui Invitational field was a massive step up in competition.
Each team Dayton played was ranked in the top-15 to start the week with both Iowa State and UConn ranked in the top-5.
Next up for the Dayton basketball team are games against Western Michigan and Lehigh before another top-25 showdown against Marquette. But, as Grant kept reiterating, he is just “proud” of how Dayton played against a loaded string of teams at the Maui Invitational.
