Loyola Chicago Set for Primetime Battle with Dayton Flyers tonight

Tip-off on ESPN2 is set for 6 p.m. Friday evening

GAME NOTES

https://loyolaramblers.com/documents/2023/2/16/23MBB_Game_Notes_-_Dayton2.pdf

LISTEN

https://loyolaramblers.com/showcase?Live=144

CHICAGO (February 16, 2023) – Loyola University Chicago returns home under the bright lights of a national TV audience on Friday, January 17 when the Ramblers welcome Dayton to Gentile Arena. Tip-off inside Chicago is set for 6:00 p.m. (CT) on ESPN2, with Mike Corey and Dalen Cuff on the call. Friday’s game can also be heard on the Rambler Sports Network, with Jeff Hagedorn and Christian Thomas calling the action live courtside.

Last Time Out
Philip Alston hit a key free throw with nine seconds left and blocked the potential game-tying shot on the other end just before the buzzer as Loyola held off a furious UMass comeback to pick up the 64-62 victory Tuesday evening in Amherst.

Braden Norris scored a team-high 17 points thanks to four 3-pointers, while adding five rebounds and five assists. Alston added 13 points to go along with six rebounds and career-best tying four blocks.

Dayton/Loyola – The Series
Dayton will look to exact revenge on the Flyers after falling to Dayton in overtime, 85-81, on January 31. Philip Alston banked in a 3-pointer with 0.4 remaining to send the game into the extra period. Friday will be the 50th meeting all-time between the two programs, with Dayton owning a 34-15 edge in the series history.

It had been almost 30 years since the two teams last met prior to the meeting earlier this year, with Loyola picking up a 59-56 road win at Dayton on Feb. 27, 1993 when the two teams were members of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference. The two teams had met every year, expect one, between 1968 and 1993, Dayton’s final season as members of the MCC.

Scouting Dayton
DaRon Holmes II and Toumani Camara lead that Dayton attack, averaging 17.5 and 14.0 points per game, respectively. The duo also anchors the Flyers’ defensive efforts, with Camara averaging 9.3 rebounds per game and Holmes ranking second on the team with 7.9 per contest. Camara ranks 17th in the country in rebounds per game.

The Flyers rank 11th nationally in scoring defense, holding opposing teams to 61.2 points per game. Loyola’s 81 points scored in the first meeting this year are the most the Flyers have allowed to any opponent this season. Dayton is the ninth-best team in the country at defending the long ball, limiting teams to just 28.5% shooting from 3-point range. Loyola, however, connected on 13-of-25 (52.0%) attempts from distance in the contest on January 31.

The Flyers enter the game winners of four of its last five games, including a 70-56 win over league-leading Saint Louis last Friday night.

Up Next
Loyola remains at home to take on Fordham on Wednesday, February 22. Tip-off inside Gentile Arena is set for 8 p.m. on NBC Sports Chicago+.

COURTESY LOYOLA ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS