Monday, March 24th, 7:00 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Redbird Arena (10,200) -- Normal, Illinois. Television: ESPNU. NIT Record: Dayton 34-19, Illinois State 8-8. Series Record: Dayton leads, 2-1.

GAME NOTES: The Dayton Flyers try to bring home their third NIT title, but first they have to get past Illinois State in the second round of the 71st annual tournament in Normal tonight. The third-seeded Flyers, who are 34-19 in the event all-time, took home the trophy in both 1962 and 1968, but haven't been back here since 2002. The first round saw the team slip by Cleveland State on Wednesday night by a score of 66-57, marking the squad's fifth win in the last six outings. As for the second-seeded Redbirds, this is their ninth trip to the postseason NIT, now showing a record of 8-8. Also in action last Wednesday, Illinois State held on against Utah State in a 61-57 final at home. The victory was the seventh in the last eight games for a Redbirds team that has tied a school record with 25 wins in 2007-08 and by playing this, their 35th game of the campaign, has set a new standard in the 110-year history of the basketball program. Dayton leads the all-time series versus the Redbirds with two wins in three tries, although this is the first encounter since December of 1993. The winner of this bout will take on the winner of the California/Ohio State contest in the semifinals on Wednesday night.

Except for Jimmy Binnie who finished with a mere five points on 2-of-9 shooting from the field and 1-of-7 behind the three-point line, every starter for the Flyers hit for double digits in the first-round win last week versus Cleveland State. Brian Roberts posted 21 points on 7-of-10 from the floor, followed by Kurt Huelsman with 12 points and seven boards. Andres Sandoval and Marcus Johnson each tallied 11 points for the group as they survived 31.6 percent shooting behind the three-point line and 14-of-24 at the charity stripe. One of three players to have started every game for the Flyers this season, Roberts leads the way in the scoring department with his 18.5 ppg and is also first with 116 assists, which is rather impressive considering he is one of the leading three-point shooters in the Atlantic 10 Conference (92- of-205). Johnson (10.2 ppg) is the other scoring threat for Dayton, with his nearly five and a half rebounds per game also playing a huge part in his contributions to the team's overall success.

Osiris Eldridge tallied a team-best 14 points and Dinma Odiakosa contributed 11 more as the Redbirds held on for the four-point win against the Aggies last week in their own building. Eldridge helped to seal the win with a pair of successful free throws with 14 seconds remaining in regulation. At the defensive end of the floor Anthony Slack produced a pair of crucial blocked shots in the waning moments, finishing with eight points, seven rebounds and three rejections on the night. Eldridge, a starter in 32 of the team's 34 games this season, is the only player to have maintained a double-digit scoring average with his 16.0 ppg, thanks to nearly 40 percent shooting behind the three-point line. Then again, scoring is not the strength of this squad, which is averaging just 65.8 ppg, rather a defense that is permitting opponents to produce a mere 59.4 ppg and limiting those programs to just 40.5 percent shooting from the field.

The Redbirds will need a little more offensive punch if they are going to emerge from this round, otherwise the Flyers are more than ready to pick up the offense on their end and keep their season alive.

Predicted Outcome

Dayton 67, Illinois State 61