Game 14 Preview: Dayton travels to Olean for showdown with St. Bonaventure
Coming off a win in its A-10 season opener, Dayton seeks to start conference play 2–0 against Saint Bonaventure. In order to do so, though, the banged up Flyers will have to get it done on the road. Dayton faced the Bonnies twice last year, splitting the season series 1–1. Last season the Flyers managed to travel to Olean and come away with a victory. St. Bonaventure got the last laugh, however, as the Bonnies took down Dayton at UD Arena later in the year. The Flyers will seek some revenge along with their fourth straight win in Tuesday night’s showdown against St. Bonaventure.
The Opposition
Following a road victory over UMass in its conference opener, St. Bonaventure comes into this match-up with a 9–4 overall record. The Bonnies are led by arguably to A-10’s best backcourt in Jaylen Adams and Matt Mobley. In the win over UMass, Adams dropped 29 points while Mobley put up 23. St. Bonaventure’s two-headed monster has the Bonnies scoring an incredible 85.2 points per game this season. As a team St. Bonaventure shoots 39% from three and 47% from the field. If the Flyers want to have any chance against St. Bonaventure, they must find a way to slow down the Bonnie’s prolific offensive attack. Dayton needs its typically dominant defense to step up and avoid a shootout with Adams and Mobley.
Key to the Game
While Dayton will be able to contain St. Bonaventure’s dynamic duo, there is no way to fully shut them down. The Bonnies will score their fair share of points; so what must the Flyers do? Respond with the three ball. Dayton has been virtually as inconsistent as possible from behind the arc this season and needs that to change. In last week’s game against La Salle, the Flyers shot just 3–22 from three. In the contest before that, however, Dayton tied a school record by knocking down 15 triples. Scoochie Smith told me after the La Salle game that the Flyers really need to become more consistent. Tuesday night’s game against St. Bonaventure would make for a great time to develop that consistency, especially from behind the arc.
Injury Report
Charles Cooke = game time decision
Darrell Davis = game time decision
Josh Cunningham = out until at least mid-February
Our Prediction
A road game in Olean is no easy task. Playing at St. Bonaventure with some key guys banged up makes for an entirely different level of challenge. If both Charles Cooke and Darrell Davis can not play, Dayton will have to rely on both other scoring and defensive options. Assuming Cooke and Davis can not go, I could see the Flyers really struggling to keep up with the Bonnies. I have faith, however, that guys like John Crosby and Xeyrius Williams will step up. Watch out for Kendall Pollard to have himself a field day down low. With a big effort from Pollard and solid three point shooting from the role players, I see Dayton coming out on top 76–70.
