When: Noon, Thursday.
TV/Radio: ESPN2/95.7 and 1290 WHIO.
Series: Dayton leads 7-1. The teams last played on Dec. 6, 1989. Miami won 87-82 at Miami Arena. That was the fourth matchup in a four-year span.
Last game: Dayton lost 87-81 to Austin Peay on Saturday at UD Arena. Miami beat Florida A&M 86-59 on Sunday in Coral Gables, Fla.
Coaches: Anthony Grant is 79-44 in five season at Dayton. Jim Larranaga is 203-131 in 11 seasons at Miami.
Probable Dayton starters
Name, Ht., Class, Pos., Points per game
Elijah Weaver, 6-6, R-Jr., G, 9.3
Toumani Camara, 6-8, So., F, 11.0
DaRon Holmes II, 6-10, Fr., F, 7.3
R.J. Blakney, 6-6, R-Fr., G, 6.3
Malachi Smith, 6-0, Fr., G, 6.3
Probable Miami starters
Kameron McGusty, 6-5, 6th-year, Sr., G, 19.0
Charlie Moore, 5-11, 6th-year Sr., G, 11.3
Rodney Miller Jr., 7-0, 6th-year Sr., C, 4.0
Isaiah Wong, 6-3, R-So., G, 16.0
Sam Waardenburg, 6-10, 6th-year Sr., F, 7.3
About Dayton: KenPom.com gives Dayton a percent 36 percent chance of winning this game and predicts a 71-66 score. ... Three areas where Dayton has had an edge this season are: rebounding (35.3 to 30.3 per game); free throws (62-46); and blocked shots (16-8). ... Dayton is 4-5 in November tournaments in Grant’s tenure. It finished 1-2 in the Charleston Classic in 2017, 1-2 in the Battle 4 Atlantis in 2018; and 2-1 in the Maui Invitational in 2019. It was scheduled to play in the Myrtle Beach Invitational and the Crossover Classic in South Dakota in 2020, but the pandemic changed the schedule.
About Miami: The Hurricanes finished 10-17 last season. It was the program’s third straight losing season. It last played in the NCAA tournament in 2018. That was its third straight appearance. ... Miami last played in a November tournament in 2019, finishing 1-2 in the Charleston Classic. It reached the championship game of the Wooden Legacy in 2018, losing to Seton Hall in the championship. ... Moore was a teammate of Dayton guard Kobe Elvis last season at DePaul. This is his fourth school. He played at California as a freshman and then played one season at Kansas. ... Jordan Miller, a fourth-year junior guard, played the last three seasons at George Mason, scoring 897 points. He scored 31 points in two games against Dayton last season. He’s averaging 5.0 points this season.
Looking ahead: Dayton will play Kansas (3-0) or North Texas (2-1) in the semifinals or the consolation round on Friday. Those teams play at 2 or 2:30, or 20 minutes after the conclusion of the Dayton-Miami game, on Thursday. Dayton will play at 11 a.m. Friday if it loses Thursday and at 1 or 1:30 if it wins. The other first-round games Thursday are: Alabama (4-0) vs. Iona (5-0) at 5 p.m.; and Belmont (3-2) vs. Drake (3-0) at 7:30 p.m.
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