Dayton vs. Toledo: What to know about Wednesday’s game

Flyers and Rockets play for first time since 2009
Dayton's Kobe Elvis shoots against  Richmond in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament on Saturday, March 12, 2022, at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. David Jablonski/Staff

Credit: David Jablonski

Credit: David Jablonski

Dayton's Kobe Elvis shoots against Richmond in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament on Saturday, March 12, 2022, at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. David Jablonski/Staff

Who: Dayton (23-10) vs. Toledo (26-7).

What: First round of the National Invitation Tournament.

Where: Savage Arena, Toledo.

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday.

TV/Radio: ESPN+/95.7 and 1290 WHIO.

Series: Dayton leads 32-18. The Flyers have won three straight in the series. The teams last played in 2009. The Flyers won 77-63 at Toledo. Toledo last beat Dayton in 1998, 56-55 at UD Arena.

Coaches: Anthony Grant is 101-51 in five seasons at Dayton. Tod Kowalczyk is 231-160 in 12 seasons at Toledo.

Last game: Dayton lost 68-64 to Richmond in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament Saturday in Washington, D.C. Toledo lost 70-62 to Akron in the Mid-American Conference tournament semifinals on Friday in Cleveland.

Probable Dayton starters

Name, Ht., Class, Pos., Points per game

DaRon Holmes II, 6-10, Fr., F, 12.5

Toumani Camara, 6-8, R-So., G 11.1

Kobe Elvis, 6-2, R-Fr., G, 8.6

Koby Brea, 6-6, R-Fr., G, 8.0

R.J. Blakney, 6-6, R-Fr., G, 6.5

Probable Toledo starters

Ryan Rollins, 6-4, So., G, 19.0

JT Shumate, 6-7, Jr., F, 15.5

Setric Milner, 6-7, Jr., F, 14.9

RayJ Denis, 6-2, Jr., G, 12.7

Ra’Heim Moss, 6-4, Fr., G, 8.8

About Dayton: KenPom.com gives Dayton a 48 percent chance of winning this game and predicts a 73-625 score. ... Dayton ranks 58th in the NCAA Evaluation Tool. Toledo is 75th. ... Holmes made the All-A-10 tournament team after scoring a career-high 28 points against Massachusetts and 15 points against Richmond. ... If Malachi Smith doesn’t play, Brea or Mustapha Amzil are the players most likely to start in his place. Smith hurt his ankle on the last play of the first half Saturday and did not return. Dayton has not provided an update on his status.

About Toledo: Toledo is 13-1 at home. Its only loss came on Feb. 15 against Kent State. ... Dennis played his first two seasons at Boise State before transferring to Toledo. ... This is Toledo’s 11th NIT appearance and its first home game since 2001 when it beat South Alabama 76-67. Toledo lost 76-66 to Richmond in the first round last season and lost 78-64 to Xavier in the first round in 2019. ... Toledo ranks 355th in the country out of 358 teams in bench minutes. Its five starters all play between 30 and 33 minutes per game. In its last game, four starters played 37 minutes, and Moss, a Springfield High School product, played 35.

Looking ahead: The winner will play Vanderbilt (17-16) or Belmont (25-7) in the second round in Nashville, where both schools are located, on Saturday or Sunday. Dayton would have to beat Toledo and then win in the second round to host a game in the quarterfinals because UD Arena is booked this week with the First Four and the boys basketball state championship games.

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