In their earlier meeting this season, Dayton escaped with a 70-68 win at Loyola Chicago on Jan. 3. Now in the rematch, the Flyers look to sweep the season series at home during Friday’s Atlantic 10 matchup.
Dayton senior guard Javon Bennett scored the game-winner in the first meeting on a layup with two seconds left. Bennett led the Flyers with 24 points. The Flyers had trailed by 11 points with 6:30 left. Loyola Chicago committed 15 turnovers, 10 in the second half. The difference in the game was at the foul line, as Dayton was 21-of-25 (.840) while Loyola Chicago was just 3-for-5 (.600).
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Dayton (13-4, 4-0) extended its winning streak to four games following Tuesday’s 71-65 victory at Duquesne. Four players scored in double figures for the Flyers, led by 6-foot-6 graduate student Keonte Jones, who had 15 points.
Loyola Chicago (5-13, 1-4) has lost four in a row following Tuesday’s 82-74 home defeat to George Mason. The Ramblers led by six at halftime, but were outscored 41-27 in the second half. Nic Anderson, a 6-foot-4 freshman, led four double-figure scorers with 17 points for the Ramblers.
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Loyola Chicago at Dayton Odds
Dayton is a 17.5-point college basketball betting favorite on BetMGM.
The Over/Under is at 142.5 points.
Loyola Chicago at Dayton On TV
Tipoff for Loyola Chicago at Dayton is expected to come slightly after 8:30 p.m. ET.
The game will be televised on ESPN2.
Loyola Chicago at Dayton Prediction
Even though it’s a big number, I like Dayton to cover. It must be noted that Loyola Chicago covered the spread the last time out, losing by eight to George Mason when the Ramblers were a 9.5 point underdog.
Still, Loyola Chicago is banged up, and Dayton is 9-1 at home with the lone loss 64-61 to Liberty on Dec. 20. Loyola Chicago is 1-2 on the road.
In the first meeting against Loyola Chicago, Dayton didn’t take advantage of the three-point defense of the Ramblers. Loyola Chicago is last in the Atlantic 10 in opponents’ three-point percentage, allowing teams to shoot .375. During the first matchup, Dayton struggled from deep, shooting just 7-for-23 (.304). In fact, Loyola Chicago hit more threes, going 9-for-30 (.300). For the season, the Ramblers are shooting just .311 from deep, while Dayton is shooting .323.
Dayton has a huge edge at the foul line. Through Wednesday, Dayton was third in the Atlantic 10 with 452 free throw attempts, while Loyola Chicago was 11th with 354. Dayton is also fourth in free-throw percentage (.754) while Loyola Chicago is 13th (.684).
Bennett leads Dayton in scoring, averaging 16.6 points per game, but he is only shooting .315 from three-point range. De’Shayne Montgomery, a 6-foot-4 junior, is Dayton’s second-leading scorer, averaging 14.7 PPG, while shooting .368 from deep.
Junior guard Justin Moore leads Loyola Chicago with a 12.5 scoring average, but he missed the last game with an undisclosed injury, and it is not known if he will be available against Dayton. Anderson, coming off the aforementioned 17-point performances, will look to continue his improvement on offense for the Ramblers. He has scored in double figures in each of the last three games.
