Here’s what we know about Dayton (6-2) entering a 12:30 p.m. game against Troy (4-4) at UD Arena:
1. This could be the best 3-point shooting team in school history: The Flyers made exactly 50% of their 3-point attempts in the last two games: 10 of 20 in a 65-63 victory at Southern Methodist on Nov. 29; and 14 of 28 in a 76-46 victory against Grambling State on Dec. 2.
With those two games, Dayton increased its season 3-point percentage to 39.2 (73 of 186). It ranks 22nd in the country in accuracy. It also shoots more 3-pointers than the average team. Forty six percent of its field-goal attempts come from behind the arc. That ranks 28th in the country, according to KenPom.com.
The single-season school record for 3-point shooting percentage is 39.2. That was set by the 1989-90 Flyers, who made 261 of 666 in 32 games. It shot 20.8 3s per game.
The current Flyers are averaging 23.3 3-point attempts per game. They would set a school record for attempts if that pace continues. The 2011-12 team averaged 22.7 attempts, while making 34.3%.
There’s a long way to go this season. It won’t be easy for Dayton to maintain its current percentage. Only five teams in the country shot 39% or better last season. Only three teams hit that mark two seasons ago.
2. Nate Santos and Koby Brea rank among the nation’s best 3-point shooters: Among players who attempt at least two 3-pointers a game, Santos leads the nation in percentage (16 of 24, 66.7). He has made the same number of 3s as he did in two seasons at Pittsburgh on 57 fewer shots.
Brea ranks 60th in the nation in 3-point percentage (25 of 52, 48.1). He has pushed his career percentage to 40.6. Brian Roberts (44.1), Norm Grevey (43.2), Negele Knight (42.5) and Ibi Watson (40.6) are the only players in school history to shoot better than 40% in their careers. Brea has 149 career made 3s and needs 10 more to move into the top 10 in the Dayton record book.
3. The offense ranks among Anthony Grant’s best at Dayton: UD also shoots above average from 2-point range (53.2) and at the free-throw line (73.2). KenPom.com ranks the offense 40th in the country in efficiency. That’s Dayton’s best mark since the 2019-20 season when it was second.
Dayton ranks eighth in the country in assist rate. It has recorded an assist on 65.6% of its field goals. That would be the program’s best percentage since the 2001-02 season (67.1).
4. The Flyers are still playing slow: Despite the offseason talk about playing at a faster pace, Dayton ranks 353rd in the country out of 362 teams in adjusted tempo. It was 354th last season. UD’s average offensive possession length of 19 seconds ranks is 0.1 seconds faster than last season but ranks 328th.
5. They need to guard the 3-point line better: The national average from behind the line 3-point line is 33%. Opponents have shot 34.7% against Dayton. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, LSU, Houston and Youngstown State all shot better than 40%. Dayton did a better job in its last two games, holding SMU and Grambling State to 7-of-41 shooting (17.1%).
6. Second-chance points have hurt Dayton: The Flyers rank 295th in the country in offensive-rebounding percentage (33.3). They gave up 33 second-chance points off offensive rebounds in their two losses to Northwestern and Houston.
Dayton’s next opponent, Troy, is coming off back-to-back 20-win seasons. It was picked to finish eighth in the Sun Belt Conference preseason poll.
Dayton and Troy have met once. The Flyers beat the Trojans 87-70 on Dec. 2, 2008, at UD Arena.
Troy has two victories against teams that have visited UD Arena this season. Troy beat Grambling State 80-67 on Nov. 24 and beat SIUE 83-60 in its last game on Dec. 1.
“This looked like the Troy Trojans that I have envisioned,” coach Scott Cross said in a story published on the school website after the SIUE game. “We had a couple four of five minutes spells where we kind of lost our energy and our body language dropped, but outside of that I thought we played a really good all-around game.”
SATURDAY’S GAME
Troy at Dayton, 12:30 p.m., USA Network, 1290, 95.7
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