When: 7 p.m. Wednesday
TV/Radio: CBS Sports Network/95.7 and 1290 WHIO.
Series: VCU leads 14-7. VCU beat Dayton three times last season: 66-43 at the Siegel Center in Richmond on Jan. 23; 76-67 on Feb. 9 at UD Arena; and 73-68 at the Siegel Center in the quarterfinals of the A-10 tournament on March 5.
Last game: On Dec. 21, Dayton beat Southern 69-60 at UD Arena. VCU last played on Dec. 15 when it beat Florida Atlantic 66-46.
Coaches: Anthony Grant is 86-46 in five season at Dayton. Mike Rhoades is 87-47 in his fifth season at VCU.
Probable Dayton starters
Name, Ht., Class, Pos., Points per game
DaRon Holmes II, 6-10, Fr., F, 10.4
Toumani Camara, 6-8, So., F, 10.4
Malachi Smith, 6-0, Fr., G, 10.0
Kobe Elvis, 6-2, Fr., G, 6.6
R.J. Blakney, 6-6, R-Fr., G, 6.5
Probable VCU starters
Vince Williams, 6-6, Sr., G, 10.7
Jayden Nunn, 6-4, Fr., G, 10.0
Adrian Baldwin, 6-1, So., G, 10.0
KeShawn Curry, 6-4, Sr., G, 9.1
Levi Stockard, 6-8, Gr., F, 7.8
About Dayton: KenPom.com gives Dayton a 56 percent chance of winning this game and predicts a 61-60 score. ... Holmes ranks second in the nation among freshmen in dunks (23). Jalen Duren, of Memphis, has 26. ... Dayton ranks 108th in the NCAA Evaluation Tool. VCU is 69th. Dayton is 98th in the Ken Pomeroy ratings. VCU is 77th. ... Dayton has lost its first two A-10 games twice in Grant’s first four seasons: 70-62 at Duquesne in the 2017-18 season and 67-65 to George Mason at UD Arena last season.
About VCU: Baldwin tore his Achilles tendon in June and missed the first eight games this season. He has averaged 23 minutes in the last three games. Last year, as a freshman, he averaged 6.7 points and 4.0 assists. ... VCU picked up its best victory at Vanderbilt, 48-37 on Nov. 17. It also beat Syracuse 67-55 on Nov. 24. It has lost to Wagner, Chattanooga, Baylor and Connecticut. It has won its last four games against Campbell, Jacksonville State, Old Dominion and Florida Atlantic.
Looking ahead: Dayton plays George Washington (4-8) at noon Saturday at the Charles E. Smith Center in Washington, D.C. George Washington hasn’t played since Dec. 13 and has seen its first three A-10 games postponed because of COVID-19 issues. GW is not allowing fans into games until at least Jan. 17 because of a “significant increase in positive COVID-19 cases among members of our university community.”
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