Dayton vs. Virginia Tech: What to know about Sunday’s game

Hokies play at UD Arena for first time since 2000

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

Who: Dayton (6-4) vs. Virginia Tech (7-3).

Where: UD Arena.

When: 2 p.m. Sunday.

TV/Radio: ESPN2/95.7 and 1290 WHIO.

Series: Virginia Tech leads 8-6. Dayton won the last matchup 89-62 in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational in 2019. This will be Virginia Tech’s first game against Dayton at UD Arena since Jan. 9, 2000, when the Flyers won 62-59. The teams played nine times between 1996 and 2000 when Virginia Tech was in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Last game: On Wednesday, Dayton lost 75-69 at Southern Methodist, and Virginia Tech beat Cornell 93-60.

Coaches: Anthony Grant is 84-45 in five season at Dayton. Mike Young is 38-26 in three seasons at Virginia Tech.

Probable Dayton starters

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

Toumani Camara, 6-8, So., F, 10.0

Kobe Elvis, 6-2, Fr., G, 6.6

DaRon Holmes II, 6-10, Fr., F, 10.4

Malachi Smith, 6-0, Fr., G, 9.8

R.J. Blakney, 6-6, R-Fr., G, 5.0

Probable Virginia Tech starters

Nahiem Alleyne, 6-4, Jr., G, 12.0

Hunter Cattoor, 6-3, Jr., G, 8.8

Keve Aluma, 6-9, Sr., F, 14.4

Storm Murphy, 6-0, Gr., G, 7.3

Justyn Mutts, 6-7, Gr., F, 10.3

About Dayton: KenPom.com gives Dayton a 40 percent chance of winning this game and predicts a 64-61 score. … Dayton is shooting 32.5 percent from 3-point range. It ranks 202nd in the county. The national average is 33.2. Dayton is shooting 72 percent from the free-throw line. It ranks 132nd. The national average is 70.7. ... In the last four games, Elijah Weaver has scored 50 of his 64 points in the second half. ... This is Dayton’s first non-conference home game on a Sunday since Dec. 22, 2013, when it lost 79-76 in overtime on a last-second 3-pointer by Southern California’s Pe’Shon Howard.

About Virginia Tech: Murphy is a transfer who scored 1,315 points in the last four seasons at Wofford. ... This is the first game in a two-game series. Dayton will play at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va., in the 2022-23 season. The last Atlantic Coast Conference team to play at UD Arena was Georgia Tech, which lost 75-61 in Dayton on Dec. 23, 2014. That game came about because former Dayton coach Brian Gregory’s contract stipulated that his new school would have to play a home-and-home series against Dayton if he left.

Looking ahead: Dayton plays Mississippi (6-2) at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 18 in Oxford, Miss.

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