Dayton @ Richmond preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 6, 2019 ) Richmond 48, Dayton 72

Seventh-ranked Dayton tries for its eighth straight victory over host Richmond on Saturday with first place on the line in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Flyers tuned up for their encounter with the Spiders by routing St. Bonaventure 86-60 on Wednesday and while the star of the team is national player of the year candidate Obi Toppin, guard Jalen Crutcher has emerged as an important piece to the puzzle.

Crutcher scored a season-high 23 points Wednesday - his third straight game with at least 20 - and has totaled at least 10 in his last nine contests, raising his season average to 14.2 points. "He's a really good player, and I think he's been proving that since he stepped on campus," Dayton coach Anthony Grant, whose team has won eight straight, told reporters. "He's really grown and he's maturing here." Richmond has won three straight games - all without leading scorer Blake Francis - after a 75-57 victory Wednesday over La Salle. Saturday's contest, which will be played at the sold-out Robins Center, features the top two offenses in the A-10 with the Flyers averaging 83 points - fourth nationally entering Friday - and the Spiders 76.1.

TIME: 6 p.m. ET. TV: NBCS Washington

ABOUT DAYTON (17-2, 6-0 Atlantic 10): Toppin paces the conference in scoring (19.5 points per game) and field goal percentage (62.3), and missed double-doubles in two of his last three contests by one rebound. Crutcher averages a team-high 5.1 assists and makes 41.1 percent of his 3-point tries. Trey Landers (11.2 points, 5.8 rebounds) has scored 10 or more points in seven straight games and shoots 59.6 percent from the field while Ibi Watson (11.8 points) leads the A-10 in 3-point percentage at 46.8.

ABOUT RICHMOND (15-4, 5-1): Freshman forward Tyler Burton has helped fill the scoring void by scoring a total of 26 points in the last two games after recording 42 in his first 16 contests. Grant Golden (12.7 points, team-high 7.1 rebounds) has also picked it up offensively with 49 points in the three games without Francis (17.6 points), who is expected to be out until at least mid-February with a fractured sternum. The Spiders are 11 games over .500 for the first time since 2010-11 and are off to their best 19-game start since 1987-88.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Flyers lead the nation in field goal percentage at 52.5 and are one of four teams above 50 percent.

2. Richmond's last victory over a top seven team occurred in the 1991 NCAA Tournament, when the Spiders became the first 15 seed to defeat a No. 2 seed with a 73-69 stunner over Syracuse.

3. Dayton lost to No. 3 Kansas on Nov. 27 in the Maui Invitational championship and to Colorado on Dec. 21 in Chicago on a buzzer beater - both in overtime.

PREDICTION: Richmond 78, Dayton 77