When: 7 p.m. Friday.
TV/Radio: ESPN2/95.7 and 1290 WHIO.
Series: Dayton leads 23-18. The teams have split eight games in the regular season in the last four seasons. A year ago, Dayton won 67-56 on Jan. 30 at UD Arena and then lost 91-89 in double overtime on Feb. 16 at the Ryan Center. The Flyers then beat Rhode Island 84-72 in the second round of the A-10 tournament.
Last game: Dayton beat Fordham 68-61 on Tuesday at UD Arena. Rhode Island lost 70-63 at home to Richmond on Tuesday.
Coaches: Anthony Grant is 91-48 in five season at Dayton. David Cox is 61-45 in four seasons at Rhode Island.
Probable Dayton starters
Name, Ht., Class, Pos., Points per game
DaRon Holmes II, 6-10, Fr., F, 11.6
Malachi Smith, 6-0, Fr., G, 10.3
Toumani Camara, 6-8, So., F, 10.1
Kobe Elvis, 6-2, Fr., G, 7.5
R.J. Blakney, 6-6, R-Fr., G, 6.1
Probable Rhode Island starters
Mahkel Mitchell, 6-10, So., F, 11.6
Makhi Mitchell, 6-9, So., F, 9.4
Ishmael Leggett, 6-2, R-Fr., G, 8.4
Ishmael El-Amin, 6-3, Sr., G, 7.7
Sebastian Thomas, 6-1, Fr., G, 1.4
About Dayton: KenPom.com gives Dayton a 69 percent chance of winning this game and predicts a 64-59 score. ... Dayton ranks 75th in the NCAA Evaluation Tool. Rhode Island is 116th. .. Holmes blocked three shots Tuesday and now has 50 this season. That’s the fourth-highest total in school history. Only Steve McElvene (55, 2015-16) and Chris Wright (53 in 2009-10 and 51 in 2010-11) stand above him. ... Elijah Weaver, who averages 21.2 minutes per game, did not play against Fordham because of a wrist injury. It’s the first game any of Dayton’s top eight players, in terms of minutes, have missed because of an injury.
About Rhode Island: Jeremy Sheppard, the team’s second-leading scorer (10.9), did not play Tuesday because of a shoulder injury. He started the first 17 games. ... Thomas replaced Sheppard in the starting lineup and did not score in 38 minutes, missing all eight of his field-goal attempts. ... El-Amin is the son of former Connecticut point guard Khalid El-Amin. He’s a fifth-year senior who scored 1,083 points in his first four seasons at Ball State. He played against Dayton in the first game of his college career on Nov. 10, 2017. ... Rhode Island finished 10-15 last season, ending a streak of six straight winning seasons. It was picked to finish seventh in the A-10 preseason poll this season. ... Makhel Mitchell ranks 14th in the country in blocked shots per game (3.1).
Looking ahead: Dayton plays Virginia Commonwealth (12-6, 5-2) at 9 p.m. Wednesday at the Siegel Center in Richmond, Va.
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