Who: Duquesne (9-14, 2-8) at Dayton (16-5, 7-2)
When: 12:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: UD Arena
TV/Radio: NBC Sports Network; 95.7 FM, AM 1290 WHIO
Probable Dayton starters
Scoochie Smith, 6-2, Sr., G, 13.5
Darrell Davis, 6-5, Jr., G, 5.5
Ryan Mikesell, 6-7, So., F, 6.7
Kendall Pollard, 6-6, Sr., F, 13.3
Charles Cooke, 6-5, Sr., G, 17.2
Probable Duquesne starters
Isiaha Mike, 6-8, Fr., F, 10.4
Nakye Sanders, 6-8, So., F, 5.6
Emile Blackman, 6-3, Sr., G, 12.1
Mike Lewis II, 6-1, Fr., G, 13.2
Tarin Smith, 6-2, So., G, 9.5
Series history: Dayton leads 52-22. The Flyers won 76-57 on Jan. 14 in Pittsburgh. They have won three straight games in the series. In its last game at UD Arena on Feb. 9, 2016, Duquesne blew a 12-point lead in the final six minutes. The Flyers took the lead with a 10-0 run in the final minutes.
Coaches: Dayton’s Archie Miller is 131-60 in his sixth season. Jim Ferry is 59-89 in his fifth season at Duquesne.
About Dayton: Dayton has won 43 of its last 55 A-10 games. At the halfway point of the conference schedule, it shares first place with Virginia Commonwealth. If Dayton matches its 7-2 record in the first half, it would finish 14-4 in the league for the second straight season. Dayton posted its best A-10 winning percentage in 2002-03, finishing 14-2 (.875). … UD is shooting 69.2 percent from the free-throw line in A-10 games. It shot 67.9 percent in non-conference games. … Smith is tied for 10th in UD history in games played (127). He has played in every game the past four seasons. His streak of playing in 127 straight games is the second-longest in school history behind Kurt Huelsman and London Warren, who played in 137 straight from 2006-10.
About Duquense: Since losing to UD, the Dukes have lost 65-63 at George Washington, 90-69 to Rhode Island, 74-60 at Davidson, 101-90 at Richmond and 71-64 to St. Bonaventure. They haven’t won since beating Saint Louis 73-66 on Jan. 11. … Lewis II and Mike have each won the A-10 Rookie of the Week award three times. … The Dukes have a 4 percent chance of winning this game, according to KenPom.com. It predicts a final score of 80-61. … Duquesne ranks 226th in the RPI. Dayton is 30th.
Looking ahead: Dayton plays hosts to St. Joseph’s at 8 p.m. Tuesday and then plays at Rhode Island at 7 p.m. Friday.
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