The streaking Dayton Flyers, winners of five straight, will hit the road for the first time this season when they travel to Dallas to face SMU.
The Mustangs are 7-3 on the season with wins over UNLV and Vanderbilt last week. SMU’s senior guard Kendric Davis was named the AAC Player of the Week for his efforts. He averaged 19.5 points, 6.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.5 steals in the two wins.
For the season, he’s averaging 20.3 points on 49.6% shooting from the floor and 40.4% from the perimeter. He scored a season-high 29 points in the loss to Missouri in the Jacksonville Invitational.
Joining Davis in the backcourt Zach Nutall (9.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg) and Emmanuel Bandoumel (11.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg). Bandoumel (39.3% 3PT) has five games this season where he has attempted eight three-pointers or more, including a 4-8 day in the loss to Oregon.
Jalen Smith has started the last two games and is averaging 2.4 points and 1.3 rebounds for the season. He’s averaging 7.0 points and 21.5 minutes in those two starts.
Big man Isiah Jasey jumps center for the Mustangs, averaging 1.9 points and 2.8 rebounds in 13.4 minutes per game.
A player very familiar with the Dayton program is Duquesne transfer Marcus Weathers. Coming off the bench and playing 24 minutes a game, Weathers is averaging 10.9 points and 6.7 rebounds. He’s shooting a team-best 54.5% from the floor.
His twin brother, Michael, is averaging 7.4 points and 4.3 rebounds in a little less than 20 minutes a game off the bench.
Other notable reserves are 6-10 forward Tristan Clark (6.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg) and 6-3 guard Zhuric Phelps (3.4 ppg, 2.1 rpg).
As a team, SMU is averaging 78.3 points per game and allowing 68.2. They out-rebound their opponents 39.2 to 36.6. They shoot a very solid 37.7% from three-point range and 74.0% from the free throw line. Their 17.3 points a game off of turnovers make it even more important for the turnover-prone Flyers to take care of the basketball.
This will be the fourth meeting between Dayton and SMU all-time with the Mustangs holding a 2-1 edge as a result of the buzzer-beating win over Dayton last year in UD Arena.
The game will tip-off on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. ET from Moody Coliseum and can be streamed on ESPN+ in the ESPN app.