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Game notes: Dayton vs. Xavier

Dayton Flyers fans cheer for their team. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
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Posted: 01/30/2013

By: WCPO Digital Staff

CINCINNATI - The men's basketball teams at Xavier and Dayton will square off once again Wednesday evening when the Flyers venture down Interstate 75 to the XU campus.

While it doesn’t receive the same hype as the annual Crosstown Classic between the Musketeers and the University of Cincinnati, the conference matchup between UD and Xavier is always hotly contested on the court and in the stands.

With the help of the sports information departments at Xavier and Dayton , 9 On Your Side and WCPO Digital have put together game notes for contest.

Records: Xavier (11-8, 4-2 A-10) vs. Dayton (12-7, 2-3 A-10)

Time: Wed., Jan. 30, 2013 at 9 p.m.

Location: Cintas Center on the campus of Xavier University

Television: CBS Sports Network with play-by-play from Tom McCarthy and analysis from Seth Davis and former Xavier captain Steve Wolf (XU’83).

Radio: 55KRC-AM with play-by-play from XU Hall of Famer and former Musketeer standout Joe Sunderman (‘79). Analysis will be provided by Xavier Hall of Famer and XU all-time leading scorer Byron Larkin (‘88).

Series History

Xavier and Dayton have met 158 times, the first time being in the 1919-20 season (UD won 24-18). The two teams have met 59 times more than any other opponent Xavier has faced. It’s also the most played rivalry for Dayton. XU has won 27 straight games against the Dayton Flyers in Cincinnati. Dayton’s last win over XU in Cincinnati came in the 1980-81 season.

UD leads the all-time series 84-74, but lost two of three versus Xavier last season. The two teams have met at least once every year since 1946-47.

Wednesday’s game will be the 57th contest to feature the Blackburn/McCafferty Trophy, which will go to the winning school. The trophy, which has gone to the winning school since 1980-81, is named in honor of legendary coaches who put their two schools on the basketball map - Dayton’s Tom Blackburn and XU’s Jim McCafferty. The trophy series only covers regular season meetings, and XU leads the trophy series 36-20.

The Last Meeting: March 9, 2012 – A-10 Tourney quarterfinals - XU 70, Dayton 69

Xavier advanced to the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 tournament with a thrilling win over Dayton at Boardwalk Hall. With the win, XU improved to 20-11 on the season while UD fell to 19-12.

About Xavier
The Xavier Musketeers enter the game 11-8 overall and 4-2 in the Atlantic 10. At the Cintas Center, Xavier has been tough to beat with a 7-2 record. The Musketeer defense allows 60.7 points per game, second-best in the conference. XU is led by freshman Semaj Christon, who averages 14.9 points and 4.7 assists per game. Travis Taylor is averaging close to a double-double in A-10 action with 10.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per contest.

About Dayton
The Flyers, 12-7 overall and 2-3 in conference play, won a pair of games at home last week. UD’s three conference losses were all against teams in the RPI Top 50. In Atlantic 10 games, the Flyers lead in defensive rebounding (26.6), 3-point field goal shooting (.453), 3-point field goals made (9.5) and rebounding margin (+12.5). Kevin Dillard leads Dayton in scoring (14.9), assists (4.8), three-pointers made (35), free throws made (85), free throw percentage (.867), minutes (31.8) and steals (25). Devin Oliver ranks second in the A-10 in rebounding averaging 8.6 per contest.

Xavier game notes

Xavier, 11-8 overall and 4-2 in the Atlantic 10, lost its second straight A-10 road game on Saturday at Saint Joseph’s, 59-49, despite holding a 49-47 lead with under four minutes left. Christon led all scorers with16 points.
Xavier is third in the Atlantic 10 in field goal percentage defense (.405), second in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.311), and second in scoring defense (60.7 ppg.).
Xavier is playing its lone home game in a five-game stretch. XU is coming off a two-game road swing and, after the Dayton game, starts another two-game road swing at Richmond on Saturday.
Christon leads XU in scoring (10th overall and first among freshmen in the A-10 at 14.9 ppg.), assists (sixth overall and second among freshmen in the A-10 at 4.7 apg.) and steals (15th in the A-10 at 1.5 spg.).
Xavier senior Brad Redford, who is third in the A-10 in 3-point percentage (.447) for all games, has averaged 10.8 ppg. in A-10 play so far.
Xavier senior Travis Taylor is XU’s rebound leader at 8.0 rpg. (tied for fourth in the Atlantic 10), while standing second in scoring at 11.5 ppg.
Xavier sophomore Justin Martin, who is fourth on the team in scoring (8.2 ppg.) and in rebounding (4.9 rpg.), has recorded nine double-figure scoring games.
Xavier sophomore Dee Davis, who missed two games recently with a wrist injury, is third on the team in scoring (8.6 ppg.) and second in assists (ninth in A-10 at 3.8 apg.).
Xavier fourth-year head coach Chris Mack is 84-38 (.688) overall and 43-11 (.796) in A-10 regular season play as Xavier’s head coach. Mack led Xavier to the NCAA Tournament in each of his first three seasons, including the NCAA Sweet

Xavier is one of only four teams that have made the NCAA Sweet 16 four times in the last five years (2008-12): Kansas, Michigan State, North Carolina and Xavier. No team has made all of the last five Sweet 16s. Xavier is one of only eight schools that have made at least the last seven straight NCAA Tournaments.
Xavier is ranked 11th in the nation in the latest NCAA Graduation Success Rate at 97 percent. Xavier men’s basketball was among 14 XU programs at 100 percent.
Xavier has graduated each of the last 88 men’s basketball players that have played as seniors, a streak which dates back to 1986.

Dayton Game Notes

Four of Dayton’s seven losses have come by a total of six points.
In Atlantic 10 games, the Flyers lead in assists (16.4), defensive rebounding (26.6), 3-point field goal shooting (.453), 3-point field goals made (8.6) and rebounding margin (+12.0).
Dayton finished non-conference play with 10 victories, the seventh consecutive year achieving 10-plus wins prior to Atlantic 10 action.
In Dayton’s 12 wins, the Flyers are shooting .497 from the field. In the seven losses, the field goal percentage drops to .403.
The Flyers are 7-0 this season when scoring 75 or more points.
Overall, Dayton leads the conference in 3-point shooting (.385) and ranks second in scoring offense (72.9), assists (14.7), field goal percentage (.461), defensive rebounding (30.1) and rebounding margin (+5.9).
Dayton is 6-0 this season when Kevin Dillard dishes five or more assists in a game.
Dillard, a Cousy Award watch list selection, is 12th in the A-10 in scoring, sixth in assists and sixth free throw percentage. He has scored in double figures in all but one game this year.
Dillard is also 26-of-26 in the last two minutes of the game this season at the charity stripe.
Devin Oliver leads the Flyers with four double-doubles this season.
Oliver has nine double figure rebounding games, the most in the Atlantic 10.
Josh Benson is producing at a similar clip as he did last season before his torn ACL. In 2012-13, Benson is averaging 10.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and shooting .554 from the floor.
Benson ranks fifth in the Atlantic 10 in field goal percentage.
Vee Sanford has scored in double figures in 10 of his last 13 contests.
Sanford is shooting .828 at the free throw line, second-best on the team and ninth in the A-10. Sanford is also 21st in the conference in scoring.
Dyshawn Pierre is UD’s third-leading scorer in conference action, averaging 11.0 points. He is shooting .556 from the field against A-10 opponents.
Matt Derenbecker went 5-for-9 (.556) from beyond the arc versus Fordham and Duquesne last week. He ranks fourth in the A-10 in three-point field goal percentage (.443).
The past two games, Jalen Robinson averaged 9.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in 36 minutes.