The Richmond Spiders (15-13) welcome the Dayton Flyers (22-6) in a matchup that pits the Atlantic 10’s eighth-ranked offense against the top-ranked defense. Action gets underway at 7:30 pm ET on Tuesday, Mar. 1 and will air on CCS.
The Spiders beat Duquesne 83-67 on Saturday. Terry Allen was the game’s leading scorer with 25 points on 7-for-12 shooting. The Flyers are coming off a 75-66 loss against Rhode Island on Saturday. Dyshawn Pierre scored 17 points and recorded 11 rebounds earning his fourth double-double of the season.
Second-chance points might be scarce for the Spiders in this matchup. They rank 282nd in the nation in offensive rebounding (OR% of 24.1%), while Dayton is eighth-best in the nation on the defensive glass (DR% of 76.1%).
The Spiders come into this game 15-13 Straight Up (SU) and 10-14 Against The Spread (ATS). They have been worse ATS (3-7) than their SU record (7-3) over their last 10 games would indicate. The Spiders have seen a decline in scoring as of late, averaging 69.8 points during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 77.5 points per game. Spreading the ball around is a huge part of Richmond’s offense. They are 13th in the nation in assists with an average of 17.1 per game. Richmond’s defense has put it all together in the past 10 games. Its average points allowed per game dropped to 61.7 during that span, compared to its 74.0 season average. Richmond is very careful and attentive with the ball, averaging the 21st-fewest turnovers per game at only 10.5.
Across the court, Dayton has a SU record of 22-6 and an ATS record of 13-15. The Dayton defense as a whole has been firing on all cylinders so far, ranking 11th in Division I with only 63.7 points allowed per road game. The Flyers have established a reputation of cleaning up the defensive glass with 28.1 defensive rebounds per game, making them one of the top teams in the nation.
These conference foes will be squaring off for the first time this season. In their most recent meeting a season ago, Dayton came out on top, taking the head-to-head record to an even 5-5 SU over their most recent meetings. The Spiders lead the matchup ATS with a record of 7-3. Dayton held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers twice, while Richmond was never able to do so in their most recent five games.
Predictions: SU Winner – Dayton, ATS Winner – Dayton
Notes
The Richmond Spiders average 77.5 points per game, ranking 67th in the nation. The Dayton Flyers rank 26th in points allowed with 65.0.
Ranked 22nd, the Dayton Flyers have one of the top defenses in the country, giving up just 95.5 points per 100 possessions. The Richmond Spiders rank 56th in offense, scoring 112.1 points in the same number of possessions.
Richmond has the 12th-ranked average field goal percentage at 48.9%. Dayton has not won a game this season when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage (0-2).
The Richmond Spiders and the Dayton Flyers both rank higher in average field goal percentage when compared to their effective field goal percentages. Richmond is 16th and 12th in the nation for eFG% and FG% respectively, while Dayton ranks 87th and 78th in these categories.
Richmond ranks among the best in the nation in assists at 13th (17.1 assists per game). Dayton is ranked 84th with 14.8 assists per game.
Dayton, the 60th-ranked team in blocked shots, registers an average of 4.5 per game. Richmond does worse, ranked 311th with 2.3.
Richmond ranks 334th in offensive rebounds, while Dayton ranks 25th in defensive rebounds.
On average, Richmond forces a turnover rate of 18.1%. When Dayton turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a dazzling 11-3 record.
