Saint Louis looks to continue its sizzling streak, while Dayton hopes to end a recent skid when the two meet on Friday in Atlantic 10 action.
No. 21-ranked Saint Louis (20-1, 8-0) has won 14 consecutive games. The lone loss was a 78-77 defeat to Stanford on a neutral court on Nov. 28.
Meanwhile, Dayton (14-7, 5-3) is looking to snap a three-game losing streak, all against Atlantic 10 competition. Those three losses were by a combined 15 points.
This is the first of two meetings between the two, with the rematch Feb. 24 at Dayton.
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Saint Louis is coming off a 79-76 home win over George Washington. A three-pointer by 6-foot-10 Robbie Avila with three seconds left was the game-winner.
It was the Billikens’ 17th consecutive win at Chaifetz Arena. Redshirt sophomore guard Trey Green scored a career-high 23 points to lead the victory. Saint Louis trailed by 10 points at halftime and eight points midway through the second half before coming back.
Dayton lost an 81-76 overtime home decision to Rhode Island in its most recent outing on Tuesday. Despite shooting 51.2% from the field, including 41.2% from three-point range, the Flyers lost, mainly due to committing 23 turnovers, their second most of the season. Rhode Island converted those turnovers into 22 points.
That was uncharacteristic of Dayton, which leads the Atlantic 10 in turnover margin, 4.43. Surprisingly, Saint Louis has a -0.38 turnover margin.
Dayton at Saint Louis Odds
As of this writing, Saint Louis is an 11.5-point college basketball betting favorite on BetMGM.
The Over/Under is 150.5 points.
Dayton at Saint Louis On TV
Tipoff for Dayton at Saint Louis is shortly after 8 p.m. ET.
The game will be televised by CBS Sports Network.
Dayton at Saint Louis Prediction
I like Dayton getting the points.
Dayton has been in a lot of close games. Five of the losses have been by seven or fewer points. Seven of the wins have been by seven or fewer points.
Through Wednesday, Saint Louis was leading the nation with a 23.6 scoring margin. The Billikens average 90.9 points and allow 67.3 per game. Two of Saint Louis’ last three games have been decided by four or fewer points.
Dayton’s scoring margin is 7.4. The Flyers average 76.7 points and allow 69.3 per game.
Saint Louis has a big edge in three-point shooting and defense. The Billikens lead the Atlantic 10 in three-point field goal percentage (.395) and in three-point field goal defense, allowing teams to shoot .266. Dayton is ninth in the conference in three-point percentage (.326) and is 10th in three-point defense (.352).
The teams are relatively close in free-throw percentage, with Dayton at .751 and Saint Louis at .741. The difference is that Dayton gets to the foul line more, averaging 26 free throws per game, compared to 20.9 for Saint Louis.
Saint Louis holds a rebounding edge of 43.0 per game to 33.0 for the Flyers.
Avila leads Saint Louis in scoring (13.4 PPG), assists (4.0), and three-point percentage (.471), while Green averages 11.8 points and is shooting .466 from beyond the arc. The Billikens have five other players averaging between 9.9 and 10.9 points.
Javon Bennett, a 5-foot-10 senior, leads Dayton in scoring (16.3 PPG) and assists (3.2). De’Shayne Montgomery, a 6-foot-4 junior, averages 14.9 points while shooting .367 from beyond the arc.
Dayton is desperate to turn things around, although doing it against Saint Louis will be difficult. Still, the fact that the Flyers have been in so many close games indicates that Dayton could be very competitive in this one.
Dayton is just 3-3 on the road, while Saint Louis is 14-0 at home, but Dayton is usually in most games and has the ability to do it even against the nationally ranked Billikens.
