When: 7 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Imperial Gym, Paradise Island, Bahamas
TV/Radio: ESPNews; AM 1290, News 95.7 WHIO
» TOURNAMENT PREVIEW: Virginia, Wisconsin among favorites
Probable Dayton starters
Josh Cunningham, 6-8, R-Sr., 20.0
Obi Toppin, 6-9, R-Fr., F, 15.0
Jordan Davis, 6-2, So., G, 13.0
Trey Landers, 6-5, Jr., G, 12.3
Jalen Crutcher, 6-1, So., G, 12.0
Probable Butler starters
Kamar Baldwin, 6-1, Jr., G, 23.3
Paul Jorgensen, 6-2, R-Sr., G, 18.7
Aaron Thompson, 6-2, So., G, 7.7
Nate Fowler, 6-10, Sr., C, 6.7
Sean McDermott, 6-6, R-Jr., F, 6.3
» FORT WAYNE GAME: Cunningham shines in debut | Five takeaways | 20 photos
Series history: Butler leads 13-10. The last matchup came in the 2013 Atlantic 10 tournament. Butler won 73-67. It was Butler's sixth straight victory in the series. Dayton last beat Butler in 1991, 116-98 at UD Arena.
Coaches: Anthony Grant is 17-17 in his second season at Dayton. LaVall Jordan is 24-14 in his second season at Butler.
Last game: Dayton beat Purdue Fort Wayne 91-80 on Friday. Butler beat Mississippi 83-76 on Friday.
About Dayton: The Flyers have a three-game winning streak for the first time since 2017. … Dayton is 174-166 against current members of the Big East. … Cunningham pushed his career scoring total to 832 points in the opener. He scored the first 260 at Bradley as a freshman. … Ryan Mikesell, who started the first two games, averages 13.3 points per game. He leads the team in 3-point accuracy (5 of 10, 50 percent). … Dwayne Cohill and Jhery Matos each average 4.7 points off the bench.
About Butler: The Bulldogs have played in the NCAA tournament four seasons in a row and 10 times in the last 12 seasons. They were 21-14 last season and 9-9 in the Big East. … Joey Brunk (15.0), a 6-11 center, is the top scorer off the bench. … Fowler is a graduate of Cincinnati Moeller. … Butler has a transfer from Duke, Jordan Tucker, who will not be eligible to play until the end of the fall semester.
Looking ahead: Dayton will play Virginia or Middle Tennessee State on Thursday in the semifinals (4 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2) or consolation bracket (9:30 p.m., ESPN2 or ESPNU). Dayton's final game will be Friday against Wisconsin, Stanford, Oklahoma or Florida. Possible game times are 11:30 a.m. (third-place game), 2 p.m. (championship), 7 p.m. (seventh-place game) and 9:30 p.m. (fifth-place game).
About the Author
