Loyola Ramblers Preview – https://loyolaramblers.com/news/2026/1/ ... rnoon.aspx

Dayton Stats and Intel - https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/sc ... /2026.html

Record: 10-4 (1-0, 1st in A-10 MBB)
Coach: Anthony Grant
PS/G: 78.4 (164th of 365)
PA/G: 69.3 (91st of 365)
SRS: 8.99 (88th of 365)
SOS: -0.15 (183rd of 365)
ORtg: 110.6 (168th of 365)
DRtg: 97.7 (69th of 365)
Preseason Odds: Championship +50000


Dayton Flyers 10-4 (1-0) at Loyola Chicago Ramblers 5-9 (1-0) – 1:00pm CST, Gentile Arena, Chicago IL

Atlantic 10 Conference rivals, Dayton and Loyola Chicago, meet in Chicago Saturday afternoon for an uncharacteristic early January duel. Both teams won their conference openers this week.

On New Year’s Eve Day, Loyola Chicago beat Rhode Island on the road to open the Atlantic 10 schedule Wednesday afternoon, 61-57. Justin Moore led all scorers with 19 points, while Miles Rubin (12) and Kayde Dotson (11) joined him in double-figures.

Loyola improved to 5-9 overall, 1-0 in A-10 play. No postgame quotes from Coach Valentine.

Dayton comes to Chicago having lost its last two games at Gentile Arena. In both losses, Loyola’s stingy defense, timely second half offensive runs, creation of points off of turnovers, a full 40-minutes of intensity, and wild crowds played hugely in both games. Can the Ramblers make it 3 straight home wins over UD ?

The Flyers are 10-4 overall and 1-0 in A-10 play entering the weekend. Dayton opened conference play with a 63-56 win over Fordham. Of their 10 wins, none but possibly Georgetown are currently quality top-100 opponents. And they have losses to Cincinnati, BYU, Virginia, and Liberty.

Dayton has a top-100 scoring defense in the country, holding opponents to 69.3 points per game, but are imperfect and committing 16 fouls per game. The Flyers also force 16.6 turnovers per game to rank 32nd in the nation and this leads to points off of turnovers for them. Their 9.6 steals per game is second in the A-10 and 32nd in the country.

Offensively, this is not the same offensively gifted Dayton squad featuring the NBA caliber and international prospects we’ve dueled against and found ways to defeat in the prior 3 seasons, but they are putting up a respectable 78 ppg that will win games. From deep, the Flyers are shooting 32.1%, 73.2% from the free throw line, and are hitting 45.9% from the field.

This year’s Dayton squad also doesn’t feature the depth of prior teams, as they’ve returned only 29.3% of scoring from the 24-25 roster.
Returning senior guard Javon Bennett is Dayton's leading scorer averaging 16.1 points per game. He's scored at least 10 in the last five games and in 12 total games this season. Bennett scored a season-high 25 points on two occasions. He ranked ninth in the A-10 with 31 made three-pointers this year. Georgia transfer, 6-4 G De’Shayne Montgomery is their other primary scorer, averaging nearly 15 per game. After dropping 23 on North Florida and 20 on Florida State in December, he’s only scored 10 over the past 2 games, both of which Dayton could barely score 60 points altogether. Loyola fan favorite, 7-1 C Amael L’Etang returns to Dayton as a greatly improved sophomore, averaging a reliable 12.8ppg with 6.5rpg to go with it. He’s put up double figure scoring in all but 2 games on the season. L’Etang was out with injury in the last game and is listed as questionable/probably out with undisclosed injury – was on crutches this week.

What sucks about this game is the timing of the matchup. This is typically a late February game on the calendar with a playoff atmosphere and major win-loss implications on the line when both teams are fighting for a league title and conference tournament position. With students on winter break, there might not be much of a home court advantage in this one.

Yet there is much good news….. Play some defense. Play a full 40 minutes. Value every possession. Don’t turn the ball over. Make no mistakes. Take advantage of a L’Etang-less Dayton from everywhere within the paint and this one is very winnable. If the Ramblers are indeed playing better and if they've figured this hellish 2025-26 season out, this is THE game to prove it and show us all.


Dayton Probable Starters – 5-11 G Javon Bennett, 6-4 G DeShayne Montfomery, 6-6 F Keonte Jones, 6-8 F Jacob Conner, 6-5 G Jordan Derkack

Loyola Probable Starters - Rubin, Houinsou, Dotson, Moore, Amos


LAST 10 GAMES FOR BOTH SQUADS

Flyers: 7-3, averaging 78.0 points, 32.1 rebounds, 14.4 assists, 9.7 steals and 4.3 blocks per game while shooting 45.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.5 points.

Ramblers: 4-6, averaging 67.1 points, 30.8 rebounds, 12.1 assists, 3.4 steals and 3.5 blocks per game while shooting 43.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.5 points per game.

Watch / Listen – Saturday afternoon’s game will broadcast on CBS Sports Network with Jordan Kent and Mike O’Donnell on the call, and can be listened to Rambler Sports Network with our friends Sudikoff and CT.

Postgame Show - Tune in to Sudikoff on RSN, followed by TalkinBlers Spaces on the X: https://x.com/blerstalking?s=21


Odds: Dayton -8.5 (as of 7pm 1/2)