Georgia Southern at Dayton: What you need to know about Saturday’s game

Dayton is 8-2 against Sun Belt Conference teams
Dayton’s Trey Landers looks for a shot against Western Michigan on Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018, at UD Arena. David Jablonski/Staff

Dayton’s Trey Landers looks for a shot against Western Michigan on Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018, at UD Arena. David Jablonski/Staff

Who: Georgia Southern (8-4) at Dayton (7-5)

When: 3:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: UD Arena

TV/Radio: NBC Sports Network/AM 1290 and News 95.7 WHIO

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Probable Dayton starters

Josh Cunningham, 6-8, R-Sr., 15.1

Jalen Crutcher, 6-1, So., G, 13.8

Trey Landers, 6-5, Jr., G, 10.6

Jordan Davis, 6-2, So., G, 9.4

Ryan Mikesell, 6-7, R-Jr., F, 9.0

Probable Georgia Southern starters

Tookie Brown, 5-11, Sr., G, 16.7

Quan Jackson, 6-4, R-So., G, 15.4

Isaiah Crawley, 6-7, Jr., F, 10.2

Montae Glenn, 6-8, Sr., F, 10.1

Elijah McCadden, 6-4, Fr., G, 6.4

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Series history: First meeting. After this game, Dayton will have played seven of the 12 teams in the Sun Belt Conference. Dayton beat Georgia State 88-83 in overtime last season.

Coaches: Anthony Grant is 21-22 in his second season at Dayton. Mark Byington is 98-76 in his sixth season at Georgia Southern.

Last game: Dayton beat Presbyterian 81-69 on Dec. 22. Georgia Southern lost 80-68 at Radford on Dec. 21.

About Dayton: Dayton has a 75 percent chance of winning this game, according to KenPom.com , which predicts an 83-75 score. … Dayton is 6-1 at UD Arena. Georgia Southern is 1-3 in true road games. … Obi Toppin averages 12.7 points off the bench. He ranks second in the country in field-goal percentage (71.6). Cunningham ranks 18th in the same category (64.5). … Landers leads the Flyers with 7.8 rebounds per game. … Crutcher ranks fourth in the Atlantic 10 Conference with 5.8 assists per game.

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About Georgia Southern: Georgia Southern University is located in Statesboro, Ga. The Eagles returned three starters and five lettermen from a team that finished 21-12 last season. They were picked to finish second in the Sun Belt behind Georgia State. … Brown has earned all-conference first team honors three seasons in a row. He has 1,918 career points. … David Lee Jones Jr. is the team's top 3-point shooter (17 of 33, 51.5 percent). … Georgia Southern has played one A-10 team, beating George Mason 98-89 in the second game of the season Nov. 13. It also beat George Mason 74-51 last season. … Georgia Southern is one of the shortest teams in the country, ranking 333rd out of 351 teams in height. Dayton ranks 199th. … Georgia Southern played in Nassau, Bahamas, the week before Dayton did. It won the Island of Bahamas Showcase by beating Florida Atlantic, Pepperdine and Montana.

Looking ahead: Dayton starts Atlantic 10 Conference play in its next game when it hosts Richmond at noon Jan. 6.

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