Where: Palumbo Center, Pittsburgh
TV/Radio: Fox Sports Ohio; AM 1290, News 95.7 WHIO
RELATED: ‘New season, fresh start’ await Dayton in A-10 opener
Probable Dayton starters
Darrell Davis, 6-5, Sr., G, 16.5
Jordan Davis, 6-2, Fr., G, 8.2
Trey Landers, 6-5, So., G, 7.7
Josh Cunningham, 6-7, R-Jr., F, 16.3
John Crosby, 6-3, Jr., G, 6.0
Probable Duquesne starters
Tydus Verhoeven, 6-8, Fr., F, 3.5
Chas Brown, 6-8, Gr., F, 4.0
Eric Williams Jr., 6-5, Fr., G, 14.2
Mike Lewis II, 6-1, So., G, 16.5
Rene Castro-Cannedy, 6-2, Gr., G, 12.5
Series history: Dayton leads 53-22. Dayton swept the series last season, winning 76-57 in Pittsburgh and 90-53 at UD Arena. The Flyers have won four games in a row in the series and eight of the last nine.
Coaches: Anthony Grant is 6-6 as Dayton head coach. His career record in 10 seasons is 199-116. Keith Dambrot is 9-4 in his first season at Duquesne. He spent the previous 13 seasons at Akron, where he was 305-139. Dambrot replaced Jim Ferry, who was 60-97 in five seasons.
Last games: Dayton beat Wagner 79-67 on Dec. 23 at UD Arena. Duquesne lost 74-64 to Southern Illinois on Dec. 23 in Las Vegas, Nev.
About Dayton: KenPom.com gives Dayton a 55 percent chance of winning and predicts a 67-66 score. Dayton ranks 133rd in the Pomeroy ratings. Duquesne is 206th. Dayton is 70th in the RPI. Duquesne is 265th. … Dayton ranks third in the nation in strength of schedule, according to ESPN, or 108th, according to KenPom.com. Duquesne ranks 343rd in strength of schedule, according to ESPN, and 350th, according to Pomeroy. … The Flyers lead the A-10 in field-goal percentage (46.3). Dayton ranks 12th out of 14 teams in 3-point field-goal percentage defense (37.9).
About Duquesne: Brown is a graduate transfer from Coppin State. … The Dukes won seven games in a row before losing to Southern Illinois. … Duquesne is one victory away from matching last year's win total. It was 10-22 in Ferry's last season. Duquesne last had a winning season in 2011-12 (16-15). … Junior guard Tarin Smith scored a career-high 26 points in the last game. … Verhoeven ranks seventh in the nation among freshmen in blocks per game (2.23). … Duquesne leads the A-10 in scoring defense (63.8 points per game). … Duquesne has five transfers on the roster sitting out this season.
Next game: Dayton plays St. Bonaventure at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at UD Arena. CBS Sports Network will televise the game.
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