Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Wildcard Edition
Davidson will try to snap a three-game losing streak when it travels to Dayton in an Atlantic 10 matchup on Tuesday night. The Wildcats have dropped two games below the .500 mark in conference play following their 67-65 loss at George Mason on Saturday. Dayton had its seven-game winning streak snapped in a 63-62 loss to VCU last Friday.
Davidson got off to a fast start this season, winning six of its first seven games. The Wildcats have not won consecutive games since then, and they have only recorded three wins since Nov. 29. Those three wins have come against Western Carolina, Fordham and Loyola Chicago. Davidson got off to a 2-1 start to conference play with the wins against Fordham and Loyola Chicago, but it has lost its three games since then. The Wildcats were blown out by VCU before losing to Richmond by four points last Wednesday. They were unable to get back on track on Saturday, coming up just short against George Mason in a 67-65 final.
'Cats and Flyers Meet Again Tuesday Night in Dayton https://t.co/pc7ahCA9m9
— Davidson Basketball (@DavidsonMBB) January 16, 2023
The Wildcats held a 36-31 lead at halftime, but it was unable to hold on down the stretch. They knocked down just 7 of 24 attempts from 3-point range, continuing an alarming trend. Davidson is shooting just 30.1% from beyond the arc, which ranks No. 316 nationally. The Wildcats are also No. 318 in offensive rebounding rate. They have been able to offset some of those issues with a low turnover rate and solid percentages from 2-point range (52.5) and the charity stripe (73.9). Davidson is facing a Dayton defense that ranks fifth in effective field goal percentage and No. 18 in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency ratings. Senior guard Foster Loyer leads Davidson with 16.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. Junior forward Sam Mennenga is adding 15.5 points and 7.2 rebounds.