Locking up a top four spot in the Atlantic 10 tournament is crucial, because with it comes the double-bye into the quarter finals. The Dayton Flyers and the Saint Louis Billikens have both already done it as they prepare for their season finale tonight.
Dayton is second in the conference at 12-5 in A10 play and Saint Louis is fourth at 11-6. Duquesne and George Mason both are 10-7, just one game behind the Billikens, but Saint Louis has beaten both this season, so they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker, locking it into the top four.
Where these two teams will slot into the top four is the big question. Dayton beat Saint Louis back on Feb. 10, 70-56, so the Flyers are going for the season sweep tonight.
The A10 tournament is just four days away, but first we need to wrap up the regular season. Here are the odds for Saint Louis and Dayton.
Dayton vs. Saint Louis odds, spread and total
Dayton vs. Saint Louis prediction and pick
When Dayton and Saint Louis played early last month the Dayton Flyers were able to shut down the engine of the Billikens on offense and lock up the steering wheel.
They held Gibson Jimerson to just 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field and 2-for-6 from 3 and Yuri Collins to 10 points and only six assists, four off his season average.
Javonte Perkins had to lead the way in scoring with 17 points, Dayton accomplished its mission of stopping Jimerson and Collins, by far the two most important pieces of this team.
Dayton is 12th in opponent points per game and sixth in opponent 3-point shooting which is crucial against a team with a shooter like Jimerson as their leading scorer.
Last time they met, SLU shot 5-for-15 from 3.
Jimerson averages 11 points on the road this year and 16 at home, and he also shoots seven percent higher from 3 in home games.
I think homecourt is a big deal and Collins and Jimerson will play much better in their regular season finale. I’ll take the Billikens to rebound from that ugly loss at Dayton just under a month ago.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change
