Preview: Dayton vs. Xavier

Dayton (16-9, 6-5 Atlantic 10) at Xavier (16-9, 7-4)

Time, TV: 8 p.m. CBS Sports Network

Radio: WHIO-FM (95.7), WHIO-AM (1290)

Series record: UD leads 84-72

Starting lineups:

DAYTON

Yr

Ht

P

PPG

Kevin Dillard

Jr.

6-0

G

12.7

Paul Williams

Sr.

6-4

G

8.4

Chris Johnson

Sr.

6-6

F

11.8

Luke Fabrizius

Sr.

6-9

F

6.6

Matt Kavanaugh

Jr.

6-9

C

9.2

XAVIER

Yr

Ht

P

PPG

Tu Holloway

Sr.

6-0

G

16.6

Brad Redford

Jr.

6-1

G

4.0

Dezmine Wells

Fr.

6-5

F

9.8

Andre Walker

Sr.

6-8

F

5.6

Kenny Frease

Sr.

7-0

C

8.6

About Dayton

The Flyers won the first game with Xavier, 87-72, at UD Arena on Jan. 21. They continue to excel at the foul line. They went 20-of-24 against Charlotte on Wednesday and are hitting 76.4 percent. They shot 67.7 last season and haven’t topped 70 percent since 2004-05. They currently have the second-best mark in school history, and the record of 77.3 set in 1982-83 is within range. Individually, Chris Johnson is third in the league (85.7), Kevin Dillard seventh (81.0) and Matt Kavanaugh 10th (80.3). ... Johnson is 12th in the A-10 in rebounding (6.3) and seventh in 3-pointers per game (2.1). He’s the only player in the league to rank in the top 12 in both categories.

About Xavier

The Musketeers have been nearly invincible at home in past seasons but are 10-3 in the Cintas Center this year, losing to Oral Roberts (minus several suspended players), Gonzaga and Saint Louis. The Billikens snapped Xavier’s 43-game A-10 home winning streak. ... The Musketeers are second in the league in both field-goal percentage defense (39.4) and 3-point percentage defense (30.8). ... Brad Redford has started the last three games in place of Mark Lyons. Coming back from a torn knee ligament, Redford once led the A-10 in 3-point shooting and was Michigan’s Mr. Basketball in high school. Lyons, a third-team all-league pick last season, is the team’s second-leading scorer at 15.8 per game.

FYI

UD won the “Best Under-the-Radar College Basketball Atmosphere” contest sponsored by Enterprise Rent-A-Car. The Flyers beat out nine other schools through a two-week Facebook voting competition. A feature on the Red Scare spirit group and the UD crowds will be aired during CBS-TV’s coverage of the NCAA Elite Eight at 1 p.m. Sunday, March 25.

Quote, unquote

“This is a game where there’s a lot of emotion and pride. If I was a betting man, I’d say those guys have watched our (first) game a few times and there’s been a few clips shown to their players to get them motivated. We’re going to have to go in there and take some punches and at the same time find a way to give a couple as well.” — UD coach Archie Miller

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