Where: UD Arena
TV/Radio: CBS Sports Network, FM 95.7, AM 1290 WHIO
Probable Dayton starters
Scoochie Smith, 6-2, Sr., G, 13.3
Kyle Davis, 6-0, Sr., G, 7.9
Charles Cooke, 6-5, Sr., G, 19.2
Ryan Mikesell, 6-7, So., F, 7.0
Kendall Pollard, 6-6, Sr., F, 11.0
Probable La Salle starters
B.J. Johnson, 6-7, Jr., F, 20.2
Jordan Price, 6-5, Sr., G, 18.5
Cleon Roberts, 6-6, Sr., G, 9.1
Amar Stukes, 6-2, Jr., G, 6.6
Tony Washington, 6-7, Jr., C, 4.8
Series history: Dayton leads 27-16. The teams split games last season with Dayton winning 59-44 at home and La Salle winning 61-57 in Philadelphia. The Flyers have won 12 straight at home in the series.
Coaches: Dayton's Archie Miller is 124-58 in his sixth season. La Salle's John Giannini is 190-196 in his 13th season. He is in his 28th season overall with stints at Maine University and Rowan University.
About Dayton: Dayton is 3-2 in Atlantic 10 openers under Miller. … UD closed the non-conference slate winning seven of its last eight games, including a 92-56 win over VMI a week ago. The Flyers made 15 shots from three, tying the school single-game record and also had seven players score in double figures for the first time under Miller in that win, despite sitting leading scorer Charles Cooke with a wrist injury. Cooke, who has scored in double figures in 16 straight games dating back to last season, is expected to return Friday. … In the VMI win, Smith became the 46th Flyer to reach the 1,000 point mark but he will become with sixth player in program history to be a member of UD's 1,000 point, 400 assist club with one more assist. …The Flyers have won 30 consecutive games when scoring 80-plus points. … Dayton, 40th in the KenPom.com rankings, has the third-highest scoring offense in the A-10, averaging 77.4 points per game.
About La Salle : The Explorers are coming off a 98-96 triple-overtime victory at Mercer on Dec. 22 and bring a two-game win streak to Dayton. Price led the team with 26 points. … La Salle ranks second in the A-10 while averaging 84.2 points per game and averages just 10.9 turnovers per game, which puts the Explorers 20th among all NCAA Division I teams. …Sophomore guard Pookie Powell is fifth in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio at 4.43. Powell averages 12.7 points and has dished out 31 assists and turned the ball over just seven times in 10 games. … Three of La Salle's losses came against teams ranked in the KenPom.com top 100, including No. 1 Villanova, No. 52 Georgetown and No. 85 Temple. KenPom.com lists La Salle at No. 99.
Looking ahead: Dayton plays at St. Bonaventure at 8 p.m. Jan. 3 and returns home Jan. 6 against Rhode Island. Dayton plays five games on the road in January and three at home.
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