Dayton vs. Duquesne: What to know about Wednesday’s game

Dukes have not won at UD Arena since 2012

Credit: David Jablonski

Credit: David Jablonski

Who: Dayton (8-5) vs. Duquesne (10-3).

Where: UD Arena.

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday.

What: Atlantic 10 Conference opener for both teams.

TV/Radio: Spectrum News 1/ESPN+/95.7 and 1290 WHIO.

Series: Dayton leads 60-25. Dayton won the first matchup last season, 72-52 on Jan. 15 in Pittsburgh, and won the second game 75-54 on Feb. 9 at UD Arena. Duquesne has lost nine straight games at Dayton since an 83-73 victory on Feb. 1, 2012. Duquesne lost 16 in a row to Dayton from 1997 through 2004. It is 10-22 against the Flyers in the last 32 meetings.

Coaches: Anthony Grant is 110-57 in his sixth season at Dayton. Keith Dambrot is 81-74 in his sixth season at Duquesne.

Last game: Dayton beat Alcorn State 88-46 on Dec. 20. Duquesne beat Winthrop 74-57 on Dec. 21 in Pittsburgh.

KenPom.com odds: Dayton has an 78 percent chance of winning. The website predicts a 69-61 score. Dayton ranks 59th. Duquesne ranks 118th.

NET rankings: Dayton climbed from No. 145 to No. 82 with its last two victories against Wyoming and Alcorn State. It’s the only A-10 team in the top 100. Duquesne is No. 131. It’s the seventh-ranked A-10 team.

Probable Dayton starters

Name, Ht., Class, Pos., Points per game

DaRon Holmes II, 6-10, So., F, 17.7

Toumani Camara, 6-8, Jr., G, 11.8

Mustapha Amzil, 6-9, R-So., F, 10.6

R.J. Blakney, 6-6, R-So., G/F, 7.1

Mike Sharavjamts, 6-8, Fr., G/F, 6.7

Probable Duquesne starters

Dae Dae Grant, 6-2, Jr., G, 17.9

Jimmy Clark, 6-3, Jr., G, 11.3

Joe Reece, 6-8, Sr., F, 9.0

Tre Williams, 6-7, Jr., F, 8.3

Quincy McGriff, 6-6, So., 6.8

About Dayton: The Flyers have won 15 straight games at home since losing 53-52 to VCU on Jan. 5 last season. ... Dayton has won three games in a row against UNC Asheville, Wyoming and Alcorn State since a 77-49 loss at Virginia Tech on Dec. 7. .... Three of Dayton’s top returning guards — Malachi Smith, Kobe Elvis and Koby Brea — have missed a total of 22 games between them this season. Smith and Elvis have both missed the last six games. ... Brea has averaged 5.0 points per game in seven appearances and has twice scored in double figures. ... Dayton has outscored its opponents 265-169 at the free-throw line.

About Duquesne: The Dukes rank 56th in the country in 3-point shooting percentage (36.9). Grant, a transfer from Miami University, has made 44 of 102 (43.1%). ... Austin Rotroff, a 6-10 forward, leads the nation in offensive rebounding percentage (22.0). The Dukes rank eighth in that category (37.9%). ... Williams is the only player on the roster who played against Dayton twice last season. ... Kevin Easley, who averaged 5.7 points in the first three games after averaging 10.7 points last season, entered the transfer portal Dec. 20. He had been suspended for the previous seven games. ... Forward R.J. Gunn, who missed last season with an ankle injury, has not played since the first three games because of a foot injury.

Looking ahead: Dayton plays Davidson (7-5) at 2 p.m. Saturday at Belk Arena in Davidson, N.C. Davidson opens A-10 play at Fordham on Wednesday.

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