Presbyterian at Dayton: What you need to know about Saturday’s game

Teams meet for the second time and first time since 2009
Dayton’s Trey Landers claps during a game against Western Michigan on Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018, at UD Arena. David Jablonski/Staff

Dayton’s Trey Landers claps during a game against Western Michigan on Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018, at UD Arena. David Jablonski/Staff

Who: Presbyterian (6-6) at Dayton (6-5)

When: 2 p.m. Saturday

Where: UD Arena

TV/Radio: Spectrum One/ESPN+/ AM 1290 and News 95.7 WHIO

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Probable Dayton starters

Josh Cunningham, 6-8, R-Sr., 16.2

Jalen Crutcher, 6-1, So., G, 13.4

Trey Landers, 6-5, Jr., G, 10.2

Ryan Mikesell, 6-7, R-Jr., F, 9.1

Jordan Davis, 6-2, So., G, 8.6

Probable Presbyterian starters

Adam Flagler, 6-3, Fr., G, 15.9

Francois Lewis, 6-9, Sr., F, 14.9

Cory Hightower, 6-7, Fr., F, 9.1

Davon Bell, 5-10, R-Sr., G, 7.7

Chris Martin, 6-0, Fr., G, 6.8

Series history: Dayton leads 1-0. Dayton won 71-52 on Dec. 19, 2009, at UD Arena.

Coaches: Anthony Grant is 20-22 in his second season at Dayton. Dustin Kerns is 17-27 in his second season at Presbyterian.

Last game: Dayton beat Western Michigan 85-72 on Wednesday. Presbyterian lost 76-67 at Butler on Tuesday.

» SCHEDULE NEWS: A-10, Mountain West to start series

About Dayton: Dayton has a 90 percent chance of winning this game, according to KenPom.com. It predicts a final score of 81-67. … The Flyers are 5-1 at UD Arena. … Dayton is 8-0 against Big South teams with four of the victories coming against Winthrop. … Toppin leads the Flyers with 13.1 points per game off the bench. The last Dayton freshman to finish the season with a double-digit scoring average was Chris Wright (10.4 in 2007-08). A 13.1 average would tie Toppin with Jim Paxson and Tony Stanley for second-best scoring average by a Dayton freshman. Johnny Davis (14.3 in 1973-74) owns the record.

About Presbyterian: The Blue Hose were picked to finish ninth out of 11 teams in the Big South Conference. It finished 11-21 overall last season and 4-14 in the conference. In 11 seasons in Division I, it has never finished better than 14-15 (2011-12). It made the move from Division II to Division I beginning in 2007 and received full D-I certification in 2012. … Presbyterian's last victory over a team ranked in the top 100 of the Pomeroy ratings came in 2012 when it won 56-54 at Cincinnati. … The Blue Hose rank 16th in the country in free-throw percentage (77.0). They are among the shortest teams in the country, ranking 325th in height. … JC Younger, a junior guard, led the team with 16 points off the bench against Butler. Flagler scored 13.

Looking ahead: Dayton returns to action at 3:30 p.m. Dec. 29 against Georgia Southern.

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