When: 7 p.m. Wednesday.
TV/Radio: CBS Sports Network/95.7 and 1290 WHIO.
Series: Dayton leads 18-14. Dayton has won six straight games in the series — by a combined margin of 91 points — since an 86-82 double-overtime loss at UMass in 2018. Dayton beat UMass twice last season: 82-61 at UD Arena on Feb. 23; and 75-72 in the quarterfinals of the A-10 tournament on March 11. Dayton has not played in Amherst since 2020 when it won 71-63.
Coaches: Anthony Grant is 120-61 in his sixth season at Dayton. Frank Martin is 14-13 in his first season at UMass.
Last game: On Friday, Dayton won 65-49 at Loyola Chicago. UMass won 69-45 at Rhode Island on Saturday.
KenPom.com odds: Dayton has a 68% percent chance of winning. The website predicts a 70-65 score. Dayton ranks 70th. UMass is No. 182.
NET rankings: Dayton is No. 74. UMass is No. 179.
Probable Dayton starters
Name, Ht., Class, Pos., Points per game
DaRon Holmes II, 6-10, So., F, 17.6
Toumani Camara, 6-8, Jr., G, 14.1
Kobe Elvis, 6-2, R-So., G, 8.5
Malachi Smith, 6-0, So., G, 8.0
Koby Brea, 6-6, R-So., G, 7.0
Probable UMass starters
RJ Luis, 6-7, Fr., F, 10.5
TJ Weeks, 6-4, R-Jr., G, 9.0
Isaac Kante, 6-7, Gr., F. 6.7
Keon Thompson, 6-0, Fr., G, 5.7
Wildens Leveque, 6-10, Sr., F/C, 5.3
About Dayton: Dayton seeks its second four-game winning streak of the season in A-10 play. It started 4-0 before losing three of four games. ... Dayton ranks 27th in the country in block percentage (12.9), according KenPom.com. The number is calculated by dividing blocked shots by opponents two-point field-goal attempts. It’s Dayton’s highest percentage and ranking since the website started keeping track in the 1996-97 season. DaRon Holmes ranks 100th in the country in block percentage (6.1). He leads the A-10 with 1.8 blocks per game. He has 129 blocks in his career. That ranks third in school history behind Chris Wright (162) and Sean Finn (139).
About UMass: Leveque played the last three seasons with Martin at South Carolina. He averaged 6.6 points in 29 games last season. Graduate student Brandon Martin, who has missed the last two games with injuries, also played at South Carolina last season. ... Kante has played for four schools in six years: Georgia (2017-18); Hofstra (2018-21); Long Island (2021-22); and UMass. ... UMass leads the country in bench minutes. Reserves play 46.2% of the team’s minutes. No one on the team averages more than 30 minutes per game. Junior forward Dyondre Dominguez, who averages 9.5 points in 19.5 minutes per game, leads the reserves. ... Derek Kellogg, who was the head coach at UMass from 2008-17, is an assistant coach on Martin’s staff. ... UMass ranks ninth in the A-10 in home attendance (3,497).
Looking ahead: Dayton plays George Mason (16-12, 8-7) at 6 p.m. Saturday at UD Arena. The game will air on ESPNU.
Credit: David Jablonski
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