Nevada
Dayton or Nevada? How to pick 7 vs. 10 matchup in 2024 March Madness bracket | Sporting News
There is not much that differs a 7 seed from a 10 seed at the NCAA Tournament in typical years. As fans have seen, this 2024 season of basketball has been far from normal, making it all the more harder to decipher March Madness matchups.
In the West Region, 7-seed Dayton matches up with 10-seed Nevada at the 2024 tournament. Both programs are coming off disappointing postseason endings after strong regular seasons.
Dayton (24-7, 14-4 Atlantic-10) came up short in the Atlantic 10 tournament, losing to Duquesne in the quarterfinals as the No. 3 seed. The loss was the Flyers’ third in the last seven games, marking a rocky end to an otherwise solid campaign.
Meanwhile, Nevada (26-7, 13-5 MWC) is fresh off a loss in the Mountain West quarterfinals, falling to No. 7 seed Colorado State. The upset defeat snapped a seven-game winning streak for the Wolfpack, who ended the regular season on a high note, nabbing the No. 2 seed in the conference.
However, it’s a clean slate now, and both programs are eyeing a spot in the second round with a win in Salt Lake City.
Here’s what you need to know about the matchup between Dayton and Nevada, including metrics, rankings, key players, season breakdowns and more.
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Dayton vs. Nevada odds
Dayton vs. Nevada will be played Thursday, March 21, the first day of the Round of 64. Nevada opens as a betting favorite, per BetMGM, despite being the lower seed.
Below are the details of the game, including betting odds, time, TV and venue:
- Odds: Nevada (-1.5)
- Date: Thursday, March 21
- Time: 4:30 p.m.
- TV: TBS
- Arena: Delta Center, Salt Lake City
Dayton (24-7, 14-4 Atlantic-10)
For the first time since 2017, the Dayton Flyers are dancing. In head coach Anthony Grant’s seventh season, Dayton is back in March Madness after a strong showing in the Atlantic 10 this year.
Dayton is one of a number of teams in the NCAA Tournament coming off a stunning upset loss early in the conference playoffs. The Flyers posted an overall record of 24-7 and a conference mark of 14-4 to finish third in the conference regular season. However, the team suffered a quarterfinals defeat at the hands of Duquesne, who ran the table at the Barclays Center as a sixth seed, earning a bid to the dance.
Paving the way for the Flyers is DaRon Holmes II, a junior who is a Naismith College Player of the Year semifinalist and Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Year. The 6-10 center is the only player in Division I level who has more than 65 blocks, 65 dunks and 65 assists this season, averaging 20.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.
On its resume are notable wins over St. John’s at the Charleston Classic, Cincinnati . Davidson hasn’t lost back-to-back games all year, bouncing back in the next contest each of the four times it occurred in the regular season. The Flyers will have to keep that trend in its 19th all-time NCAA Tournament.
This is the 19th appearance all-time for Dayton, who have not won an NCAA tournament game since its run to the Elite Eight in 2014. However, you have to consider the tournament-less 2019-20 season where Obi Toppin led the Flyers to what could have been a No. 1 seed in March Madness.
- NET ranking: 23
- KenPom ranking: 32
- Quad 1 record: 3-4
- Quad 2 record: 5-3
- Quad 3 record: 9-0
- Quad 4 record: 7-0
- Offensive efficiency ranking: 18
- Defensive efficiency ranking: 87
Key players
DaRon Holmes II, F, Jr. (6-10, 235): 20.4 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 2.6 apg
Nate Santos, F, Jr. (6-7, 210): 10.0 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.5 apg
Koby Brea, G, Jr. (6-6, 205): 10.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.1 apg
Kobe Elvis, G, Jr. (6-2, 180): 9.5 ppg, 3.56 apg, 2.5 rpg
Enoch Cheeks, G, Jr. (6-3, 195): 8.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.0 apg
MORE: Buy tickets to 2024 March Madness games
Nevada (26-7, 13-5 MWC)
Nevada is back in the dance after a first four appearance last year in March Madness, breaking a four-year streak without a NCAA tournament berth. This year, the Wolfpack comes in as a No. 10 seed that may be ranked lower than expected.
Like Dayton, Steve Alford’s Nevada team was one-and-done in conference tournament play. After recording a 13-5 record in Mountain West regular season play, the Wolfpack fell to No. 7 seed Colorado State in the conference quarterfinals. It snapped the team’s seven game winning streak and it marked the squad’s second loss since the start of February.
On its resume, Nevada secured quality wins over Mountain West opponents such as New Mexico, San Jose State and Colorado State, and also defeated TCU at the Diamond Head Classic in December.
Seniors guards Kenan Blackshear and Jarod Lucas are the players to watch for the Wolfpack. Blackshear is averaging 15.1 points a game while also recording just under five rebounds and assists per contest. Lucas is the scoring leader, averaging 17.8 points per game and shooting nearly 90% from the free throw line.
The 2024 berth marks the 13th in Alford’s career. He became the fourth coach to take five different Division I schools to the dance, and a win would make him only the second one to win a tournament game at five different programs.
- NET ranking: 34
- KenPom ranking: 36
- Quad 1 record: 6-6
- Quad 2 record: 2-0
- Quad 3 record: 8-1
- Quad 4 record: 8-0
- Offensive efficiency ranking: 40
- Defensive efficiency ranking: 36
Key players
Kenan Blackshear, G, Sr. (6-6, 215): 15.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 4.9 apg
Jarod Lucas, G, Sr. (6-4, 195): 17.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.5 rpg
Nick Davidson, F, Soph. (6-9, 215): 12.1 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.4 apg
Tre Coleman, F, Sr. (6-7, 185): 8.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.8 apg
Daniel Foster, G, Sr. (6-6, 215): 4.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.5 apg
EXPERT PICKS: DeCourcy (UConn) | Bender (UConn) | Iyer (UConn) | Yanchulis (South Carolina women)
Dayton vs. Nevada prediction
This matchup is going to come down to who can perform better from beyond the arc. Dayton ranks third in the nation in 3-point percentage (40.2), one of only three teams at the Division I level to shoot at least 40% from deep, joining Kentucky and Purdue.
While the Flyers have one of the most dominant big men in the country, Holmes II is surrounded by shooters as well. Nate Santos and Koby Brea are dangerous weapons on the perimeter for Grants’s coalition.
Nevada is no stranger to success from range either. The Wolfpack shot 36.5% from 3-point distance this season, however, it was not the go-to option for the team. Nevada attempted just 18.3 3-pointers per game, ranking among the lowest in the nation. It may not be the best idea for the Wolfpack to go toe-to-toe from the arc with the Flyers, but if they need to, they have shooters like Jarod Lucas and Hunter McIntosh.
The Wolfpack come into the contest the hotter squad, winning 11 of their last 12 matchups. The offense has scored at least 70 points in seven consecutive contests, and it’s been a spread of wealth, not just one player. The same can’t necessarily be said about Dayton, as DaRon Holmes II has led the Flyers in scoring four games in a row and seven of their last eight.
HISTORY OF UPSETS BY SEED:
16 vs. 1 | 15 vs. 2 | 14 vs. 3 | 13 vs. 4 | 12 vs. 5
History of 7 vs. 10 matchups in NCAA Tournament
Overall, No. 7 seeds hold a 92-59 advantage over No. 10 seeds since the NCAA Tournament bracket expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
However, it’s worth noting that the No. 10 seeds’ 50 wins are the most of any lower-seeded team over a higher-seeded team in the first round, per NCAA.com. The lower seed in this matchup has won roughly 39 percent of the games.
It’s also worth noting that a No. 10 seed has won at least one game in each NCAA Tournament since 2008, when Steph Curry led Davidson to an upset win over Gonzaga before a storybook run to the Elite Eight.
Below is a breakdown of the wins 10-seeds have posted over 7-seeds since 2009:
| Year | Result |
| 2023 | Penn State 76, Texas A&M 59 |
| 2022 | Miami (Fla.) 68, USC 66 |
| 2021 | Maryland 63, UConn 54 |
| 2021 | Rutgers 60, Clemson 56 |
| 2019 | Florida 70, Nevada 61 |
| 2019 | Iowa 79, Cincinnati 72 |
| 2019 | Minnesota 86, Louisville 76 |
| 2018 | Butler 79, Arkansas 62 |
| 2017 | Wichita State 64, Dayton 58 |
| 2016 | VCU 75, Oregon State 67 |
| 2016 | Syracuse 70, Dayton 51 |
| 2015 | Ohio State 75, VCU 72 |
| 2014 | Stanford 58, New Mexico 53 |
| 2013 | Iowa State 76, Notre Dame 58 |
| 2012 | Xavier 67, Notre Dame 63 |
| 2012 | Purdue 72, Saint Mary’s 69 |
| 2011 | Florida State 57, Texas A&M 50 |
| 2010 | Georgia Tech 64, Oklahoma State 59 |
| 2010 | Missouri 86, Clemson 78 |
| 2010 | Saint Mary’s 80, Richmond 71 |
| 2009 | USC 72, Boston College 55 |
| 2009 | Maryland 84, California 71 |
| 2009 | Michigan 62, Clemson 59 |
Nevada
2026 lunar eclipse visible in Nevada. How to watch
How to Watch Nevada’s 2026 Lunar Eclipse
A total lunar eclipse will cross Nevada skies early Tuesday morning. Here’s when totality begins and where to watch.
A lunar eclipse will be in Nevada skies late Monday night — or, more accurately, early Tuesday morning, March 3.
The downside is the hour: you’ll have to be up very late or very early, depending on your perspective.
Unlike a solar eclipse, which occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, a lunar eclipse happens when Earth casts its shadow on the moon, creating a rusty red hue.
If you’re looking to see the lunar eclipse, here’s everything you need to know about viewing it in Nevada.
What eclipse is in 2026?
If you live in the U.S., you will be able to see the lunar eclipse starting at 12:44 a.m. PST Tuesday, March 3, 2026, according to NASA. During the night, you’ll see the moon in a reddish hue, or a blood moon.
Totality lasts for a little more than an hour before the moon begins to emerge from behind Earth’s shadow, according to the popular site timeanddate.com. As the moon moves into Earth’s shadow, also known as the umbra, it appears red-orange or a “ghostly copper color,” hence its name: blood moon, NASA says.
“During a lunar eclipse, the moon appears red or orange because any sunlight that’s not blocked by our planet is filtered through a thick slice of Earth’s atmosphere on its way to the lunar surface,” NASA says. “It’s as if all the world’s sunrises and sunsets are projected onto the moon.”
Countdown clock to the 2026 total lunar eclipse
If you live in the U.S., you will be able to see the eclipse starting at 12:44 a.m. PST Tuesday, March 3, 2026.
The entire eclipse will last about six hours. People in Nevada can see the lunar eclipse during the early morning hours of Tuesday, March 3, 2026. The total lunar eclipse will be visible in North America, South America, Eastern Europe, Asia, Australia and Antarctica.
Everything will be over by 6:23 a.m. PST on March 3, 2026. Below is a countdown clock for the 2026 total lunar eclipse.
Where are the best places to see the lunar eclipse near Reno?
Though the Biggest Little City has an abundance of light pollution, darker skies are less than an hour from Reno.
- Fort Churchill State Park: The park provides a dark night sky ideal for evening astronomical events among the ruins of Fort Churchill. Park entrance costs $5 for Nevada residents and $10 for nonresidents.
- Pyramid Lake: A popular spot for Renoites seeking a night of stargazing, the lake is less than an hour from The Biggest Little City. It offers beautiful natural wonders and dark skies that give a clear view of the lunar eclipse.
- Lake Tahoe: Multiple locations around the lake are excellent for stargazing that are less than an hour from Reno.
- Cold Springs or Hidden Valley still get light pollution from the Biggest Little City, but have clearer skies than the middle of town.
- Driving down the road on USA Parkway will likely also give you the dark skies to see the lunar eclipse without having to make a significant drive outside of town.
Carly Sauvageau with the Reno Gazette Journal contributed to this report.
Nevada
How the strikes on Iran could impact gas prices in northern Nevada
The United States and Israel launched targeted attacks on Iran on Saturday. The move brought new uncertainty into global energy markets, as northern Nevadans could be paying more at the pump in the coming weeks.
Following the strikes, oil prices increased. Brent crude, the international benchmark, jumped to roughly $73 a barrel, while the national benchmark, West Texas Intermediate, traded above $67.
Much of the concern centers around the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman. which carries about a fifth of the world’s oil supplies.
Patrick de Haan, head of petroleum analysis with GasBuddy, a price tracking company, spoke on the current questions in the region.
“The known would reduce oil prices if there becomes clarity, but it’s the unknown that is stoking fears…. If there is some sort of clarity in the days ahead, whether from Iran, the United States, or Israel, on how long this would last. We’d be able to put potentially an end date for the potential impacts that we’re seeing,” said de Haan.
Experts say for every $5 to $10 increase in oil prices, drivers could pay 15 to 25 cents more per gallon.
According to Triple-A, the average price of a gallon of gas in Nevada on Sunday comes in at $3.70, which comes in above the national average of roughly $2.98.
Over at the Rainbow Market on Vassar Street, prices sat just below four dollars a gallon on Sunday. Reno resident Abran Reyes talked about gas prices potentially going up.
“Whether it’s to work, to maybe run errands, to do stuff that helps you, gas is essential…. That gas price really hits, especially in today’s economy, where gas prices are extraordinary…. I just hope everyone’s safe. I hope our soldiers and all of our troops can be okay,” said Reyes.
Nevada
Nevada debuts public option amid federal health care shifts
More than 10,000 people have enrolled in Nevada’s new public option health plans, which debuted last fall with the expectation that they would bring lower prices to the health insurance market.
Those preliminary numbers from the open enrollment period that ended in January are less than a third of what state officials had projected. Nevada is the third state so far to launch a public option plan, along with Colorado and Washington state. The idea is to offer lower-cost plans to consumers to expand health care access.
But researchers said plans like these are unlikely to fill the gaps left by sweeping federal changes, including the expiration of enhanced subsidies for plans bought on Affordable Care Act marketplaces.
The public option gained attention in the late 2000s when Congress considered but ultimately rejected creating a health plan funded and run by the government that would compete with private carriers in the market. The programs in Washington state, Colorado, and Nevada don’t go that far — they aren’t government-run but are private-public partnerships that compete with private insurance.
In recent years, states have considered creating public option plans to make health coverage more affordable and to reduce the number of uninsured people. Washington was the first state to launch a program, in 2021, and Colorado followed in 2023.
Washington and Colorado’s programs have run into challenges, including a lack of participation from clinicians, hospitals, and other care providers, as well as insurers’ inability to meet rate reduction benchmarks or lower premiums compared with other plans offered on the market.
Nevada law requires that the carriers of the public option plans — Battle Born State Plans, named after a state motto — lower premium costs compared with a benchmark “silver” plan in the marketplace by 15% over the next four years.
But that amount might not make much difference to consumers with rising premium payments from the loss of the ACA’s enhanced tax credits, said Keith Mueller, director of the Rural Policy Research Institute.
“That’s not a lot of money,” Mueller said.
Three of the eight insurers on the state’s exchange, Nevada Health Link, offered the state plans during the open enrollment period.
Insurance companies plan to meet the lower premium cost requirement in Nevada by cutting broker fees and commissions, which prompted opposition from insurance brokers in the state. In response, Nevada marketplace officials told state lawmakers in January that they will give a flat-fee reimbursement to brokers.
The public option has faced opposition among state leaders. In 2024, a state judge dismissed a lawsuit, brought by a Nevada state senator and a group that advocates for lower taxes, that challenged the public option law as unconstitutional. They have appealed to the state Supreme Court.
Federal Policy Impacts
Recent federal changes create more obstacles.
Nevada is consistently among the states with the largest populations of people who do not have health insurance coverage. Last year, nearly 95,000 people in the state received the enhanced ACA tax credits, averaging $465 in savings per month, according to KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News.
But the enhanced tax credits expired at the end of the year, and it appears unlikely that lawmakers will bring them back. Nationwide ACA enrollment has decreased by more than 1 million people so far this year, down from record-high enrollment of 24 million last year.
About 4 million people are expected to lose health coverage from the expiration of the tax credits, according to the Congressional Budget Office. An additional 3 million are projected to lose coverage because of other policy changes affecting the marketplace.
Justin Giovannelli, an associate research professor at the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University, said the changes to the ACA in the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law last summer, will make it more difficult for people to keep their coverage. These changes include more frequent enrollment paperwork to verify income and other personal information, a shortened enrollment window, and an end to automatic reenrollment.
In Nevada, the changes would amount to an estimated 100,000 people losing coverage, according to KFF.
“All of that makes getting coverage on Nevada Health Link harder and more expensive than it would be otherwise,” Giovannelli said.
State officials projected ahead of open enrollment that about 35,000 people would purchase the public option plans. Of the 104,000 people who had purchased a plan on the state marketplace as of mid-January, 10,762 had enrolled in one of the public option plans, according to Nevada Health Link.
Katie Charleson, communications officer for the state health exchange, said the original enrollment estimate was based on market conditions before the recent increases in customers’ premium costs. She said that the public option plans gave people facing higher costs more choices.
“We expect enrollment in Battle Born State Plans to grow over time as awareness increases and as Nevadans continue seeking quality coverage options that help reduce costs,” Charleson said.
According to KFF, nationally the enhanced subsidies saved enrollees an average of $705 annually in 2024, and enrollees would save an estimated $1,016 in premium payments on average in 2026 if the subsidies were still in place. Without the subsidies, people enrolled in the ACA marketplace could be seeing their premium costs more than double.
Insights From Washington and Colorado
Washington and Colorado are not planning to alter their programs due to the expiration of the tax credits, according to government officials in those states.
Other states that had recently considered creating public options have backtracked. Minnesota officials put off approving a public option in 2024, citing funding concerns. Proposals to create public options in Maine and New Mexico also sputtered.
Washington initially saw meager enrollment in its Cascade Select public option plans; only 1% of state marketplace enrollees chose a public option plan in 2021. But that changed after lawmakers required hospitals to contract with at least one public option plan by 2023. Last year the state reported that 94,000 customers enrolled, accounting for 30% of all customers on the state marketplace. The public option plans were the lowest-premium silver plans in 31 of Washington’s 39 counties in 2024.
A 2025 study found that since Colorado implemented its public option, called the Colorado Option, coverage through the ACA marketplace has become more affordable for enrollees who received subsidies but more expensive for enrollees who did not.
Colorado requires all insurers offering coverage through its marketplace to include a public option that follows state guidelines. The state set premium reduction targets of 5% a year for three years beginning in 2023. Starting this year, premium costs are not allowed to outpace medical inflation.
Though the insurers offering the public option did not meet the premium reduction targets, enrollment in the Colorado Option has increased every year it has been available. Last year, the state saw record enrollment in its marketplace, with 47% of customers purchasing a public option plan.
Giovannelli said states are continuing to try to make health insurance more affordable and accessible, even if federal changes reduce the impact of those efforts.
“States are reacting and trying to continue to do right by their residents,” Giovannelli said, “but you can’t plug all those gaps.”
Are you struggling to afford your health insurance? Have you decided to forgo coverage? Click here to contact KFF Health News and share your story.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.
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