It’s a good thing Dayton didn’t look too far ahead because their season ended a day later as the A-10 tournament and the NCAA tournament were cancelled March 12 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Much has happened in the last 12 months, but the pandemic still hangs over the college basketball season.
However, there will be an A-10 tournament. It starts with two games involving the bottom four seeds Wednesday and continues with four second-round games Thursday — including No. 7 seed Dayton (13-8, 9-7) vs. No. 10 Rhode Island (10-14, 7-10) at 3:30 p.m. — and then four quarterfinal games Friday and two semifinals Saturday.
All the games will take place in Richmond, Va., at Virginia Commonwealth’s Siegel Center or the University of Richmond’s Robins Center. Attendance will be limited to family and friends of players and coaches for all 12 games in Richmond.
There’s a big difference between this and past tournaments because the championship game takes place not one day after the semifinals but eight days later and not in Richmond but at UD Arena. That change raised hopes that Dayton can win its first championship since 2003, but first it has to win three games in three days.
“We’ve just got to be consistent,” said guard Ibi Watson on Monday after a 55-52 victory at St. Bonaventure. “If we take each game one game at a time and treat each game like it’s a Super Bowl, I think we’ll have a chance.”
This is as wide open as the tournament has ever been. Here’s a breakdown of the bracket:
Favorite: Virginia Commonwealth (17-6, 10-4) is the No. 2 seed but has about a 30 percent chance of winning the tournament, according to the DraftKings Sports Book. A home game in the quarterfinals at 3:30 p.m. Friday against Dayton or Rhode Island improves VCU’s odds. VCU routed Dayton 66-43 at the Siegel Center on Jan. 23, though it lost 83-68 at home to Rhode Island on Jan. 9.
Injuries could hurt the Rams. Bones Hyland (foot), Vince Williams (ankle) and Mikeal Brown-Jones (hand/finger) all are day to day, coach Mike Rhoades told the Richmond Times-Dispatch on Monday. Hyland and Williams lead the team in scoring, averaging 30.1 points between them.
Second favorite: The same oddsmakers made No. 4 seed Saint Louis (13-5, 6-4) the second favorite with about a 29 percent chance of winning the championship. The Billikens will play No. 5 seed Massachusetts (7-6, 6-4), No. 12 La Salle (9-15, 6-11) or No. 13 Saint Joseph’s (4-14, 3-9) in the quarterfinals at 1 p.m. Friday at Richmond’s Robins Center.
Dark horse: Dayton, which hasn’t won a game in the tournament since a quarterfinal win in 2016, went 2-4 against teams that finished with losing records in A-10 play. It went 7-3 against teams that finished above .500.
While only three teams seeded outside the top four have won the championship in the last 15 tournaments, there is recent history to suggest it can be done. Saint Louis won the 2019 tournament as the No. 6 seed, winning four games in four days in Brooklyn, N.Y., If Dayton wins the tournament, it would be the lowest seed to do it since No. 10 Xavier in 2006.
Coldest team: Rhode Island has lost six of its last seven games, though its only victory in that stretch came against the team it plays Thursday. It beat Dayton 91-89 in double overtime in Kingston, R.I., on Feb. 16, as the teams split the season series. Dayton won the first matchup 67-56 on Jan. 30.
Hottest team: Saint Joseph’s might be the most dangerous No. 13 seed in A-10 tournament history. It has been a new team since guard Ryan Daly returned to the lineup, beating La Salle and Dayton at home and then Richmond on the road Monday.
The Hawks won their last three regular-season games with Daly averaging 23 points after an 0-9 start in the conference without Daly. They play No. 12 La Salle, which has lost five of its last six games, in the first game of the tournament at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Siegel Center.
Upset potential: If No. 8 seed Richmond (13-7, 6-5) gets by No. 9 Duquesne (8-8, 7-7) in the first game of the second round at 11 a.m. Thursday at VCU, it will create an interesting quarterfinal matchup. The preseason favorite Spiders would play the A-10 regular season champion and No. 1 seed St. Bonaventure (13-4, 11-4) at 11 a.m. Friday at VCU.
The Spiders lost their last two games to Saint Louis and Saint Joseph’s by a combined eight points, while the Bonnies ended the regular season with their worst offensive performance of the season against Dayton.
History lesson: Three teams have never won the A-10 tournament: Fordham; George Mason; and La Salle.
• No program has a longer drought, however, than Duquesne, which won the first tournament in 1977, when the A-10 was known as the Eastern Collegiate Basketball League, and has not won since.
• The No. 1 seed has not win the tournament since 2013 (Saint Louis).
• The No. 4 seed has won four of the last eight tournaments.
• A different team has won the last five tournaments: VCU; Saint Joseph’s; Rhode Island; Davidson; and Saint Louis.
• Four coaches in this year’s tournament have won the championship: Travis Ford (Saint Louis, 2019); Bob McKillop (Davidson, 2018); Mark Schmidt (St. Bonaventure, 2012); and Chris Mooney (Richmond, 2011).
THURSDAY’S GAME
Dayton vs. Rhode Island, 3:30 p.m., NBCSN, 1290, 95.7
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