DAYTON — The University of Dayton Flyers will take to Tom Blackburn Court for the second time this season on Saturday, Dec. 5, when UD welcomes SMU to the Arena.  Game time is 2 p.m. ET. 

Dayton opened the season with a 66-63 win over Eastern Illinois on Tuesday.  Ibi Watson led UD with 16 points, followed by Chase Johnson (14 points), Jalen Crutcher (13), and Jordy Tshimanga (10).  Rodney Chatman just missed making if five in double digits with nine points and a career-high four steals. 

SMU is 3-0 so far in 2020-21, with a 31.3 point average margin of victory.

The game will carried by WHIO Radio, televised by in the Dayton area by Spectrum News 1 and streamed on ESPN+.  Streaming audio, video and stats will be available at DaytonFlyers.com.

#TRENDING

• Moving into a more visibly primary role this year, Jalen Crutcher is getting the kind of attention from the media during the preseason that he will no doubt get from opponents during the season.  He is on the Naismith, Wooden NABC and Bob Cousy Award Watch Lists.

• Crutcher, a four-year starter, was ranked the 12th-best player in the country by ESPN, 16th in CBSSports.com’s. top college basketball players.  The Athletic rated him sixth among its top 20 guards in the country.  He was also named Second Team Preseason All-America by Stadium. 

• Keep in mind that Crutcher was UD’s co-MVP last season, sharing the honor with the national player of the year and an NBA lottery pick, as well as his roommate and best friend, Obi Toppin.

• Crutcher lived up to his nickname of “Clutcher” with the pair of free throws with 12 seconds left that turned a one-point lead into a three-point lead in the Eastern Illinois win.

• Rodney Chatman is the only returnee who started every game last season.  An elite defender, he held several of the best guards UD faced last year well under their average, including NBA top draft pick Anthony Edwards, Saint Mary’s Jordan Ford and Rhode Island’s Fatts Russell.  He had a career-high four steals in the EIU win.

• Ibi Watson led all scorers with 16 points (11 in the first half) in the opener.

• Chase Johnson had never attempted a three-pointer in his college career, but the first Flyer shot of 2020-21 was a Johnson trey.  He made two more en route to a 14-point, seven-rebound, four-assist performance in the Eastern Illinois win.  He made five of six shots in the game.

• Jordy Tshimanga was +16 in +/-vs. EIU, with 10 points and eight rebounds.

• Coach Anthony Grant was the consensus national coach of the year in 2019-20, the first UD basketball coach to earn that honor.

• The Flyers’ 21-game win streak is the second-longest active streak in Division I and the longest at Dayton in over 100 years (third longest overall).

UP NEXT

• Dayton’s next scheduled game is Saturday, Dec. 12 in Atlanta against Mississippi State in the Holiday HoopsGiving quadrupleheader.  The Flyers are looking to replace the Purdue Fort Wayne game that was scheduled on Tuesday, but cancelled due to Covid-19 concerns. 

GAME PREVIEW COURTESY DAYTON MEDIA RELATIONS