The 10th-seeded Saint Joseph’s Hawks (16-16) and 2nd-seeded Dayton Flyers (20-11) meet Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic-10 Tournament. Tip-off from Barclays Center in Brooklyn is at 5 p.m. ET (USA Network). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Saint Joseph’s vs. Dayton odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Saint Joseph’s advanced to this game with an 87-76 win over George Washington Wednesday in the 2nd round after a 72-67 win over Loyola-Chicago in Tuesday’s tournament opener. The Hawks have won 3 straight games, which matches their longest streak of the season.
Dayton has been idle, earning a bye as the 2nd-seed after going 12-6 team in A-10 play. The Flyers play at a slow tempo and are efficient on offense and especially talented on defense. However, they have had wild, inconsistent swings in their production as they look to capture the A-10 title and reach the Big Dance for the 1st time since 2017.
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Saint Joseph’s vs. Dayton odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 8:45 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Saint Joseph’s +425 (bet $100 to win $425) | Dayton -650 (bet $650 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Saint Joseph’s +10.5 (-110) | Dayton -10.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 135.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Saint Joseph’s vs. Dayton picks and predictions
Prediction
Dayton 72, Saint Joseph’s 60
Moneyline
Avoid the extra juice: PASS.
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Against the spread
The Hawks are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games against teams playing .600 or better basketball.
Dayton easily covered as a 13.5-point favorite in a 76-56 win when these teams met on Jan. 4. The Flyers are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games, and their excellent perimeter defense (28.8% allowed on 3s) plays squarely against an SJU offense that likes to crank out 3-pointers with great frequency.
UD had some turnover problems early in the season but has taken much better care of the ball recently. The Flyers figure to have an edge in rebounding, free-throw frequency and rest.
That all makes for plenty of leverage, and UD bettors will need it against a lofty figure. Consider a partial-unit play on DAYTON -10.5 (-110).
Over/Under
The Under is 7-1 in Dayton’s last 8 overall and is 5-1 in St. Joe’s last 6 games following a straight-up win. It’s also 4-2 in the last 6 games between these programs.
Look for Dayton to control the pace. With a neutral-site shooting background, the UNDER 135.5 (-110) is worth some partial-unit consideration.
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