Dayton @ La Salle preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 6, 2019 ) La Salle 39, Dayton 70

Dayton finished off the non-conference portion of its schedule with a show of power and the 18th-ranked Flyers look to get off to a strong start in Atlantic-10 play when they visit La Salle on Thursday night. The Flyers lost just twice in 13 games to open the season - overtime setbacks against No. 3 Kansas and Colorado - and registered a school-record 13 dunks en route to a 77-59 victory against North Florida on Monday.

“That’s something we do,” Dayton senior guard Trey Landers told the Flyer News. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can go get the ball. We did a good job of executing it tonight but it’s something we always look for in our offense. When there’s a guard on our big we try to use that to our advantage.” Star sophomore Obi Toppin had 10 of the dunks en route to a career-high 31 points Monday and the Flyers hope to continue getting contributions down the bench with six players averaging at least nine points, while coach Anthony Grant is pleased with the team’s focus. “I told the guys they’ve done a great job of continuing to be locked in - in terms of how we get better as a team and build habits we need as we approach conference (play),” Grant told reporters. Dayton has not been afforded a chance to ease into the conference schedule as La Salle comes in with five straight victories after forcing a season-high 23 turnovers in Saturday’s 71-59 win over Bucknell.

TIME: 8:30 p.m. ET. TV: CBS Sports Network

ABOUT DAYTON (11-2): Toppin leads the Flyers in scoring (19.8), rebounds (7.9) and blocks (1.4) while shooting 61.9 percent from the field - third in the A-10 - and the 6-9 forward scored at least 16 in 11 of 13 contests. Junior guard Jalen Crutcher (12.9 points, team-high 5.1 assists) scored 11 against North Florida after missing a game with a concussion and junior guard Ibi Watson (11.3 points) was named A-10 Player of the Week on Monday. Landers (10.2 points) is shooting 60 percent from the floor and senior forward Ryan Mikesell is scoring 10 per contest after hauling in a season-high seven rebounds Monday.

ABOUT LA SALLE (9-3): The Explorers, whose only three losses came against Big Five rivals Villanova, Pennsylvania and Temple, are limiting opponents to 38.9 percent shooting from the field and 27.1 from behind the 3-point arc. Senior guard Isiah Deas leads a very balanced offense with 11.8 points per contest while 6-8 sophomore forward Ed Croswell adds 10.6 to go along with a team-high 7.6 rebounds. Junior guard David Beatty is the only other player averaging in double figures scoring (10.0) and freshman guard Ayinde Hikim contributes five points along with team highs of 3.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Dayton sophomore F Chase Johnson (5.1 points) is expected to miss his sixth straight game due to a concussion.

2. La Salle sophomore F Jared Kimbrough (3.4 points) scored a career-high 16 on his 20th birthday Saturday.

3. The Flyers won the lone meeting last season 70-39 at home as Crutcher finished with 11 points, 12 boards and six assists.

PREDICTION: Dayton 78, La Salle 66