Dayton vs. Oklahoma: What you need to know about Battle 4 Atlantis third-place game

Flyers, Sooners last played in 2015 NCAA tournament

The Dayton Flyers face their third top-50 team in three days Friday in the third-place game at the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Dayton, which lost 66-59 to No. 4 Virginia in the semifinals Thursday and has moved from No. 103 to No. 81 in the Ken Pomeroy rankings during this tournament, plays No. 46 Oklahoma at 11:30 a.m. at Imperial Gym. Here are seven things to know about the game.

1. NCAA rematch: Dayton last played Oklahoma in the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2015 in Columbus. Dayton led 49-40 with 13 minutes go play but lost 72-66.

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2. All-time series: Oklahoma leads 3-1. Dayton's lone victory came in the 1984 NCAA tournament. The Flyers won 89-85 in the second round in Salt Lake City, Utah.

3. Strong program: Oklahoma lost in the Elite Eight in 2015 but advanced to the Final Four in 2016. It finished 11-20 in 2016-17, ending a streak of four straight NCAA tournament appearances. It returned to the big dance last season, finishing 18-14.

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‪Day 3 in Bahamas. Dayton vs. Oklahoma at 11:30.‬

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4. Veteran coach: This is the eighth season for coach Lon Kruger. His teams have won at least two games in these in-season tournaments in each of his first seven seasons. They have not lost two games in a row in November during his tenure.

5. Preseason expectations: Oklahoma was picked to finish eighth in the Big 12. It began the season ranked 52nd in the Pomeroy rankings.

6. First-round victory: Oklahoma beat Florida 65-60 on Wednesday, winning the rebounding battle 48-34 to overcome poor shooting from long range (4 of 18). Christian James, a 6-foot-3 senior guard, scored 18. He leads the team with 20.8 points per game.

7. Second-round loss: Wisconsin beat Oklahoma 78-58 in the semifinals Thursday. The Sooners committed 15 turnovers and allowed Wisconsin to shoot 63.6 percent from 3-point range (14 of 22). Wayne grad D'Mitrik Trice set a tournament record with seven 3-pointers and scored 25 points for Wisconsin.

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