Zey also loves his “finger guns” celebration when he gets a chance to complete a 3-point play. He brought that out in the final minute of the second overtime of Dayton’s 74-64 double-overtime victory against Richmond.
Key struggled to make shots, connecting on 1 of 7 field goals, but made 4 of 5 free throws and grabbed seven rebounds while tying a school record with six blocks. It was a productive night in an up-and-down season for the fifth-year forward.
Players, like teams, hit numerous highs and lows throughout the regular season. Dayton’s next opponent at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the final home game of the season illustrates that point.
Saint Louis beat Loyola Chicago 98-67 in its last game Saturday 15 days after losing 78-69 at Loyola.
“There’s pressure to play to standards and your identity,” Saint Louis coach Josh Schertz said after the game, according to a report by longtime SLU beat writer Stu Durando. “You’ve been working nine months to develop habits and standards and how you want to play. For us and a lot of teams, elimination time is just around the corner. There’s pressure to produce your best. Today (we) looked like a team that can play for something significant in March.”
Saint Louis is 1-1 against the three teams it has seen twice in Atlantic 10 Conference play: Loyola Chicago; Virginia Commonwealth; and Saint Joseph’s. Each of those opponents lost at Saint Louis and beat the Billikens at home.
To split with the fourth team Saint Louis plays twice, Dayton, the Billikens will have to reverse that trend and win at UD Arena for the first time in 11 years. The Billikens have lost 10 games in a row in Dayton since a 67-59 victory on Jan. 11, 2014.
Here are seven things to know about the game:
1. Series history: Dayton leads the series 43-30 and has won 18 of the last 22 matchups.
Dayton won 71-63 at Saint Louis on Jan. 31. Saint Louis star Robbie Avila had four points in that game. In the last five games, he has averaged 23 points. He’s averaging 17.5 points on the season.
2. Standings update: With two games remaining in the regular season, Dayton (20-9, 10-6), Saint Louis (17-12, 10-6), Saint Joseph’s (19-10, 10-6) and Loyola Chicago (19-10, 10-6) are tied for third place.
Two teams from the group will claim the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds and will start play in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament on March 14. The other teams will start play a day earlier in the second round.
Here’s who everyone plays in the final week:
• After facing Saint Louis, Dayton plays at first-place VCU (24-5, 14-2) on Friday.
• After playing at Dayton, Saint Louis plays at home against Duquesne (13-16, 8-8) on Saturday.
• Saint Joseph’s plays a home game against 11th-place Rhode Island (17-1, 16-10) on Wednesday and plays at 14th-place La Salle (12-17, 4-12) on Saturday.
• Loyola plays at home against 11th-place Davidson (16-13, 6-10) on Wednesday and plays at ninth-place Massachusetts (12-17, 7-9) on Saturday.
3. Injury update: Dayton forward Isaac Jack was on the bench but not in uniform Saturday. He has missed three games since undergoing an appendectomy two weeks ago.
“He’s doing good,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said Saturday. “He’s just got to heal up. It’s just a matter of time. We hope that the process continues to move forward with no setbacks for him. He wants to get back as soon as possible. I trust our medical staff. When he’s ready to be back, he’ll be back.”
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4. Players to watch: Sixth-year Saint Louis guard Gibson Jimerson set a school record by making nine 3-pointers, on 17 attempts, against Loyola. He scored 33 points. He’s averaging 17.3 points per game in A-10 play. That’s the seventh-best mark in the conference.
• Dayton forward Nate Santos has scored 18, 17 and 18 points in the last three games. He’s Dayton’s leading scorer (14.3) in A-10 play. He ranks sixth in A-10 play in 3-point shooting percentage (33 of 76, 43.4).
5. Rotation change: Dayton freshman Hamad Mousa saw action in the first 12 games of the season. He has made eight appearances in the last 17 games and has not seen the court in the last three games. Mousa has made 1 of 13 3-pointers and has 11 turnovers in 20 appearances.
6. Strengths and weaknesses: In 16 A-10 games, Saint Louis has the league’s best field-goal percentage (47%). Dayton ranks ninth (43.8).
• Saint Louis ranks last in the A-10 in turnover margin (minus 3.56). Dayton is second (plus 2.13).
7. Odds & Ends: KenPom.com gives Dayton an 72% chance of winning and predicts a 77-70 score. Dayton is No. 79 in the Pomeroy rating. Saint Louis is No. 105.
• Dayton ranks 69th in the NCAA Evaluation Tool. It is the second highest-ranked A-10 team behind No. 29 VCU. No. 101 Saint Louis is the sixth highest-ranked A-10 team.
This is a Quadrant 3 game for Dayton and a Quad 1 game for Saint Louis. Dayton is 2-4 in Quad 1 games, 3-4 in Quad 2, 8-1 in Quad 3 and 6-0 in Quad 4. Saint Louis is 1-2 in Quad 1, 0-8 in Quad 2, 7-2 in Quad 3 and 7-0 in Quad 4.
TUESDAY’S GAME
Saint Louis at Dayton, 7 p.m., Spectrum News 1, ESPN+, 1290, 95.7
