Dayton, the team that had the best odds to win the Atlantic 10 (via BetMGM), is looking to get back in the race when the Flyers play host to Saint Joseph’s in a key conference game on Friday.
Having won two in a row, Dayton (13-6, 3-3) hopes to continue the momentum after Tuesday’s 82-62 win at Duquesne. The Flyers shot 13 for 23 (56.5%) from beyond the arc. Dayton 6-foot-3 senior Enoch Cheeks scored 23 points, giving him 49 points in his last two games.
Now Dayton returns home, where the Flyers are 11-1. The only home loss was a 67-59 defeat to current Atlantic 10 leader George Mason.
Saint Joseph’s (12-7, 3-3) is also looking to get back in the race and is coming off Tuesday’s 78-61 win at Davidson.
Xzayvier Brown, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, scored a team-high 20 points for the Hawks. It was his third consecutive game scoring at least 20 points. The Hawks shot 11 for 27 from three-point range (.407) with senior guard Erik Reynolds II hitting 5 of 9 threes en route to scoring 17 points. The win improved the Hawks to 2-2 on the road.
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Saint Joseph’s at Dayton Betting Odds
Dayton is a 5.5-point college basketball betting favorite on BetMGM against Saint Joseph’s with the Over/Under 143.5.
The moneyline for Dayton is -250 while it is +200 for Saint Joseph’s.
Saint Joseph’s at Dayton On TV
The game between Saint Joseph’s and Dayton will be televised by ESPN2.
Tonight’s tipoff is shortly after 7:30 p.m. ET.
Saint Joseph’s at Dayton Prediction
I like Dayton laying the points. Neither team has done well against the spread lately, but Dayton covered its last game. And the Flyers will look to get momentum before consecutive road games at Saint Bonaventure and Saint Louis.
According to teamrankings.com, Dayton is 9-9 against the spread but the Flyers are 1-8 ATS in their last nine games. Saint Joseph’s is 8-11 ATS, and 2-6 in its last eight games, but also covered its last time out.
Dayton is in the middle of the pack in the Atlantic 10 in both scoring (76.1 PPG) and scoring defense (69.0).
Saint Joseph’s averages 76.4 points and allows 68.7.
The big factor in this game should be three-point shooting. Entering Thursday, Dayton was leading the Atlantic 10 in three-point percentage (.363) while Saint Joseph’s was sixth at .347. The Flyers allow teams to shoot .343 from distance, while Saint Joseph’s has a better three-point defense (.317).
Saint Joseph’s makes the three-point field goal a bigger part of its game. The Hawks are third in the Atlantic 10 with 521 three-point attempts. That is an average of 27.4 per game. Dayton has attempted 416 threes, an average of 21.86 per game.
According to Kenpom.com, Saint Joseph’s has a higher adjusted tempo (possessions per 40 minutes) of 68.9, while Dayton’s is 65.4. So, Saint Joseph’s will be looking to get more shots up quicker than Dayton. The key is whether they will be good shots.
Even though Dayton averages fewer possessions per game than Saint Joseph’s, the Flyers are scoring more fastbreak points, 12.89 to 11.47 for the Hawks.
At the foul line, both teams are decent, with Saint Joseph’s shooting .734 and Dayton .717.
Brown leads a balanced Saint Joseph’s attack averaging 16.1 points. Rasheer Fleming, a 6-foot-9 junior and potential NBA draft pick, averages 15.9 points, while Reynolds averages 15.3 after averaging 17.3 last year.
Like Saint Joseph’s, Dayton has a balanced offense. The leading scorer is 6-foot-7 senior Nate Santos (14.1 ppg.), while Cheeks averages 13.7 points.
