Dayton short one player for game at Rhode Island

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Williams missed five non-conference games in November and December with a back injury. He didn’t play in four of the previous five games because of a coach’s decision.

In Dayton’s previous game at Rhode Island last season, Williams hit two 3-pointers in the final 30 seconds to help Dayton rally for a 75-74 victory.

After a victory against Fordham on Feb. 18, coach Anthony Grant explained his decision making regarding Williams and John Crosby, who did make the trip to Kingston but hasn't played in the last two games.

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"My thing is in order to sub or play, somebody's got to come out," Grant said. "As a coach, you have to make a decision. Who puts you in the best position to have success? That's all we're trying to do. It's never about an individual. I love all of our guys. I think they're great people. But at the end of the day, my job is to accomplish the mission, and that's to put the best team out there that gives us the best chance to have success a a team. That's what we try to do. The guys we played today we thought gave us the best chance."