Dayton at VCU: What to know about Friday’s game

The Dayton Flyers did just that in the second half to rally from a 14-point deficit and beat Saint Louis 75-67 in the final home game of the regular season. They will need to work it even harder in the final road game of the regular season.

Dayton (21-9, 11-6) plays Virginia Commonwealth (25-5, 15-2) at 7 p.m. Friday at the Siegel Center in Richmond, Va. In the first game against VCU a month ago, Dayton collapsed in the final four minutes, giving up a 12-0 run in a 2-minute, 17-second stretch. A 59-54 lead turned into a 66-59 deficit and a 73-68 loss.

How much does Dayton want to win the rematch after the way that game ended?

“Very bad,” Dayton guard Enoch Cheeks said Tuesday.

“We’ve got to come out with the W,” forward Zed Key said.

Here are eight things to know about Dayton’s 31st game:

1. Series history: VCU leads the series 15-7. It has won eight of the last 11 games. The teams have split two regular-season games three seasons in a row. Grant is 6-12 against VCU, where he coached from 2006-09, during his tenure at Dayton.

2. What’s on the line for the Rams: VCU clinched a share of the A-10 regular-season championship and the No. 1 seed in the A-10 tournament Tuesday with a 71-62 victory at Duquesne. VCU has won nine straight games since a 78-69 loss at Saint Louis on Jan. 28.

VCU can clinch the outright title with a victory or a George Mason loss on Saturday at Richmond.

George Mason (23-7, 14-3) beat La Salle 69-62 on Wednesday to stay a game behind VCU. George Mason has already clinched the No. 2 seed and can not get the No. 1 seed even if it ties for first with VCU because VCU beat George Mason and owns the head-to-head tiebreaker.

3. What’s on the line for Flyers: Dayton is tied for third with Saint Joseph’s (20-10, 11-6), which beat Rhode Island 91-74 on Wednesday, and Loyola Chicago (20-10, 11-6), which beat Davidson 82-72.

Saint Joseph’s plays at 14th-place La Salle (12-18, 4-13) on Saturday. Loyola is at 10th-place Massachusetts (12-18, 7-10) on Saturday. The other team in the mix for a top-four seed is Saint Louis (17-13, 10-7), which plays at home against Duquesne on Saturday.

4. Tiebreakers: Dayton can clinch the No. 3 seed with a victory but can still get a No. 4 seed if it loses. Here are the scenarios:

• Dayton wins, Saint Joseph’s wins, Loyola wins: Dayton gets the No. 3 seed because of a 2-1 record against the other tied teams.

• Dayton wins, Saint Joseph’s wins, Loyola loses: Dayton gets the No. 3 seed because it wins the head-to-head tiebreaker against Saint Joseph’s.

• Dayton wins, Saint Joseph’s loses, Loyola wins: Dayton gets the No. 3 seed. In this case, the tiebreaker would be “conference record of the tied teams based on winning percentage versus the highest common opponent and proceeding down to the lowest common opponent, if necessary, until one team gains an advantage.”

Neither Dayton or Loyola beat the top two teams, VCU and George Mason. Dayton was 1-0 against Saint Joseph’s and 2-0 against Saint Louis, who would be the next two teams in the standings, while Loyola split with both teams.

• Dayton loses, Saint Joseph’s loses, Loyola loses and Saint Louis wins: Dayton gets the No. 3 seed because of a 4-1 record against the other three teams tied for third.

• Dayton loses, Saint Joseph’s loses, Saint Louis wins and Loyola wins: Dayton gets the No. 4 seed because of a 3-0 record against Saint Joseph’s and Saint Louis.

• Dayton loses, Saint Joseph’s wins, Loyola loses and Saint Louis wins: Dayton gets the No. 4 seed because of a 2-0 record against Saint Louis.

5. Senior Night: This will be the last home game for VCU’s top five scorers: Max Shulga; Joe Bamisile; Jack Clark; Phillip Russell; and Zeb Jackson. VCU is 15-0 at home and has not lost at the Siegel Center since falling 69-59 to Duquesne on Senior Day last season.

VCU will seek to avenge three losses on Senior Night at UD Arena. Dayton beat VCU 68-67 in overtime in 2016 on Senior Night to clinch a share of the A-10 title. A year later, Dayton beat VCU 79-72 in its last home game to clinch the outright title. Last season, Dayton closed the regular season with a 91-86 overtime victory at home against VCU.

6. Players to watch: Shulga is the leading candidate for A-10 Player of the Year. He ranks 11th in scoring (15.5 points per game), 10th in assists (3.8) and sixth in 3-point shooting percentage (63 of 146, 43.2).

• Dayton guard Enoch Cheeks has scored between 14 and 19 points in seven straight games since scoring seven points in the first game against VCU.

7. Injury news: Dayton forward Isaac Jack has missed four straight games since undergoing an appendectomy two weeks ago.

• VCU’s third-leading scorer, senior guard Phillip Russell (10.9 points per game), hurt his ankle in the second half Tuesday and did not play in the last eight minutes.

8. Odds & Ends: KenPom.com gives Dayton an 18% chance of winning and predicts a 77-67 score. Dayton is No. 77 in the Pomeroy ratings after beating Davidson. VCU is No. 29.

• Dayton ranks 68th in the NCAA Evaluation Tool. It is the second highest-ranked A-10 team behind No. 29 VCU.

This is a Quadrant 1 game for Dayton and a Quad 2 game for VCU. Dayton is 2-4 in Quad 1 games, 3-4 in Quad 2, 9-1 in Quad 3 and 6-0 in Quad 4. VCU is 1-1 in Quad 1, 6-3 in Quad 2, 5-0 in Quad 3 and 12-1 in Quad 4.

FRIDAY’S GAME

Dayton at VCU, 7 p.m., ESPN2, 95.7, 1290