Dayton vs. VCU: What to know about tonight's game
Jan. 13—Who: Dayton (12-5, 4-0) vs. Virginia Commonwealth (12-5, 3-1).
Where: UD Arena.
When: 9 p.m. Friday.
TV/Radio: ESPN2/95.7 and 1290 WHIO.
Series: VCU leads 15-8 and has won eight of the last 11 games in the series. VCU beat Dayton 53-52 at UD Arena on Jan. 5 last season, and Dayton then routed VCU 82-52 in Richmond, Va., on Feb. 5. In 2021, VCU beat Dayton three times: 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.
Coaches: Anthony Grant is 114-57 in his sixth season at Dayton. Mike Rhoades is 114-58 in six seasons at VCU.
Last game: On Tuesday, Dayton won 82-58 at Fordham, and VCU won 78-64 at Loyola Chicago.
KenPom.com odds: Dayton has an 79 percent chance of winning. The website predicts a 67-58 score. Dayton ranks 45th. VCU ranks 100th.
NET rankings: Dayton climbed from No. 62 to No. 55 after beating Fordham. VCU is No. 109.
Probable Dayton starters
Name, Ht., Class, Pos., Points per game
DaRon Holmes II, 6-10, So., F, 19.8
Toumani Camara, 6-8, Jr., G, 11.6
Mustapha Amzil, 6-9, R-So., F, 10.4
R.J. Blakney, 6-6, R-So., G/F, 8.1
Mike Sharavjamts, 6-8, Fr., G/F, 6.5
Probable VCU starters
Adrian Baldwin, 6-1, Jr., G, 13.3
Brandon Johns, 6-8, Sr., F, 12.4
Jalen DeLoach, 6-9, So., F, 9.6
Jayden Nunn, 6-4, So., G, 9.2
Nick Kern Jr., 6-6, So., G, 3.3
About Dayton: Dayton has won seven games in a row against UNC Asheville, Wyoming, Alcorn State, Duquesne, Davidson, Saint Joseph's and Fordham since a 77-49 loss at Virginia Tech on Dec. 7. ... Koby Brea averages 5.9 points per game off the bench and has averaged 7.5 points in four A-10 games. ... Holmes leads the nation with 48 dunks. He's a 62.7% free-throw shooter in his career but is shooting 80.6% (25 of 31) at the line in A-10 play. He has scored 32 points in two of the last three games. He's the first Dayton player to score 30 or more points twice in one season since Brian Roberts, who did it four times in the 2007-08 season. ... Dayton seeks its fifth 5-0 start in the A-10. It was 4-0 in 2003, 2004, 2015 and 2020.
About VCU: Jamir Watkins, a 6-7 sophomore forward, started the first 16 games but came off the bench in the last game. He averages 10.9 points. ... Johns played the last four seasons at Michigan and averaged 3.2 points last season. VCU has another Michigan transfer on the roster: junior guard Zeb Jackson, who averages 5.7 points. ... David Shriver, a 6-6 senior guard, is a transfer from Hartford. He averages 6.5 points and made 3 of 3 3-pointers against Loyola. ... VCU ranks ninth in the country in free-throw attempts per game (25.3).
Looking ahead: Dayton plays Davidson (9-8, 2-3) at 7 p.m. Tuesday at UD Arena. Dayton won 69-55 at Davidson on Dec. 31.
