Dayton vs. Saint Louis: What to know about Saturday’s game

Flyers have won five straight games in series

Who: Dayton (15-7, 7-2) at Saint Louis (15-6, 6-2).

Where: Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Mo.

When: 2 p.m. Saturday.

TV/Radio: ESPNU/95.7 and 1290 WHIO.

Series: Dayton leads 39-28. The Flyers have won five straight games against the Billikens. Dayton won 76-71 at Saint Louis and 76-53 at UD Arena last season and 68-63 on Jan. 11 at UD Arena. Since losing seven times in a nine-game stretch starting in 2009, Dayton has 14 victories in 17 games against the Billikens.

Last game: On Wednesday, Dayton won 82-52 at Virginia Commonwealth and Saint Louis won 92-90 at George Mason in double overtime.

Coaches: Anthony Grant is 92-48 in five seasons at Dayton. Travis Ford is 104-71 in six seasons at Saint Louis.

Probable Dayton starters

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

DaRon Holmes II, 6-10, Fr., F, 12.0

Toumani Camara, 6-8, So., F, 10.8

Malachi Smith, 6-0, Fr., G, 9.7

Kobe Elvis, 6-2, Fr., G, 8.3

R.J. Blakney, 6-6, R-Fr., G, 5.8

Probable Saint Louis starters

Gibson Jimerson, 6-5, Fr., G, 17.6

Yuri Collins, 6-0, So., G, 11.4

Francis Okoro, 6-9, Jr., F, 10.0

Jordan Nesbitt, 6-6, Fr., G, 9.7

Fred Thatch, 6-3, So., G, 7,.,2

About Dayton: KenPom.com gives Dayton a 39 percent chance of winning this game and predicts a 68-65 score. ... Holmes has averaged 14.1 points in A-10 games. He ranks 15th in the conference. He leads the conference in shooting percentage (66.7). Holmes is tied for fourth in the country with 54 dunks. Trayce Jackson-Davis, of Indiana, has 58. Walker Kessler, of Auburn, has 55. ... This is the second time in Grant’s five seasons Dayton has started 7-2 in the A-10. In 2019, it started 7-2 and finished 13-5.

About Saint Louis: The Billikens lead the A-10 with 78.3 points per game in conference play. Dayton ranks 10th (66.1). Dayton and Saint Louis rank first (11.7) and second (10.5), respectively in scoring margin. ... Collins had 35 points and 13 assists against George Mason. He also hit the game-winning shot at the buzzer in the second overtime. Saint Louis blew an 11-point lead in the final four minutes of the second half. ... The only other A-10 loss for Saint Louis came at Massachusetts: 91-85 on Jan. 20.

Looking ahead: Dayton plays Duquesne (6-13, 1-6) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at UD Arena. The Flyers won the first game 72-52 on Jan. 15.

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