Of course, both of those players and everyone else in the Dayton rotation is on the court as much for their defense as their offense. The Flyers are on the brink of 20 victories for the third time in four years because they have their best defense in six years.
That defense will face a good test at 7 p.m. Wednesday when second-place Dayton (19-8, 11-3) plays ninth-place Massachusetts (12-13, 5-8), which owns the worst defense in the Atlantic 10 Conference but the best 3-point shooting offense.
“What I’ve seen up to this point is they’re one of the best offensive teams in our league,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said Monday on the Anthony Grant Show on WHIO Radio. “They’ve done a really good job with their numbers in terms of efficiency. They shoot the 3. This game will remind us of the Saint Joseph’s game in terms of the number of 3s they get up and their ability to make them. They’re among the league leaders in the percentage of total shots that are from the 3-point line. I think they make 10 a game. They can put five guys on the court at a time who are capable of making multiple 3s. We’ve got to do a good job defensively.”
Dayton counters with a defense that ranks 34th in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com. Dayton ranked 109th last season. The 29-2 team of 2019-20 ranked 38th. The last time Dayton ranked higher than 34th was 2016 when it was 15th. Only the 2010 NIT championship team ranked higher (ninth).
According to the Ken Pomeroy website, Dayton ranks 20th in the nation in giving up 92.8 points per 100 possessions. Eleven of the teams ahead of it rank in the top 25 of the Associated Press poll. Virginia Commonwealth, often the top defensive team in the Atlantic 10 Conference, ranks seventh (89.3).
Dayton is slightly better than average at defending the 3-pointer. Teams shoot 33.1 percent against it, and the national average is 33.3.
Where Dayton has excelled is inside the paint. DaRon Holmes II ranks fourth in the conference with a school-record 66 blocks. Toumani Camara affects his share of shots, as does R.J. Blakney.
Dayton’s interior defenders might not get many chances Wednesday. UMass ranks third-to-last in the country in points scored inside the arc (39.9%). It scores 40.5% of its points (13th in the country) from 3-point range and 19.7% (83rd) at the free-throw line. By comparison, Dayton scores 28.8% of its points from 3-point range, 54.5% from 2-point range and 16.6% at the free-throw line.
UMass likes to shoot 3-pointers because it can make them. It leads the A-10 in 3-point accuracy (39.1). Six players have made at least 15 3s with Rich Kelly (59 of 120, 49.2%) leading the A-10 in accuracy. UMass has eight players who average between 5 and 15 points per game.
“I think that’s how the game should be played,” UMass coach Matt McCall said Saturday after an 80-74 victory at home against La Salle. “I think the best teams I’ve ever been a part of, whether it was at Florida or Chattanooga, there’s always been great balance. There’s always been five or six guys that averaged double figures. The 29-win team at Chattanooga, my leading scorer was around 12 or 13, but we had seven guys anywhere between 8 and 13 points. There’s too much firepower out there for not to have balance.”
WEDNESDAY’S GAME
UMass at Dayton, 7 p.m., Spectrum News 1, 1290, 95.7
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