Dayton vs. Butler preview: What you need to know about Wednesday’s game

Bulldogs lead series against Flyers 13-10

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

Who: Dayton (3-0) vs. Butler (3-0)

What: First round of the Battle 4 Atlantis

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday

Where: Imperial Gym, Paradise Island, Bahamas

TV/Radio: ESPNews; AM 1290, News 95.7 WHIO

» TOURNAMENT PREVIEW: Virginia, Wisconsin among favorites

Probable Dayton starters

Josh Cunningham, 6-8, R-Sr., 20.0

Obi Toppin, 6-9, R-Fr., F, 15.0

Jordan Davis, 6-2, So., G, 13.0

Trey Landers, 6-5, Jr., G, 12.3

Jalen Crutcher, 6-1, So., G, 12.0

Probable Butler starters

Kamar Baldwin, 6-1, Jr., G, 23.3

Paul Jorgensen, 6-2, R-Sr., G, 18.7

Aaron Thompson, 6-2, So., G, 7.7

Nate Fowler, 6-10, Sr., C, 6.7

Sean McDermott, 6-6, R-Jr., F, 6.3

» FORT WAYNE GAME: Cunningham shines in debutFive takeaways20 photos

Series history: Butler leads 13-10. The last matchup came in the 2013 Atlantic 10 tournament. Butler won 73-67. It was Butler's sixth straight victory in the series. Dayton last beat Butler in 1991, 116-98 at UD Arena.

Coaches: Anthony Grant is 17-17 in his second season at Dayton. LaVall Jordan is 24-14 in his second season at Butler.

Last game: Dayton beat Purdue Fort Wayne 91-80 on Friday. Butler beat Mississippi 83-76 on Friday.

About Dayton: The Flyers have a three-game winning streak for the first time since 2017. … Dayton is 174-166 against current members of the Big East. … Cunningham pushed his career scoring total to 832 points in the opener. He scored the first 260 at Bradley as a freshman. … Ryan Mikesell, who started the first two games, averages 13.3 points per game. He leads the team in 3-point accuracy (5 of 10, 50 percent). … Dwayne Cohill and Jhery Matos each average 4.7 points off the bench.

About Butler: The Bulldogs have played in the NCAA tournament four seasons in a row and 10 times in the last 12 seasons. They were 21-14 last season and 9-9 in the Big East. … Joey Brunk (15.0), a 6-11 center, is the top scorer off the bench. … Fowler is a graduate of Cincinnati Moeller. … Butler has a transfer from Duke, Jordan Tucker, who will not be eligible to play until the end of the fall semester.

Looking ahead: Dayton will play Virginia or Middle Tennessee State on Thursday in the semifinals (4 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2) or consolation bracket (9:30 p.m., ESPN2 or ESPNU). Dayton's final game will be Friday against Wisconsin, Stanford, Oklahoma or Florida. Possible game times are 11:30 a.m. (third-place game), 2 p.m. (championship), 7 p.m. (seventh-place game) and 9:30 p.m. (fifth-place game).

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