The universities of Dayton and Cincinnati are separated by just a 50-mile stretch of Interstate 75. Both programs are ranked and rolling ahead of a primetime Friday broadcast. To paraphrase Cam’ron, it’s time to “get it in Ohio.”
How to watch No. 19 Cincinnati vs. No. 22 Dayton
The Flyers are, well, flying. They already have two signature wins, trouncing then-No. 2 UConn in Maui and topping then-No. 6 Marquette last weekend. Friday will be their fifth game against a ranked opponent. Anthony Grant’s group is fearless. The Flyers are certainly fun on offense — 14th in adjusted rating, and they’ve scored at least 70 points in every game except their last one, a rock fight against UNLV. Three of Dayton’s top four scorers shoot better than 50 percent from the field. And Enoch Cheeks is a high-motor, two-way lead option.
The Athletic’s CJ Moore wrote: “Anthony Grant has had some great offensive teams at Dayton, but usually it’s the shooting that is the separator. This group is good in that category — ranking 24th in effective field goal percentage — but these Flyers take care of the basketball better than any of his previous teams. They are turning it over on only 13.1 percent of their possessions, and their aversion to turnovers helped them knock off Marquette.”
So yeah, Dayton doesn’t look intimidated by elite competition. But the Bearcats at home are a very tough out. Plus, it’s the first time since 2019 that Cincy is ranked and facing a ranked team.
Wes Miller has his guys seventh in adjusted defense rating. They are impressive off the glass and thoroughly irritating in contesting jumpers. Dillon Mitchell, a fleet-footed and hellacious forward, leads the team in defensive rating and defensive win shares. He’s one of three Bearcats to make Sam Vecenie’s NBA Draft Big Board from earlier this month. The other two are senior scorer Simas Lukošius, who has been a total bucket at 68 percent true shooting, and Jizzle James, who has a solid 2.8 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Memorable matchup: On Dec. 28, 1998, No. 4 Cincinnati survived a scare and improved to 11-0 with a 53-51 win over Dayton. Bob Huggins’ side won what was then called the Rock-n-Roll Shootout behind a stout defense and a clutch Kenyon Martin stuff under the basket.
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Dayton vs. Cincinnati odds
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(Photo of Enoch Cheeks: Darryl Oumi / Getty Images)
