The last time I thought of Dayton in regard to UVA Basketball was that trip I made to the First Four in 2024, what turned out to be the final game for Tony Bennett.
My memory of that: looking across the floor from press row in the final minutes and seeing Bennett, seemingly deep in thought, as the 67-42 loss to Colorado State finished playing out in front of the world.
We’re not in Dayton for Saturday’s matchup with the Friars (7-2, NET: 70, KenPom: 62); actually, both teams had to make the quick flight to Charlotte to meet in the Spectrum Center.
It’s 74 minutes from Dayton to CLT; 58 minutes from CHO to CLT.
Last time Ryan Odom was in the Spectrum Center with UVA Basketball was back in 2018.
Yes, Odom was the coach of UMBC on the Night The Bad Thing Happened.
AKA the best and worst night of Dave Odom’s life.
‘Hoos dominant in win at Texas
Virginia (7-1, NET: 15, KenPom: 24) arrives in the Queen City on the heels of an 88-69 win at Texas in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Wednesday.
The big difference in that one, vis-à-vis the uneven performances against Northwestern (83-78 win) and Butler (80-73 loss) at The Greenbrier Tipoff pre-Thanksgiving: defense.
The ‘Hoos held Texas to 27 points on 36.7 percent shooting in the first half as they built the original 19-point lead in the game, and led by 20+ for all but a minute-plus of the second half.
What to know about Dayton
Dayton’s two losses are to Cincinnati (6-2, NET: 134, KenPom: 72) and BYU (7-1, NET: 9, KenPom 11), the latter a narrow 83-79 loss last week.
Coach Anthony Grant, 179-85 in his ninth season at Dayton, after stints at VCU (76-25 in three seasons) and Alabama (117-85 in six seasons), uses a nine-man rotation, built around 5’10” senior point guard Javon Bennett (16.0 ppg, 3.6 assists/g, 41.2% FG, 31.1% 3FG) and two guard De’Shayne Montgomery (15.8 ppg, 5.3 rebounds/g, 3.0 assists/g, 54.3% FG, 43.9% 3FG), a 6’4” junior.
The guy in the middle is 7’1” sophomore Amael L’Etang (13.0 ppg, 6.4 rebounds/g, 52.0% FG, 37.0% 3FG).
The other two starters are 6’5” senior forward Keonte Jones (8.8 ppg, 5.0 rebounds/g, 54.4% FG, 45.5% 3FG) and 6’6” senior forward Jordan Derdack (7.7 ppg, 3.7 rebounds/g, 41.7% FG, 21.4% 3FG).
The bench guys – 6’6” sophomore forward Bryce Heard (6.6 ppg, 45.5% FG, 37.0% 3FG), 6’10” senior Jacob Conner (4.4 ppg, 42.4% FG, 30.4% 3FG), 6’6” sophomore Jaiun Simon (3.9 ppg, 400% FG, 16.7% 3FG) and 6’8” freshman Malcolm Thomas (3.8 ppg, 45.0% FG) – all get between 9.9 and 17.2 minutes per game.
Strengths/weaknesses
Dayton ranks 38th nationally, per KenPom, in adjusted defensive efficiency (0.993 points per possession), and is fifth nationally in defensive turnover percentage (24.0%).
They’re only OK on offense (1.129 PPP, 87th nationally) and on the defensive boards (70.7%, 130th nationally).
The issue with rebounding on defense could be an issue against a Virginia team that ranks second nationally on the offensive boards (44.5%) and averages 17.9 second-chance points per game, which ranks in the top 1 percent nationally, per CBB Analytics.
Forecast
- KenPom: Virginia 77-72
- BartTorvik: Virginia 76-70
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Chris Graham
