DAYTON -- The University of Dayton Flyers will return to Blackburn Court for the first time in 17 days (and only the third time in Jan.) when they play Rhode Island on Saturday. Game time is 4 p.m. ET.
Dayton is 9-4, and 5-3 in the Atlantic 10 after winning at No. 22 Saint Louis on Tuesday.
Jalen Crutcher led the way with 27 points (14 in the final four minutes), with
Ibi Watson (18) points) and
Elijah Weaver (12) not far behind.
Jordy Tshimanga led UD with 10 rebounds.
The game will carried by WHIO Radio, televised by the CBS Sports Network and streamed on the CBS Sports App. Streaming audio, video and stats will be available at DaytonFlyers.com.
#TRENDING
• Moving into a bigger role this year,
Jalen Crutcher got the kind of attention during the preseason that he is getting from opponents during the season. He was on the Naismith, Wooden, NABC and Bob Cousy Award Watch Lists, as well as the Lute Olson mid-season list.
• Crutcher, a four-year starter, was ranked the 12th-best player in the country by ESPN, 16th in CBSSports.com's top college basketball players. The Athletic rated him sixth among its top 20 guards in the country. He was also named Second Team Preseason All-America by Stadium.
• Keep in mind that Crutcher was UD's co-MVP last season, with consensus national PoY
Obi Toppin. Crutcher is the first Flyer with 1,200 career points, 500 assists and 200 three-pointers.
• Crutcher lived up to his nickname of "Clutcher" in Dayton's first six wins, scoring UD's final points in the last seconds of regulation or overtime at the line. At Saint Louis, he scored 13 in the first half, was shut out for the first 15:59 of the second half, and then after Saint Louis tied the game, he scored 14 points in the final 4:01 to pave the way to a five-point road win.
•
Ibi Watson is second on the team in scoring (15.2) and minutes (38.5), and percentage-wise, is nearly a 50-40-80 guy. He shoots 45% FG, 44% from 3-pt. and 85% from the line.
•If a "true freshman" is a player who signed the previous year and is playing without redshirting, can you call a player who signed in November and scores 22 points in December start a "truer freshman?" We call him
Mustapha Amzil, and the 22 points he scored in first college game were the most at UD in 14 years. He then had 15 vs. GMU (with 6 reb & 4 asst).
• Amzil was A-10 Rookie of the Week exactly 50 days after he signed with UD on Nov. 16.
• After playing a total of 18 minutes with no points or rebounds in his first four games of the year, redshirt freshman
Zimi Nwokeji has averaged 20.7 minutes, 8.1 points and 2.9 rebounds in the last seven games. His second-half dunk at GW was No. 5 on SportsCenter's Top 10 plays.
•
Jordy Tshimanga pulled down 16 rebounds at Fordham, the most by a Flyer in three years. He is averaging 9.7 rebounds in his last six contests. He scored 10 points (5-6 FG) at VCU.
• In five games as a starter,
Elijah Weaver has 38 points, 25 assists and 11 turnovers.
• Freshman
Luke Frazier made his Flyer debut at VCU after recovering from an appendectomy.
• Coach
Anthony Grant was the consensus national coach of the year in 2019-20.
UP NEXT
• UD goes on the road to face Duquesne in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Feb. 2 at 9 p.m. ET.
• Dayton will then return to UD Arena to play conference preseason favorite Richmond on Friday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. ET.
