“They’re a deep team,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said Thursday. “Even though they’ve got a lot of new pieces, they’re a veteran team because guys have college experience. They’re one of the best defensive teams I’ve seen and we’ll have faced up to this point with their ability to do the things we have to get better at. No. 1 is their ability to turn you over and have their defense create offense for them. They’re elite at their ability to do that. And they’re a great rebounding team like many of the teams we’ve played this year. Those two things really stick out when you watch them play and also the numbers they can throw at you and the intensity they play with for 40 minutes has been pretty impressive to watch.”
Like Mississippi State, who had not beaten anyone in the top 100 of the Ken Pomeroy rankings, Ole Miss enters this game without a signature victory. It has routed Jackson State, UNC Wilmington, Central Arkansas and Middle Tennessee State by an average of 22 points.
The Rebels stayed on the road after their 70-51 victory Wednesday at Middle Tennessee State. Coach Kermit Davis told reporters after the game his team would undergo COVID-19 tests on Thursday in Nashville at Vanderbilt University and then bus to Dayton.
Ole Miss got a late start this season because of COVID-19 issues. It cancelled its three opening games Nov. 25-27, rescheduling two of them, and also had to call off a Dec. 5 game against Memphis. It opened the season Dec. 10, nine days after Dayton.
For the Flyers, this might be the last chance to improve their non-conference resume. As of Thursday, Dayton had not announced if it was playing a game early next week, though it was looking for a game. Even the players did not know if they were going to get to go home for Christmas of if they’d be on campus preparing to play.
The schedule has been a work in progress since November when Dayton lost four early opponents because of COVID-19 issues. A victory Saturday would build on Dayton’s 85-82 victory against Mississippi State in Atlanta.
Mississippi State ranks 78th in the Pomeroy ratings. Ole Miss is 40th. Dayton is 60th. The first NCAA Evaluation Tool rankings won’t be released until Jan. 4.
Dayton guard Jalen Crutcher said the Flyers learned they can beat any team with their last victory.
“We showed resilience,” Crutcher said. “That last game showed a lot. We can be as good as last year’s team.”
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