Dayton vs. UNC Asheville: What to know about Saturday’s game

Flyers are 5-0 at home and 0-5 away from UD Arena
Dayton coaches, including Anthony Grant, and players stand for the national anthem before a game against Virginia Tech on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022, at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va. David Jablonski/Staff

Credit: David Jablonski

Credit: David Jablonski

Dayton coaches, including Anthony Grant, and players stand for the national anthem before a game against Virginia Tech on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022, at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va. David Jablonski/Staff

Who: Dayton (5-5) vs. UNC Asheville (6-3).

Where: UD Arena.

When: 2 p.m. Saturday.

TV/Radio: USA Network/95.7 and 1290 WHIO.

Series: This is the first meeting. Dayton is 10-0 against the Big South Conference.

Coaches: Anthony Grant is 107-57 in his sixth season at Dayton. Mike Morrell is 52-71 in five seasons at Asheville.

Last game: Dayton lost 77-49 at Virginia Tech on Wednesday. Asheville beat Warren Wilson College, a Division III school, 122-70 on Wednesday.

KenPom.com odds: Dayton has an 85 percent chance of winning. The website predicts a 72-61 score. Asheville ranks 204th. Dayton is No. 77, down from No. 24 in the preseason.

NET rankings: Dayton fell from No. 159 to No. 187 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool after its loss to Virginia Tech. Asheville is No. 193.

Probable Dayton starters

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

DaRon Holmes II, 6-10, So., F, 15.6

Toumani Camara, 6-8, Jr., G, 10.8

Mustapha Amzil, 6-9, R-So., F, 10.5

Mike Sharavjamts, 6-8, Fr., G/F, 8.1

R.J. Blakney, 6-6, R-So., G/F, 6.6

Probable Asheville starters

Drew Pember, 6-10, Sr., F, 21.2

Tajion Jones, 6-5, Gr., G, 14.9

Fletcher Abee, 6-3, Jr., G, 9.0

Nick McMullen, 6-8, Jr., F, 8.0

Trent Stephney, 6-2, Sr., G, 6.4

About Dayton: Camara reached the 1,000-point milestone Wednesday. He scored 529 points in two seasons at Georgia and has 479 in two seasons at Dayton. ... Dayton has won 13 games in a row at UD Arena. ... Dayton is shooting 51.4% from 2-point range. That’s the lowest number in Grant’s six seasons. It ranked second (59.5), second (59.5) and first (62.3) in the nation in his first three seasons.

About Asheville: Its best victory came in its season opener. It beat Central Florida 98-95 in double overtime. UCF is 6-2 and ranks 91st in the NET. Asheville has since lost three games to teams ranked below 200 in the Pomeroy ratings. ... Pember played his first two seasons at Tennessee and the last two at Asheville. He was the Big South Defensive Player of the Year last season. ... Jones is in his sixth season with the program and fifth season on the court. He has scored 1,600 points in his career. He leads the team in 3-point shooting (23 of 48, 47.9). ... Asheville ranks 10th in the country in 3-point shooting percentage (40.9).

Looking ahead: Dayton plays Wyoming (4-5) at 8 p.m. Dec. 17 at the United Center in Chicago.

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