No. 1 seed VCU (26-7) advanced to the Atlantic 10 Conference championship game for the seventh time in the last 10 tournaments with a 90-78 victory against No. 4 seed Saint Louis in the semifinals.
“Offensively, we were really efficient today,” VCU coach Mike Rhoades said. “We really shared the basketball. Except for getting a little goofy at the end there, I just thought we played the right way and guys really executed the plays. We need to make sure we do that tomorrow.”
VCU will play No. 2 seed Dayton (22-11) in the championship game at 1 p.m. Sunday. The game will air on CBS. Dayton beat Fordham 78-68 in the second semifinal.
VCU built a 15-point lead in the first half but saw it trimmed to 44-39 at halftime. VCU started the second half with a 14-2 run and cruised to its third victory of the season against Saint Louis.
Jayden Nunn scored 18 points for VCU. Brandon Johns had 16, and Jamir Watkins scored 15.
After making 9 of 21 3-pointers (42.9%) in a 71-53 quarterfinal victory against No. 8 seed Davidson, VCU made 9 of 19 Saturday (47.4%).
Sunday schedule
Dayton or VCU will hear its name called on the NCAA selection show, which starts at 6 p.m. Sunday and airs on CBS.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi predicted VCU would earn a No. 12 seed as the A-10′s automatic qualifier in his latest update.
History lesson
To put VCU’s A-10 tournament success in perspective, no other A-10 team has advanced to the championship game more than twice since 2013, while VCU has made seven final appearances. It is now 7-0 in semifinal games.
“When you get close to that game, you just put the blinders on and go,” Rhoades said. “Everyone’s different. I’ve been here for a few of them. You just go compete.”
Saint Louis won the championship in its only two final appearances during this stretch (2013 and 2019). Saint Joseph’s also won two titles (2014 and 2016) in two chances. Rhode Island and St. Bonaventure are each 1-1 in the final game since 2013. Dayton will make its second championship game appearance and first since 2015.
Ex-UD coach fired
Former Dayton coach Brian Gregory lost his job at South Florida on Friday. He was 79-107 in his six seasons and 14-18 this season. He had one winning season (24-14 in 2018-19) but failed to earn a NCAA tournament berth.
“Brian has been a true ambassador for the University of South Florida,” USF Athletic Director Michael Kelly said in a statement. “Ultimately, our head coaches and programs are judged by on-court success, and we have not lived up to our expectations for men’s basketball. We thank Brian and his family for all they have done for USF and wish them the very best in their journey.”
In his previous stop after leaving Dayton in 2011, Gregory was 76-86 in five seasons at Georgia Tech. He was 172-94 in eight seasons at Dayton from 2003-11.
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