Dayton’s next opponent, Rhode Island, also dealing with inconsistency in January

“I got my vaccine Monday, so I’m feeling great,” said Hal McCoy, the Hall of Fame baseball writer who still writes about the Reds for the Dayton Daily News and covers the Flyers for Press Pros Magazine.

Until that point, all of the questions were about the Flyers, who were feeling good themselves after beating Saint Louis 76-71 on Tuesday at Chaifetz Arena.

Dayton’s first victory against a top-25 team since December 2015 came three days after its most lopsided loss since 2018, a 66-43 setback at Virginia Commonwealth.

Those two results — each a surprise in their own way — were par for the course in an up-and-down month that includes one more game. Dayton plays Rhode Island at 4 p.m. Saturday at UD Arena. The game will be televised by the CBS Sports Network.

The Rams (9-8, 6-4) are in seventh place, one spot back of the Flyers (9-4, 5-3), in the Atlantic 10 Conference. In Dayton coach Anthony Grant’s first three seasons, the series against Rhode Island is tied 3-3.

The Rams swept Dayton in 2018 when they won their first outright A-10 championship. The Flyers routed the Rams twice last season on their way to an 18-0 finish in the league. In between, the teams split two games.

“They’re a really talented team,” Grant said. “They’ve got great size. They appear to be a deep team, a team that’s playing well on both sides of the ball. Anytime our teams get together, there’s a rich history. In my four years here, they’ve been one of the better teams in the league.”

Rhode Island finished third in the league last season but lost two key seniors, Cyril Langevine and Jeff Dowtin, and saw five players leave the program in the spring. It also added five transfers. It’s almost a whole new team with the exception of senior guard Fatts Russell, who has scored 1,497 points in the last four seasons.

Rhode Island has suffered from the same inconsistency as Dayton during A-10 play. It’s the only team to beat first-place Saint Bonaventure (63-57 on Dec. 30). It handed VCU one of its worst losses: 83-68 in Richmond on Jan. However, it also has lost to Davidson, Richmond, Massachusetts and Duquesne. It has won its last two games by double digits against teams that beat Dayton: Fordham and La Salle.

Rhode Island is winning games with defense. It has the second-most efficient defense in the A-10, according to the Ken Pomeroy ratings. VCU has the best, and its defense shut down Dayton a week ago.

“We’ve got to come out and play just like we did against Saint Louis,” Dayton guard Jalen Crutcher said. “We have to play hard because we know how good that team is. We know they play hard. This game right here, I think it’s important for both teams. It’s going to be a great game. We’ve just got to come out and dominate the game.”