The Dayton Flyers arrived at the Barclays Center a little before 4 p.m., about 30 minutes after their quarterfinal opponent, Saint Joseph’s. We’ll find out shortly who’s available. Mike Sharavjamts said Tuesday he wouldn’t be able to play but has been practicing in Brooklyn, N.Y. The status of Kobe Elvis is also a question mark. The game starts at 5 p.m.

» ARCHDEACON: There’s no debating Holmes’ importance to Flyers

Meanwhile, No. 3 seed Saint Louis delivered the most dominant performance yet in the Atlantic 10 Conference, routing the league’s hottest team, No. 5 seed George Mason 82-54. Gibson Jimerson led the Billikens with 21 points. Saint Louis shot 56% fron the field, while George Mason shot 37%.

The Billikens will play No. 1 seed Virginia Commonwealth in the first semifinal at 1 p.m. Saturday. The programs have not played in the A-10 tournament since the 2013 championship game when Saint Louis won 62-56.

VCU swept the regular-season series, winning 73-65 at Saint Louis on Feb. 3 and 79-67 in Richmond on Feb. 28.

1:30 p.m.

My second day in Brooklyn began with a five-mile run through Prospect Park. I saw every dog in New York playing in a giant field near the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch on a cold but sunny morning. The temperature never changes inside the Barclays Center, and that’s where I’ve been most of the day, aside from the 30 minutes I spent hiking to a toy store to get the very important tow truck for my son Chase 4. It’s not quite what he asked for. It’s a Staten Island Ferry set that come with three toy cars, including a tow truck. Hopefully, it pleases him, or I’ll be on the hot seat like many college basketball coaches this month.

On the court, No. 1 seed Virginia Commonwealth got off to a strong start in the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament with a 71-53 quarterfinal victory against No. 8 Davidson. Three Rams scored 11 points: A-10 Player of the Year Ace Baldwin; David Shriver; and Jamir Watkins.

It’s VCU’s third victory of the season over Davidson. VCU avoided the quarterfinal upset it suffered last year against No. 6 seed Richmond, the eventual champion.

VCU will play No. 3 seed Saint Louis or No. 5 George Mason in the semifinals at 1 p.m. Saturday. It beat Saint Louis twice by a total of 20 points and beat George Mason 72-52.

This year, for the first time, there’s an off day between the quarterfinals and semifinals

“Honestly, I feel like it maybe helps the lower seeds a little better,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said Tuesday of the new format, “but I understand why it was done.”

Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade explained the change at a press conference during A-10 Media Day in October. With 15 teams in the league, this was a good time to look at the format and think about making a change that would benefit the teams competing for NCAA or NIT berths.

McGlade used the example of Richmond, which won the tournament last season by winning four games in four days and then played in the NCAA tournament four days later. It beat Iowa in the first round before losing to Providence.

Although the off day could hurt attendance in the earlier rounds if fans decide they don’t want to spend an extra day on the road with no games on the schedule, it could also help attendance for the semifinals because fans will have a day to make travel plans if their team advances.

“Those four teams will qualify for essentially what will be a final four weekend,” McGlade said. “On Friday, they’ll be able to practice and do some media will be able to set the stage for an A-10 final four weekend.”

8 A.M.

My son Chase, 4, wants me to buy him a toy tow truck while I’m away this week at the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament. Although he may lead the state in toys-to-kid ratio, I told him I’d get him something because it could be an extended trip. I put that at the top of my priority list, right in front of producing a ton of Dayton Daily News content.

» A-10 TOURNAMENT DIARY: Day 1 in Brooklyn

It should be a fun day at the Barclays Center after two upsets by the Philadelphia teams in the late games Wednesday. No. 10 Saint Joseph’s beat No. 7 George Washington 87-76, and then No. 11 La Salle beat No. 6 Duquesne 81-70.

The Hawks and Explorers became the first teams to win opening-round games and then second-round games since the A-10 expanded to a five-round tournament in 2014. Until their victories, teams that played on the first day of the tournament on Wednesday (or Tuesday this season) had been 0-15. That list included No. 12 seed Richmond, which almost pulled off its own upset of No. 5 George Mason on Wednesday before losing 62-57.

“A game like this on the second night, it’s about endurance,” Saint Joseph’s coach Billy Lange said.

No. 2 seed Dayton will play Saint Joseph’s at 5 p.m. Thursday in the third quarterfinal of the game. The Hawks lost four of their last five regular-season games, but three of those losses were on the road and the other loss was to regular-season champion Virginia Commonwealth. Now they’re on a roll with two victories in the last two days. On other hand, they’ll be playing their third game in three days. Dayton has had a six-day break.

» GAME PREVIEW: Saint Joseph’s coach calls Dayton most talented team in league

Andy Farrell, Dayton’s special assistant to the head coach and recruiting coordinator, talked about the challenge of playing a team that has already started the tournament on the Flyer Insider show on WHIO Radio with Larry Hansgen on Monday.

“Winning instills confidence,” Farrell said, “so they have a level of confidence. They just won in the A-10 tournament. They just had success doing whatever their game plan was. ... If someone wins two games in a row, now you’re playing with house money.”

In the other Thursday games:

• No. 1 seed VCU (23-7) plays No. 8 Davidson (15-15) at 11:30 a.m. VCU beat Davidson 89-72 and 61-59 in the regular season. VCU has won five games in a row.

• No. 4 Saint Louis (20-11) plays No. 5 George Mason (19-12) at 2 p.m. St. Louis beat George Mason 63-62 in St. Louis in the regular season. George Mason has won six straight games.

• No. 3 Fordham (24-7) plays No. 11 La Salle (15-18) at 7:30 p.m. Fordham won the regular-season meeting 66-64 at La Salle.