NCAA Basketball: Best games from 2019-20 season – Dayton vs. Kansas

The Maui Invitational title game between Dayton and Kansas became an instant classic; let’s dive into how it went down.

The college basketball season was certainly dampened as the national pandemic caused the cancellation of most of the postseason. We all would have loved to see the intense matchups and moments produced in the NCAA Tournament. Next up in our top 40 games of the 2019-20 season was a big early-season matchup that we might have seen late in the postseason between two elite teams.

3. #4 Kansas 90, Dayton 84, OT

November 27, 2019, Lahaina Civic Center in Maui, HI

The early non-conference tournaments provide much of the initial excitement of the college basketball season each year. The number of tournaments has rapidly increased in recent years, but the Maui Invitational remains one of the biggest and most competitive. We’ve seen some fantastic teams and fascinating results in recent years, but it was hard to top the incredible title game we got this past November.

Dayton entered the season with higher expectations after a third-place A-10 finish last season. They won their first three games at home and had already taken care of Georgia and Virginia Tech over in Maui. In each of their games, Obi Toppin had led the team in scoring and he looked primed for a breakout season, while other players like Jalen Crutcher and Trey Landers played a major role in their hot start as well.

Kansas had a fantastic team put together and certainly looked like a national title threat once more. They had lost on opening night to a tough Duke squad in New York, but had taken care of business in their last five games, including Maui wins over Chaminade and BYU. Players like Udoka Azubuike and Marcus Garrett were making a great impact on a team that looked like heavy favorites to win another Maui Invitational title.

Both offenses brought the heat early. Both the Flyers and Jayhawks scored on their first three possessions, but Dayton’s trio of long-range shots gave them the early lead. The hot shooting continued for both teams and the game was tied at 17 just six minutes into the action. By this point, Dayton had gotten made 3-pointers from five different players and was still definitely hanging with Kansas.

The Jayhawks built a 5-point lead halfway through the opening period, but Dayton had the answer. Their defense locked down, as Toppin scored the last four points on a 9-0 run to take over the lead. Toppin’s 3-pointer a few minutes later stopped a Jayhawks run, while the team traded long-range jumpers in the final minutes of the game; Dayton held a 1-point lead at the half.

This became an exciting back and forth battle and it didn’t change in the second half. A few early 3-pointers by Kansas helped the Jayhawks build a lead, but Dayton always seemed to answer back quickly. A 3-pointer from Dwayne Cohill gave the Flyers the lead again four minutes into the half, though it would pinball between the two teams many times down the stretch.

A four-minute scoring drought for the Flyers helped Kansas retake the lead, but it wouldn’t last long. Dayton got a huge pair of 3-pointers from Crutcher and another big shot from Watson, building an 8-point lead with seven minutes left. As you’d expect, Kansas wasn’t finished, with Garrett and Dotson both getting a pair of baskets on a quick 8-0 run of their own.

Tied with under three minutes left, Kansas took the lead again on a 3-point play from Azubuike and held that lead heading into the final possessions. Dotson’s free throws with 19 seconds left built a 3-point lead, but Crutcher hit his most clutch shot of the game, as his long-range jumper tied the game and forced overtime in the Maui Invitational championship game.

Much like in the first half, the offenses took over initially, but it was Azubuike leading the charge. He scored on Kansas’s first four possessions in overtime, building a 4-point lead. Ryan Mikesell’s free throws pulled Dayton back to within a possession, but Dayton’s offense didn’t have a response in the final minutes. Garrett hit a big layup with 38 seconds left and hit his free throws late, securing the victory and tournament title for the Jayhawks.

Dotson had 31 points while Azubuike has 29 points, including the first nine in the overtime period. The Jayhawks shot 56% from the field and didn’t struggle too much with turnovers, but still needed overtime to put away a feisty Dayton squad. Helped greatly by a 49% clip from the 3-point line, the Flyers got a great effort from Mikesell (19 points) and Toppin (18 points, 9 rebounds), but just didn’t have enough long-range magic at the very end.

One of the season’s best games was a mere foreshadowing of what was to come. Dayton became one of the best teams in the country, with Toppin arguably the nation’s best player. They’d only lose one more game the entire rest of the season and were virtually guaranteed of a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. Kansas won another Big 12 title and would lose just two more times the rest of the season.

These two teams gave us a fantastic battle and could’ve had a rematch if the NCAA Tournament hadn’t been cancelled. The Jayhawks and Flyers were among the very best teams this season and were both 1-seeds had that Tournament transpired. It’s a shame we didn’t get to see either of them compete for glory, but at least we got this fantastic game in November over in Maui.