The Dayton Flyers will travel to Tom Gola Arena to take on the La Salle Explorers this Saturday afternoon in College Basketball action.
The Dayton Flyers won their 5th straight game and improved to 20-8 on the season after defeating the La Salle Explorers, 82-61, this past Wednesday. Dayton was lights out on the offensive end against UMass and had no trouble securing the victory after going into halftime with a 46-23 lead. Dayton shot 57.1% from the field & 58.8% from beyond the arc while holding UMass to 40.0% shooting from the field & 32.1% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Flyers was Koby Brea who had 16 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, & 2 steals.
On the season, Dayton is averaging 69.5 ppg on 48.0% shooting from the field. The Flyers are averaging 6.8 three-pointers per game on 37.3% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Dayton has been led by DaRon Holmes II (11.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.3 apg, 2.4 bpg), Toumani Camara (11.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.8 apg), Malachi Smith (9.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 5.3 apg, 1.9 spg), & Kobe Elvis (9.0 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.9 apg).
Defensively, Dayton is holding their opponents to an average of 60.2 ppg on 40.9% shooting from the field. The Flyers have a rebound margin of 6.8 and a turnover margin of -1.1.
The La Salle Explorers lost their 5th straight game and dropped to 7-18 on the season after being defeated by the Fordham Rams, 60-54, this past Wednesday. La Salle struggled offensively in the 1st half against Fordham and could never regain the lead after going into halftime trailing by a 27-16 margin. La Salle shot 38.0% from the field & 21.7% from beyond the arc while allowing Fordham to shoot 37.3% from the field & 26.1% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Explorers was Christian Ray who had 13 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, & 1 steal.
On the season, La Salle is averaging 68.6 ppg on 41.4% shooting from the field. The Explorers are averaging 7.8 three-pointers per game on 32.1% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, La Salle has been led by Clifton Moore (13.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.3 apg, 2.6 bpg), Josh Nickelberry (11.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg), Jack Clark (11.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.2 spg), & Jhamir Brickus (9.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 3.4 apg).
Defensively, La Salle is allowing their opponents to average 73.4 ppg on 44.1% shooting from the field. The Explorers have a rebound margin of 0.4 and a turnover margin of -1.4.
The Flyers are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games & 5-4 ATS in their last 9 road games. The Explorers are 8-14-3 ATS overall on the season while just 4-9-1 ATS in their last 14 home games.
La Salle has really struggled in A-10 play this season as the Explorers have lost 14 of their last 16 games and have had no answers on either end of the court as they come into this game ranked just t-243rd in scoring offense, 301st in FG%, & 282nd in scoring defense. Dayton has won 8 of their last 9 games and between the fact that I think their defense, which ranks 11th in scoring defense & 59th in defensive FG%, will give La Salle a bunch of trouble and that Dayton needs this victory to keep their regular season title hopes alive, I think Dayton had no trouble winning this one by 12+ points and covers this large road spread. Good Luck!