UD Arena, Dayton, OH
Saturday, January 30, 2021
4:00PM
Media
TV: CBSSN
Online: CBSSN
Radio: 101.5 FM (B101) or Tune In Radio App
Previews:
Dayton’s Fan Forum
Another Dayton’s Fan Forum
Blackburn Review
My preview could have just been this...
But I guess I will write something a bit more in-depth. Coming off back to back double-digit wins, the Rams head to Dayton to take on the Flyers. I see a lot of similarities between these teams with their play being wildly inconsistent. Life without Obi has been quite the rollercoaster for the Flyers. Dayton is coming off a win against a ranked St Louis team (albeit the Billikens haven’t played in a month) as well as wins at Davidson & Duquesne. On the flipside, they lost to VCU by 23 & somehow lost to both Fordham & La Salle. Dayton does still have all-conference point guard Jalen Crutcher, who is averaging 19 & 4. And get this, he is shooting 45% from 3. I had no idea an all-conference point guard could do that. Because of injuries (stretch forward Chase Johnson being their biggest loss as well as Rodney Chatman), Dayton does not have a deep roster. Their starting guards (Crutcher & Michigan transfer Ibi Watson) average over 38 minutes per game. Against St Louis they both played the whole game. The Flyers do turn the ball over quite a bit (14.6 per game). Not at Rhody’s level (15.4 per game), but not many teams do. I would say let’s get out there & run against this team given their lack of depth, but I’m worried the more we run the sloppier URI will be with the ball. The Flyers do have a up & coming freshmen big man in Mustapha Amzil. From Helsinki, this 6’10” big will step back & shoot the three, so Mitchell will have to come out there & play him. Rhode Island is coming off their most complete game of the season since the Seton Hall game. Turnovers still were an issue, especially some of the unforced ones, but (with the exception of Betrand) they shot much better from the floor. A repeat performance should get this Rams team a win & they really want to get this win after getting embarrassed at home the last time these teams played each other. They also have lost 3 of the last 4 against the Flyers. My guess the spread will be Dayton -1.5. Rhody wins this one in OT 78-76. Wear a Mask & Go Rhody!
Opponent
Record:
9-4, 5-3 in the Atlantic 10
Last season: 29-2, 18-0 in the Atlantic 10
Rankings (URI):
RPI: 89 (103)
KenPom: 82 (65)
NCAA NET: 92 (72)
BPI: 87 (65)
Sagarin: 78 (76)
Leaders:
Points – Jalen Crutcher 18.9 (Sr., G)
Rebounds – Jordy Tshimanga 8.0 (Sr., G)
Assists – Jalen Crutcher 4.3 (Sr., G) (2.9 TO per game)
Historical
Series: 17-21
H: 9-7, A: 7-10, N: 1-4
Most Recent Matchup: 3/4/20 84-57 L at URI
Most Recent Win Streak: 2 – Dayton
Match-up Predictor: 49.3% Chance of URI Winning