Dayton vs. VCU: What you need to know about A-10 tournament matchup

Flyers, Rams meet for third time Thursday in Washington, D.C.
Dayton’s Jalen Crutcher dribbles against Virginia Commonwealth’s Jonathan Williams on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018, at UD Arena. David Jablonski/Staff

Dayton’s Jalen Crutcher dribbles against Virginia Commonwealth’s Jonathan Williams on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018, at UD Arena. David Jablonski/Staff

Who: Dayton (14-16) vs. Virginia Commonwealth (17-14)

When: Noon, Thursday

Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C.

What: Second round of Atlantic 10 tournament

TV/Radio: NBC Sports Network; AM 1290, News 95.7 WHIO

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Probable Dayton starters

Josh Cunningham, 6-7, R-Jr., F, 15.5

Darrell Davis, 6-5, Sr., G, 15.4

Trey Landers, 6-5, So., G, 11.1

Jalen Crutcher, 6-1, Fr., G, 9.2

Jordan Davis, 6-2, Fr., G, 8.0

Probable VCU starters

Justin Tillman, 6-8, Sr., F, 18.9

De’Riante Jenkins, 6-5, So., G, 12.8

Isaac Vann, 6-6, R-So., F, 9.7

Jonathan Williams, 6-1, Sr., G, 9.2

Sean Mobley, 6-8, Fr., F, 4.4

Series history: VCU leads the series 8-5. The teams split two games in the regular season. Dayton won 106-79 on Jan. 12 at UD Arena. VCU won 88-84 in overtime on Feb. 10 in Richmond, Va.

Coaches: Anthony Grant is 14-16 as Dayton head coach. His career record in 10 seasons is 207-126. Mike Rhoades is 17-14 in his first season at VCU.

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Last games: On Saturday, Dayton beat George Washington 88-78 at UD Arena, and VCU won 83-58 at Fordham.

About Dayton: KenPom.com gives Dayton a 45 percent chance of winning and predicts a 76-75 score. … Only three points separate Cunningham and Darrell Davis (466-463). If Cunningham ends the season as the team's leading scorer, it will be the seventh straight season a transfer has led Dayton. Kevin Dillard, Jordan Sibert and Charles Cooke each led the team in scoring for two years. Not since Chris Wright in 2010-11 has a player who started his career at Dayton as a freshman led the team in scoring. … Dayton has won at least one A-10 tournament game 17 times in 22 years. It has started the tournament in the quarterfinals or advanced to at least the quarterfinals four years in a row.

About VCU: The Rams have played in the championship game in each of their first five seasons in the A-10. They beat Dayton 71-65 in the 2015 title game for their only championship. They lost 70-63 to Rhode Island in the final game in Pittsburgh last season. … Tillman had 18 points and 13 rebounds against Fordham. Mobley scored a career-high 16 points. … VCU needs to win the tournament to extend a streak of seven straight NCAA tournament appearances. The same goes for Dayton, which has received at-large berths four years in a row.

Other A-10 games: No. 5 seed George Mason plays No. 12 La Salle or No. 13 Massachusetts at 2:30 p.m. No. 7 Richmond plays No. 10 Duquesne at 6 p.m. No. 6 Saint Louis plays No. 11 George Washington or No. 14 Fordham at 8:30 p.m.

Next game: The winner plays No. 1 seed Rhode Island at noon Friday in the quarterfinals.

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