Dayton @ Saint Louis preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 15, 2019 ) Saint Louis 64, Dayton 55

Eleventh-ranked Dayton tries for its seventh straight victory when it visits Saint Louis on Friday in an Atlantic 10 contest. Sophomore forward Obi Toppin, a national player of the year contender, proved his mettle by recording 24 points and nine rebounds on a sprained left ankle in the Flyers' 79-65 victory over VCU on Tuesday, with senior guard Trey Landers telling reporters: “I love what he did tonight.”

"I had to go into the game not thinking about it," Toppin, who played 34 minutes, told reporters about his ankle. "At first it was bothering me, but I got into the flow of the game and the adrenaline kicked in." Toppin averages 19.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in what will likely be his final season before he becomes an NBA lottery pick. Saint Louis has won three straight and six of its last seven after a 74-58 victory at Richmond on Saturday. The Billikens feature two of the three A-10 players averaging double-doubles in junior guard Jordan Goodwin and junior forward Hasahn French.

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN2

ABOUT DAYTON (15-2, 4-0 Atlantic 10): Landers had 16 points and nine rebounds against VCU, raising his season averages to 11.1 and 5.9. Toppin told the media that Landers is the "glue of our team. He does all the dirty stuff for us like diving on the floor, getting the tough rebounds, the 50-50 balls, and blocking shots. We love him for that.” Junior guard Jalen Crutcher averages 13.3 points after scoring 20 on Tuesday and averages a team-high 5.2 assists.

ABOUT SAINT LOUIS (14-3, 3-1): Goodwin, the reigning A-10 Player of the Week, averages 16.1 points and 10.5 rebounds after scoring a total of 46 in victories over Richmond and George Washington (63-58) on Jan. 8. French contributes 12.9 points, 10.2 boards and 2.8 blocks after having his three-game streak of double-digit rebounds snapped when he grabbed eight versus Richmond. Junior forward Javonte Perkins (10.9 points) has reached double figures in points in three straight games and seven of his last eight.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Flyers junior G Ibi Watson (11.5 points) leads the A-10 in free-throw percentage at 90.2 and is second in 3-point shooting at 47.8 while Toppin paces the conference with a 62.7 field goal percentage.

2. The Billikens have won three of the last five meetings after a 64-55 upset victory in the 2019 Atlantic 10 Tournament quarterfinals.

3. Dayton was tied for fifth in the nation entering Thursday with No. 3 Duke in scoring at 83.1 points per game.

PREDICTION: Dayton 73, Saint Louis 67