By Pete Fiutak | March 13, 2017 3:44 pm CT

Dayton (24-7) vs. Wichita State (30-4) Prediction & Game Preview

NCAA Tournament: Dayton vs. Wichita State fearless prediction and game preview.

– CFN March Madness Schedule & Fearless Predictions

Broadcast

Date: Friday, March 17
Game Time: 7:10 ET
Venue: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
Network: CBS

All You Really Need To Know About Wichita State

(Missouri Valley) RPI: 32, 10 seed

The Shockers broke the regular season tie with Illinois State to take the Missouri Valley title, winning with emphasis in the tournament title game. Now they come into the big tourney on a 15-game winning streak – they haven’t played a competitive game since mid-January.

They play a suffocating defense, don’t let anyone hit from the outside, and they grab every rebound. While the outside shooting isn’t a problem, and they can put up big numbers against any style, they’re about that D. This will be the proverbial team no one wants to face.

All You Really Need To Know About Dayton

(Atlantic 10) RPI: 30, 7 seed

The Flyers rolled through the regular season, but were upended by Davidson in the tournament after losing to Georgia Washington to close out the regular season. Is it time to jump off the bandwagon? They have a few nice wins, and battled Northwestern hard earlier in the season, but they’re still dangerous.

Good on the glass, they’re okay at generating second-chance points to occasionally bail out a good three-shooting attack, and they can get inside, too. They can’t hit free throws on a regular basis, but they can get after it defensively, is great generating steals and force mistakes, and they’ll give the high-powered offensive teams all they can handle.

What’s Going To Happen

Woefully underseeded, Wichita State has been as dominant as anyone in the country over the last two months – it’s killing everyone. This is a dangerous Dayton team that could get to the second weekend if it can get by the Shockers, but it’s not going to happen. The Wichita State advantage on the boards will come through in key moments, and free throw shooting will make a huge difference late.