Dayton at No. 8 Auburn: Everything you need to know about Saturday’s game

Flyers play first true road game of season at SEC school
Dayton’s Trey Landers dribbles against Auburn on Nov. 29, 2017, at UD Arena. David Jablonski/Staff

Dayton’s Trey Landers dribbles against Auburn on Nov. 29, 2017, at UD Arena. David Jablonski/Staff

Who: Dayton (5-3) at Auburn (7-1)

When: 8:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Auburn Arena, Auburn, Ala.

TV/Radio: SEC Network/AM 1290, News 95.7 WHIO

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Probable Dayton starters

Josh Cunningham, 6-8, R-Sr., 14.8

Jalen Crutcher, 6-1, So., G, 13.5

Trey Landers, 6-5, Jr., G, 10.0

Ryan Mikesell, 6-7, R-Jr., F, 9.8

Jordan Davis, 6-2, So., G, 9.5

Probable Auburn starters

Jared Harper, 5-11, Jr., G, 13.9

Bryce Brown, 6-3, Sr., G, 16.0

Chuma Okeke, 6-8, So., F, 11.3

Samir Doughty, 6-4, Jr., G, 8.6

Anfernee McLemore, 6-7, Jr., F, 7.3

Series history: Dayton leads 4-1. Auburn won 73-60 last season at UD Arena. Brown and Harper each scored 11 in that game. Mustapha Heron, who transferred to St. John's, scored 21.

Coaches: Anthony Grant is 19-20 in his second season at Dayton. Bruce Pearl is 77-63 in five seasons at Auburn.

Last game: Dayton beat Detroit Mercy 98-59 on Tuesday. Auburn beat UNC Asheville 67-41 on Tuesday.

About Dayton: Obi Toppin leads the Flyers with 12.4 points per game off the bench. He ranks 81st in the country in two-point field-goal percentage (68.8). As a team, Dayton ranks 11th in that category (58.5). … After making 6 of 14 free throws in the previous three games, Cunningham made 6 of 8 against Detroit Mercy, raising his season percentage to 52.9. … Dayton has lost three straight games to Southeastern Conference teams since beating Alabama in the second game of the 2016-17 season. … Crutcher ranks second in the Atlantic 10 Conference with 6.3 assists per game. … Dayton shot a season-best 50 percent (9 of 18) from 3-point range against Detroit Mercy. It had not topped 36 percent in the previous six games.

About Auburn: The Tigers have a 90 percent chance of winning this game, according to KenPom.com, which predicts a 76-62 score. … Doughty played his freshman season at Virginia Commonwealth and averaged 9.0 points per game. He sat out last season after transferring. He scored 11 points in a victory against Dayton in Richmond but was scoreless against Dayton in a loss at UD Arena. … Auburn is one of seven programs in the country without a freshman on the roster. It ranks 36th in the country in experience. Dayton ranks 267th. … Brown and Harper made the All-SEC preseason second team.

Looking ahead: Dayton has fall term exams next week and doesn't play again until 3:30 p.m. Dec. 16 against Tulsa in the Hall of Fame Holiday Showcase at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

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