Massachusetts @ Dayton preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 26, 2019 ) Dayton 72, Massachusetts 48

Dayton tries for its fifth straight victory when it hosts Massachusetts on Saturday in an Atlantic 10 Conference game as sophomore forward Obi Toppin continues to show he is one of the best players in the country. Toppin, a three-time A-10 Player of the Week this season, averages team highs of 19.5 points and 7.7 rebounds, and shoots 63.2 percent from the field while already serving notice that the Flyers will be a tough out come NCAA Tournament time.

"I just know our team is going to work every single day to become better and better, just because we know when we get to the tournament we're going to be a problem,'' Toppin told reporters. "It's going to be a surprise to everybody when we get there and we can't wait for that." Dayton's only losses came in overtime - to No. 3 Kansas in the Maui Invitational final and to Colorado in Chicago - and it's already mowed through its first two A-10 opponents by a combined 39 points. Massachusetts is coming off a 77-69 victory over La Salle on Wednesday for its second win in 10 games since starting 5-0. The mood turned somber, though, when Minutemen coach Matt McCall confirmed after the game that freshman guard T.J. Weeks (14.7 points per game) would undergo hernia surgery and miss the remainder of the season.

TIME: 12:30 p.m. ET. TV: NBC Sports Network

ABOUT MASSACHUSETTS (7-8, 1-1 Atlantic 10): Freshman center Tre Mitchell has picked up the scoring slack in the last five games without Weeks in the lineup, averaging 19.4 points during that span to raise his season number to 14.7. Sophomore forward Samba Diallo (6.5 points, team-high 6.4 rebounds) has recorded his first two career double-doubles in his last two games. Junior guard Carl Pierre (14.5 points) scored 20 against La Salle and went over 1,000 career points (1,006).

ABOUT DAYTON (13-2, 2-0): Toppin paces the highest-scoring team in the conference (83.1 points) but has a big supporting cast. Junior guard Jalen Crutcher (12.9 points) averages a team-best 5.4 assists while junior guard Ibi Watson (11.5 points) has averaged 15.5 points over the last four games. Senior forward Ryan Mikesell and senior guard Trey Landers (5.8 rebounds) each average 10.6 points after Landers scored a season-high 18 in an 80-67 victory at Saint Joseph's on Sunday.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Flyers have been ranked in the top 20 for six straight weeks - their longest stretch since an eight-week run to end the 1957-58 season.

2. The Minutemen have a minus-4.8 rebounding margin - the worst in the A-10.

3. The schools have split 28 meetings after Dayton won both encounters last season by a combined 29 points.

PREDICTION: Dayton 84, Massachusetts 55