Preview: Dayton v Cincinnati

Friday night's Simple Truth Hoops Classic matchup between No. 19 Cincinnati and No. 22 Dayton will mark the 93rd meeting between the two programs that are separated by just 58 miles.

The Bearcats have won 15 of the last 19 meetings since 1989, leading 60-32 overall. This is the fifth match-up between the two programs in which both were ranked. The last such meeting was an 82-53 Cincinnati win in 2003.

Dayton got the best of UC last season at Heritage Bank Center, beating the Bearcats 82-68. 

"The next opponent's one of the best teams in the country and has already proven it this year so we got our hands full this week preparing for a great basketball team," Miller told media Tuesday afternoon. 

The Flyers come enter Friday night with a 10-2 record, following wins over sixth-ranked Marquette, 71-63, and UNLV, 66-65.

UC hasn't played since last Saturday's 68-65 win over crosstown rival, Xavier.

With just two games in the non-conference portion of the schedule remaining, Wes Miller knows the challenge that will be presented to his team Friday night. 

"They're incredibly well coached. Give Anthony Grant and his staff a lot of credit. They're skilled, they're very dynamic at guard, you can go up and down their perimeter, they're just so skilled, they're so tough. They do a great job of putting pressure offff the bounce."

Miller continued.

"They obviously shoot it incredibly well....they play at a really nice pace and then Anthony's done a really good job of having them organized and ready to play the right way."

Dayton by the numbers:

-  As a team, Dayton leads the Atlantic 10 in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.96) and FG% (.495, 328-662) and is second in 3-pt. FG% (.364, 99-272).  UD is sixth nationally in A/T ratio.

-  The Flyers rank 31st in Kenpom and 37th in the NCAA NET ratings. Dayton has is 14th in offensive efficiency and 74th in defensive efficiency. UC ranks 25th in Kenpom, 10th in defensive efficiency. and 44th in offensive efficiency.

- Dayton's 56.8 effective field goal percentage ranks 31st nationally. Anthony Grant's team is converting 49.5% of their field goal attempts, 36.4% of their 3-pt field goal attempts, and 70.3% of their free throw attempts. 

Players to know:

6'3" Sr G Enoch Cheeks (14.7 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.6 apg)

A-10 Preseason All-Defensive Team and regularly assigned to the opposing team's best guard. Cheeks has scored in double figures in seven of nine games, with a season-high 23 points against Western Michigan. He also scored 20 points and pulled down seven rebounds in a win over UCONN. Cheeks was named the A-10 Player of the Week on Dec. 2 after averaging 15.7 points and 7.0 rebounds against North Carolina, Iowa State and UConn in Maui. Cheeks is currently fifth in the A-10 in rebounding (7.5).

6'7" Sr F Nate Santos (13.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.5 apg)

Preseason 1st Team All-Atlantic 10 after being named 3rd Team All-A-10 at the end of last season. Santos is currently making 44% of his 3pt-attempts and is a threat to get hot in a hurry. Santos has made multiple three's in seven of twelve games, burying six in a game twice. In four games against Marquette, UConn, Iowa State, and North Carolina, Santos is averaging just under 15 ppg. He has a double-double against Marquette (12 pts, 13 rbs).

6'8" Gr F Zeb Key (12.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg)

Key has been a welcome addition to the Flyers this season after spending last season at Ohio State. The big man had 15 points (9-10 FT), nine rebounds in the UConn win and has scored nine or more points in every game this season with his lone single digit performance being a nine-point, five-rebound effort against Western Michigan. Key is third on the team in free-throw percentage, making 78.9% of his attempts.

6'0 R-Jr G Malachi Smith (11.1 ppg, 5.9 apg, 2.5 rpg)

Smith sat out last season due to injury but has added great stability to the Flyers starting lineup and rotation this season. A Bronx, NY native, Smith plays with a toughness that you expect out of New York guards. Trailing 65-63 against UNLV with 10 seconds remaining, Smith drove and finished through contact to tie the score at 65, then proceeded to knock down the free throw to give the Flyers a 66-65 win in their most recent outing. Smith has struggled from the free throw line this season (59.6%), but leads the team in three-point shooting (48%). Smith has 25 assists to just three turnovers over the last three games, including 11 asst (10 in 2nd half) in the win over #6 Marquette. Also had 22 pts (7-9 FG, 2-3 3-pt.), 9 asst vs. Iowa State. 

5'10" Jr G Javon Bennett ( 9.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.6 apg)

Bennett was a team-best +23 in the win over #2 UConn and had 15 points (3-4 3-pt.) & was +16 vs. #6 Marquette. Bennett led the A-10 in assist-to-turnover ratio in 2023/24. Bennett was named Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year in 2022-23 during his first season at Merrimack. 

6'0 R-Sr G Posh Alexander (6.4 ppg, 3.5 apg, 2.5 rpg)

Preseason A-10 3rd Team and All-Defensive Team, Alexander led the Big East in in steals all four years of his career in the league (three at St Johns, one at Butler). Alexander's best game of the season was a 16-point, six assist, five rebound effort against UConn. Also scored 11 and dished out six assists in a narrow loss to North Carolina.

7'1" Fr C Amael L'Etang (6.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg)

Different type of big than Key, his best game of the season also came against North Carolina, scoring 13 points and making 3-of-6 three-point attempts. 

Video: Wes Miller Previews Dayton

Final Thoughts:

Similar to last weekend's game against Xavier, Cincinnati's stars have to better than Dayton's stars. In last season's double-digit loss, DaRon Holmes (28 pts), Kobe Elvis (27 pts), and Kobe Brea (12 pts) combined for 67 of the Flyers' 82 points.

Simas Lukosius leads UC with 16.0 ppg, scoring in double-figures in all nine games. Eleven of his 14 points against Xavier came in the second half. He is still 18th nationally with a 48.3 percentage from deep.

Lukosius got going in the second half against Xavier and will need to carry that into this game for the Bearcats to win. Same goes for Dan Skillings, who scored seven points against Xavier over the final 3:55.

Dayton is one of the most efficient offensive teams in the country so the Bearcats can not afford to have another 0-for-11 performance from Jizzle James. The sophomore point guard had been really good prior to the Cats' most recent game.

UC has a size advantage and will have to utilize that early and often. The Bearcats can't fall in love with the three-point shot early and expect that to carry them to a win. Dayton is not nearly as good defensively as they are offensively and Dayton is thin in the front-court. Get downhill, attack, and force the Flyers to defend you. On the flip side, UC has to a better job this season of keeping Dayton off the free throw line. The Flyers made 28-of-30 free throws last season.

The Bearcats are currently a 2.5 point favorite. 

A win on Friday night would be a major resume builder with just one non-conference game remaining on Sunday against Grambling State.