DAYTON — The University of Dayton Flyers return to Tom Blackburn Court on Wednesday, Jan. 13 when the Duquesne Dukes visit UD Arena.  Game time is 7 p.m. ET. 

Dayton is 6-3, and 2-2 in the Atlantic 10 after an 89-78 overtime win at Davidson.  Senior guards Jalen Crutcher and Ibi Watson combined for 53 points (career-high 29 for Crutcher).  Mustapha Amzil added 12 points (on four shots) and Elijah Weaver had 11 with seven assists.

The game will carried by WHIO Radio, televised by the CBS Sports Network and streamed on the CBS Sports App.  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 was 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, with consensus national PoY Obi Toppin. Crutcher is the first Flyer with 1,200 points, 500 assists and 200 three-pointers.

• Crutcher has lived up to his nickname of “Clutcher” in all six of Dayton’s wins, scoring UD’s final points in the last seconds of regulation or overtime at the line.

•If a “true freshman” is a player who signed the previous year and is playing without redshirting, can you call a player who signed in November and scores 22 points in December start a “truer freshman?” We call him Mustapha Amzil, and the 22 points he scored in first college game were the most at UD in 14 years.  He then had 15 vs. GMU (with 6 reb & 4 asst).

• Amzil was A-10 Rookie of the Week exactly 50 days after he signed with UD on Nov. 16.

• “True” freshman Koby Brea also made his first appearance in the La Salle game, and then got his first start vs. GMU.  He missed the first five games of the year with a wrist injury. 

• After playing a total of 18 minutes with no points or rebounds in his first four games of the year, redshirt freshman Zimi Nwokeji has averaged 28.8 minutes, 7.1 points and 3.0 rebounds in the last three games. 

• Ibi Watson is second on the team in scoring (16.2) and minutes (39.4), and percentage-wise, is nearly a 50-40-80 guy.  He shoots 49% FG, 45% from 3-pt. and 85% from the line.

• Jordy Tshimanga pulled down 16 rebounds at Fordham, the most by a Flyer in three years.

• Rodney Chatman had surgery for a torn ligament on his right hand on Jan. 5, with a 6-to-8 week expected recovery.  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 and Fatts Russell.  He scored 21 points and was superb on All-SEC guard Devontae Shuler vs. Ole Miss.

• Coach Anthony Grant was the consensus national coach of the year in 2019-20. 

UP NEXT

• Dayton plays back-to-back games with George Washington next.  The Flyers are in DC against the Colonials on Sunday, Jan.  19 (2:30 p.m. ET), and then home on Wednesday, Jan. 22.

COURTESY DAYTON MEDIA RELATIONS