“I’m very versatile,” he said. “I can guard multiple positions. I can rebound really well. I’m vocal. I can hit the open shot. Just doing whatever the team needs, that’s really what I can bring.”
That’s what Simon has done — albeit in a small role. He has played a total of 50 minutes in 11 games. Those minutes haven’t all come at the end of games in blowouts. He has often received meaningful playing time. In Dayton’s 71-63 victory against No. 6 Marquette on Dec. 14, for example, Simon entered a tie game with 7 minutes, 31 seconds remaining, grabbed a defensive rebound and then returned to the bench after playing a total of 35 seconds.
Zed Key scored a go-ahead layup and then Marquette committed a turnover in the brief time Simon was on the court.
“In the limited amount of time that he was out there, he impacted the game,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said after the game. “He was a big part of what we did all week. Marquette is a team that has a lot of really good players, a lot of veteran players, a lot of experience out there. In order to be able to match that for 40 minutes, you need everybody. Whether it’s for 30 seconds or 30 minutes, it’s really valuable when guys can come in and understand what the assignment is.”
That’s a lesson the Flyers should remember as Atlantic 10 Conference play begins this week. Dayton (10-3) plays La Salle (8-5) at 2 p.m. Tuesday. It’s one of seven A-10 games on New Year’s Eve.
Even if Simon never plays a major role in a game this season, Dayton needs him and all its role players in the 18 games ahead. The Flyers follow the game against La Salle with road games against George Washington (11-2) on Saturday and Massachusetts (5-8) on Jan 8. Then they get a one-week break. Starting Jan. 15 with a home game against George Mason (9-4), they will play two games every week the rest of the way.
Credit: David Jablonski
Here’s are 10 things to know about the game against La Salle:
1. Series history: Dayton is 31-18 against La Salle and has won the last two games in the series: 77-53 at UD Arena on Feb. 28, 2023; and 66-54 at La Salle on Jan. 23, 2024.
The Explorers have won once in their last 16 trips to UD Arena. They beat Dayton 67-65 on Dec. 30, 2020, ending a 14-game losing streak at Dayton. That game was played in front of a mostly empty arena during the pandemic.
2. Dayton’s streak: The Flyers have won 25 straight home games since losing 74-69 to George Mason on Feb. 25, 2023.
This is the third-longest streak in school history. The Flyers won 30 home games in a row from March 2008 to January 2010 and 27 in a row from February 2014 to December 2016.
Dayton’s home winning streak is tied for the third longest active streak in the country. Houston has won 29 straight home games. Connecticut and Drake have won 27 straight. Dayton, Iowa State and Samford have all won 25 in a row.
3. State of the program: In the third year for coach Fran Dunphy, La Salle is trying to end a streak of four straight losing seasons and nine straight non-winning seasons. It finished 15-15 in 2019-20 and 2016-17. It was 16-17 last season and 6-12 in the A-10. It was picked to finish last in the 15-team league in the A-10 preseason poll before this season.
La Salle hasn’t reached the 20-win mark since it finished 24-10 in the 2012-13 season, which was also the last time it played in the NCAA tournament. It reached the Sweet 16 that season. The only other A-10 team to advance that deep in the NCAA tournament in the last 10 NCAA tournaments was Dayton, which reached the Elite Eight in 2014.
4. Season summary: La Salle started 4-0 with victories against American, Lafayette, Cornell and Drexel. It is 0-3 against teams ranked in the top 100 of the NCAA Evaluation Tool, losing 93-67 at No. 32 North Carolina, 72-67 to No. 57 UC San Diego and 82-68 to No. 95 Saint Joseph’s. It recorded its best victories against No. 122 Cornell and No. 126 Temple.
5. Transfer portal losses: After leading La Salle in scoring the last two seasons, guard Khalil Brantley is playing his final season at Oklahoma State. He’s starting and averaging 8.6 points per game.
• Guard Jhamir Brickus transferred to Villanova after four seasons at La Salle. He’s starting and averaging 11.5 points per game.
6. Top returner: Daeshon Shepherd, a 6-foot-5 senior guard, ranks second in scoring (11.5).
7. Top transfer: Corey McKeithan, a 5-10 senior guard, leads the team in scoring (16.7) after playing the last three seasons at Rider. He’s the team’s top 3-point threat (27 of 73, 37%).
8. Top freshman: Deuce Jones, a 6-2 guard, ranks fourth in scoring (10.3). He has twice won the A-10 Rookie of the Week award.
9. Strength and weaknesses: La Salle ranks 284th in the country in 2-point field-goal percentage (47.4). The national average is 51%. Dayton ranks 42nd (57.1).
• La Salle averages 11.1 turnovers per game. That’s the fifth-lowest number in the A-10. Dayton leads the conference in that category (9.5).
10. Odds & Ends: KenPom.com gives Dayton a 93% chance of winning and predicts an 83-67 score. Dayton is No. 31 in the Pomeroy ratings. La Salle is No. 160.
• Dayton ranks 41st in the NET. It is the highest-ranked A-10 team. No. 149 La Salle is the 10th highest-ranked A-10 team.
This is a Quad 3 game for Dayton and a Quad 1 game for La Salle.
Dayton is 2-3 in Quad 1 games, 1-0 in Quad 2, 1-0 in Quad 3 and 5-0 in Quad 4. La Salle is 0-1 in Quad 1, 0-2 in Quad 2, 3-2 in Quad 3 and 4-0 in Quad 4
TUESDAY’S GAME
La Salle at Dayton, 2 p.m., Fan Duel Sports Network, ESPN+, 95.7, 1290
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