NC State lost 80-74 to No. 3-ranked Kansas on Wednesday, creating a matchup today against 3-2 Dayton in the Battle 4 Atlantic in the Bahamas.

NC State will play Dayton at 4 p.m. on ESPN News in the consolation bracket. The Flyers lost 43-42 to slow-paced Wisconsin on Wednesday. Dayton shot just 30.2 percent from the field and were 4 of 27 on three-pointers.

Dayton went 24-10 last year and 14-4 in the Atlantic 10, and fell in the second round of the NIT.

Dayton returns all five starters from last year with post players DaRon Holmes II, a sophomore, and junior Toumani Camara, sophomore point guard Malachi Smith, sophomore shooting guard Kobe Elvis and sophomore small forward R.J. Blakney.

Rankings

Dayton was No. 52 in the NET rankings last season, and NC State was No. 139.

ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Flyers ranked No. 36 overall, and the Wolfpack are No. 58.

KenPom.com has Dayton at No. 37, and NCSU checks in at No. 67.

RealtimeRPI.com has NC State ranked No. 58 in the country, and Dayton is 46.

Shooting

The Flyers are averaging 60.2 points per game, and are shooting 39.5 percent from the field, 26.2 percent on three-pointers and 69.2 percent from the free-throw line.

Smith shot 40.0 percent on three-pointers last year, but only took 50 attempts. Elvis shot 36.2 percent from the beyond the arc last year (42 of 116).

Sophomore power forward Mustapha Amzil and freshman small forward Mike Sharavjamts come off the bench and are the Flyers top shooters through five games. The 6-9, 224-pound Amzil is at 40.9 percent on three-pointers and Sharavjamts is at 39.1 percent.

Rebounding

Dayton is averaging 41.0 rebounds per game and have a plus-6.6 rebounding margin. Wisconsin missed 45 shots, giving Dayton a boost in rebounding numbers with 45 boards (11 on the offensive boards).

Camara, a Georgia transfer, has been a monster on the board averaging 12.0 per game, which ranks fourth in the country. He led Dayton in rebounding last year with 6.9 rebounds a game.

Defense

The Flyers are allowing 52.4 points per game, and opponents are shooting 32.6 percent from the field and 25.6 percent on three-pointers.

Holmes blocked 81 shots a year ago and Smith had 59 steals. Holmes has 12 blocks this season in five games.

Depth

Dayton played three players off the bench against Wisconsin, with sophomore Amzil of Finland logging 29 minutes. He hit three three-pointers for nine points and five rebounds. Amzil had 20 points and three three-pointers in the 74-62 win over Southern Methodist on Nov. 11, and has cracked double figures in three games.

The 6-8, 180-pound Sharavjamts was well thought of coming out of high school and is from Mongolia originally. He has scored at least 10 points in three of five games, with 14 points and going 4 of 6 on three-pointers in a 60-52 loss at UNLV on Nov. 15.

Power forward Zimi Nwokeji is 6-7 and 210 pounds, and the sophomore was once a Florida State signee. Key sophomore shooter Koby Brea has only played in one game this season. He shot 42.3 percent on three-pointers last year.

It was considered a coup when Dayton landed sophomore center DaRon Holmes II in the class of 2021.

Holmes, who was from Goodyear, Ariz., picked Dayton over Arizona, California and Marquette. He averaged 15.2 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game while finishing up at AZ Compass Prep in Arizona his senior year.

The talented Holmes moved right into the Dayton starting lineup last year and averaged 12.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. The 6-10, 225-pounder is ranked No. 52 by ESPN’s DraftExpress.com for the 2023 NBA Draft. He has similar numbers through five games this season — 12.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks a contest.

Holmes had nine points and four rebounds in 33 minutes in the 43-42 loss vs. Wisconsin on Wednesday. He previously had 20 points, seven rebounds and five blocks in a 74-62 win over Southern Methodist on Nov. 11.

Holmes made his presence known last year with four double-doubles, and he blocked six shots in three games. He had a career-high 28 points in a 75-72 win over Massachusetts in the Atlantic 10 tournament March 3, 2022. Holmes finished with five games of 20 points or more.

NC State

PG — 1 Jarkel Joiner (6-1, 180, Sr., 17.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 4.0 apg, 1.8 spg)

SG — 0 Terquavion Smith (6-4, 165, Soph., 19.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 5.0 apg, 2.6)

G — 14 Casey Morsell (6-3, 200, R-Jr., 16.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.8 spg)

PF — 5 Jack Clark (6-8, 200, R-Jr., 10.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.4 apg, 2.0 spg)

C — 11 Dusan Mahorcic (6-10, 235, Sr., 8.4 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 0.6 apg)

Dayton

PG — 11 Malachi Smith (6-0, 180, Soph., 3.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.5 apg, 3.0 spg).

SG — 24 Kobe Elvis (6-2, 170, Soph., 12.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.8 apg)

SF — 23 R.J. Blakney (6-6, 195, Soph., 5.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.6 assists)

PF — 2 Toumani Camara (6-8, 220, Jr., 7.0 ppg, 12.0 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.4 spg, 1.0 bpg)

C — 15 DaRon Holmes II (6-10, 225, Soph., 12.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.4 apg, 2.4 bpg)

3 Times Dayton coach Anthony Grant has gone to the NCAA Tournament — two at VCU and one at Alabama, where he replaced coach Mark Gottfried. Dayton was enjoying its dream season in 2019-20, going 29-2, but COVID canceled the NCAA Tournament.

60 Rebounds this season for junior post player Toumani Camara, including grabbing 18 against SMU on Nov. 11. He’s had at least 11 rebounds in four of five games.

81 Dunks last year for then freshman center DaRon Holmes II, which ranked sixth in the country.

Sophomore shooting guard Kobe Elvis has emerged this season in streaky fashion.

The 6-2, 170-pounder from Brampton, Ontario in Canada, proved to be the only offense Dayton had against Wisconsin on Wednesday. He struggled from three-point land going 1 of 7, but he found a way to score 16 points and grab eight rebounds in the 43-42 loss to the Badgers. He is second on the squad with 12.2 points per game.

Elvis has scored in double figures in four of the first five games, adding 16 points and seven rebounds in the 60-52 loss at UNLV on Nov. 15. He also has some playmaking skills with 10 assists in the first two games.

Elvis started his career at DePaul, where he averaged 5.2 points per game in 19 contests in 2020-21. He made the move to Dayton last year and increased to 8.9 points and 2.4 assists a contest. Elvis shot a respectable 36.2 percent from three-point land, going 42 of 116.

He scored 20 points in three games a year ago — at Vanderbilt in the NIT, and against Saint Louis and VCU in back-to-back road games in early February. Elvis made four three-pointers in three different games.

The 6-foot-4, 165-pound Terquavion Smith averaged 16.3 points and 4.1 rebounds per game last year. He has scored at least 15 points in every game this season, including a season-high 26 points against Austin Peay in the season opener.

Smith fouled out in the 80-74 loss to Kansas on Wednesday, but managed to score 19 points on 5 of 15 shooting. He leads NC State in scoring at 19.0 points per game on 43.8 field-goal percentage.

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