The Dayton Flyers take on the Stanford Cardinal tonight in Sweet 16 action in the NCAA Tournament. The game is scheduled for a 7:15 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on CBS. Currently the odds for the game have Stanford favored by a couple of points to advance.
This matchup in the Sweet 16 is the only one between double-digit seeds. Stanford (10th) and Dayton (11th) both are looking to make a run to the Final Four and each had to knock off very good teams to reach this point in the tournament — Stanford knocked off New Mexico and Kansas while Dayton was able to beat Ohio State and Syracuse in their opening two games. Dayton has won 12 of their last 14 games overall and are the only team left of the six who qualified from the Atlantic 10.
Both teams average better than 73 points per game and allow opponents to score around 68 per contest. Stanford has been playing pretty good defensively so far in the tournament, holding the Lobos to 53 points and Kansas to just 57 in the last round. Dayton has also held both of their opponents in the 50s this tournament, giving up 59 to the Buckeyes in the opening round and 53 to Syracuse.
Stanford starts three juniors and a couple of seniors, a team that has been through some good and bad times and looking to make the best of their current time. Josh Huestis is a great player but has struggled to score in the team's two tournament wins, totaling just 13 combined points. But he has helped the Cardinal in other ways as they've advanced. Stanford averaged just under 74 points per game this season and got nearly 19 per contest from Chasson Randle, who tossed in 23 points against New Mexico and 13 against Kansas in a game where he added six rebounds as well.
Dwight Powell is also a very solid option for the Cardinal, having led them with 15 points in the team's upset win over Kansas. In that game, the Cardinal didn't hit a single 3-pointer, going 0-for-9. But they made as many free throws, 18, as Kansas attempted. They also shot 45 percent from the floor while holding Kansas under 33 percent shooting.
Dayton head coach Archie Miller has been using a deep bench in games this season, sometimes using an 11-man rotation. They are an aggressive team defensively and will look to pressure Stanford all night and force them into turnovers. And offensively the Flyers have a lot of options as 11 different players have scored in double figures at least once this season. Jordan Sibert and Dyshawn Pierre scored 24 points in the team's win over Syracuse while Devin Oliver battled inside. Oliver averaged nearly a dozen points and eight rebounds per game this season.
Stanford is a very big team and that could prove to be a difference in tonight's game. If the Cardinal can run their offense effectively and utilize their big guys, they're going to be tough to beat tonight. We like the depth that Dayton brings to the table, but Randle is going to play a major role here tonight for Stanford. We like Stanford to reach the Elite Eight.
Free Pick: Stanford 61, Dayton 55
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