VCU @ Dayton preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 16, 2019 ) VCU 69, Dayton 68

Eleventh-ranked Dayton could be without national player of the year candidate Obi Toppin when it hosts VCU on Tuesday in an Atlantic 10 Conference game. Toppin, a sophomore forward and John Wooden Award midseason watch list candidate, sustained a left ankle injury during Saturday's 88-60 victory over Massachusetts and was wearing a protective walking boot when he returned to the bench in the second half.

“I talked to him on the bench, and he was joking around,” the Flyers' Ryan Mikesell told reporters. “I don’t know the specifics, but obviously, (they) are going to do (their) best to get him to play on Tuesday. If not, it’s the next-man-up mentality. We’ll go with what we have.” Toppin paces the team with 19.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks while shooting 63.3 percent from the field. VCU, which was ranked earlier this season, saw its 21-game home winning streak come to an end in stunning fashion, 65-56 to Rhode Island on Saturday. “It’s the A-10, it’s college basketball. (Let’s) find out what we’re made of,” Rams coach Mike Rhoades told the media about Tuesday's game. “It’s going to be crazy, it’s going to be tough. But sign us up, let’s go.”

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

ABOUT VCU (12-4, 2-1 Atlantic 10): Marcus Santos-Silva averages team bests of 13.1 points and nine rebounds after recording 11 points and 14 rebounds Saturday for his sixth double-double of the season, and his 61.4 percent field goal percentage is second in the conference to Toppin. De'Riante Jenkins (10.8 points, 4.2 rebounds) has averaged 13.5 points and six boards in his last two games but is 2-for-10 from 3-point range during that span. Marcus Evans averages 11.1 points after scoring 11 versus Rhode Island.

ABOUT DAYTON (14-2, 3-0): Every starter scored in double figures against Massachusetts with Mikesell (10.9 points, 4.8 rebounds) recording 15 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Trey Landers (10.8 points, 5.8 rebounds) has reached double figures in scoring in his last four games and is 23-for-38 from the field during that span. Jalen Crutcher averages 12.8 points and 5.2 assists after scoring in double figures in six straight games and nine of 10 but hasn't reached his assist average in six of the past seven contests, while Ibi Watson scores 11.4 per game.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Flyers average a conference-best 83.4 points - well ahead of second-place Richmond (75.2) - and also pace the A-10 in assists (19.4) by a wide margin over the Spiders (15.8).

2. Rhoades is 299-155 in 16 seasons, including 55-27 in two-plus years with the Rams.

3. VCU has won four straight meetings by a combined 15 points.

PREDICTION: Dayton 78, VCU 76