Will the A-10 be a multiple-bid league again in 2025 as it approaches its 50th anniversary in the 2025-26 season? That story will be told in November and December as the 15 teams navigate non-conference play. It surely will be a topic of discussion Monday at A-10 Media Day at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
Dayton coach Anthony Grant enters his eighth season in the A-10 with the program on a consistent roll in that it has finished in the top three the last three seasons. The Flyers, though, have won the regular-season championship since 2020 and have not won the A-10 tournament since 2003.
How does Dayton measure up to the rest of the A-10 in Grant’s tenure? Here’s a look at how the Flyers rank in different areas:
1. NCAA tournament berths: Giving Dayton credit for 2020, when it would have played in the NCAA tournament — potentially as a No. 1 seed, if the tournament hadn’t been canceled — Grant’s program has earned two berths in seven seasons. That’s tied for the second most appearances in the A-10.
• Virginia Commonwealth leads the A-10 with three NCAA appearances (2019, 2021 and 2022) in the last seven seasons.
• Davidson (2018 and 2022) and St. Bonaventure (2018 and 2021) have earned two berths.
• Rhode Island (2018), Saint Louis (2019), Richmond (2022) and Duquesne (2024) have played in one NCAA tournament in the last seven seasons.
2. NCAA tournament victories: No. 7 seed Dayton rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat No. 10 Nevada 63-60 in the first round of the tournament in 2024 for its first NCAA tournament victory since 2015. The Flyers lost 78-68 to No. 2 Arizona in the second round.
No other A-10 team has more than one NCAA tournament victory since the 2017-18 season. The last program to reach the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight was Dayton in 2014.
• No. 11 seed Duquesne beat No. 6 Brigham Young 71-67 in the 2024 tournament before losing 89-63 in the second round to No. 3 Illinois.
• No. 12 Richmond beat No. 5 Iowa 67-63 in the first round in 2022 before losing 79-51 to No. 4 Providence.
• No. 11 St. Bonaventure beat No. 11 UCLA 65-58 in the First Four at UD Arena in 2018 before losing 77-62 to No. 4 Florida.
• No. 7 Rhode Island beat No. 10 Oklahoma 73-68 in overtime in the first round in 2018 before losing 82-67 to No. 2 Duke.
• VCU is 0-2 in the tournament in the last seven seasons. It didn’t get to play in the 2021 tournament because of positive COVID-19 tests before its first-round game.
• Davidson is 0-2 in its last two appearances.
• Saint Louis lost in the first round in its only tournament appearance in the last seven seasons.
3. Regular-season championships: Dayton won its only title of the Grant era in 2020 with a perfect 18-0 record.
• With two regular-season championships in the last seven seasons, VCU leads the conference.
• Rhode Island, St. Bonaventure and Davidson each have one title, as do Loyola Chicago and Richmond, who shared the 2024 crown.
4. A-10 tournament championships: Six different teams have won the tournament in the last seven seasons: Davidson; Saint Louis; St. Bonaventure; Richmond, VCU; and Duquesne. The 2020 tournament was canceled by the pandemic.
• Duquesne, which had not won the tournament since 1977, ended the longest drought with its championship in March.
• Massachusetts (29 years), Dayton (22) and George Washington (19) now have the longest droughts.
4. Weeks in top 25: Dayton has ranked in the Associated Press poll in 28 different weeks in the last seven seasons. That’s the biggest number in the A-10 by far in the same span.
UD finished the 2020 season ranked third and was No. 25 in the final poll of the 2023-24 season. No other program has finished the season ranked in that stretch.
• Rhode Island ranked in the top 25 for seven straight weeks starting in January 2018.
• Saint Louis was ranked for four weeks in the 2021-22 season.
• St. Bonaventure was ranked for the first three weeks in the 2021-22 season.
• VCU was ranked in the first three polls of the 2019-20 season.
• Davidson was ranked for one week in the 2021-22 season.
• Richmond was ranked for two weeks in the 2021-22 season.
Here’s the last time other A-10 teams have been ranked: George Washington (2016); UMass (2014); Saint Joseph’s (2004); La Salle (1990); Duquesne (1972); and Fordham (1971).
George Mason has never been ranked. Loyola has not been ranked since joining the A-10 in the 2022-23 season.
5. Overall record: Dayton is 149-72 (.674) overall in the last seven seasons. That’s the best winning percentage in the league in Grant’s tenure.
VCU is 153-75 (.671) and leads the A-10 in victories in that span.
Here’s how the other teams rank: 3. St. Bonaventure, 136-82 (.624); 4. Davidson, 132-85 (.608); 5. Saint Louis, 134-88 (.604); 6. Richmond, 125-97 (.563); 7. George Mason, 118-97 (.549); 8. Duquesne, 116-96 (.547); 9. Loyola, 33-31 (.516); 10. Rhode Island, 111-105 (.514); 11. UMass, 96-109 (.468); 12. Fordham, 86-120 (.417); 13. Saint Joseph’s, 89-126 (.414); 13. La Salle, 89-126 (.414); and 15. George Washington, 84-125 (.402).
6. A-10 record: Dayton is 88-36 (.710) in the A-10 in Grant’s first seven seasons. That’s the best A-10 mark of the last seven seasons.
The other teams’ records are: 2. VCU 83-39 (.680); 3. Davidson, 82-47 (.636); 4. St. Bonaventure, 77-45 (.631); 5. Richmond, 67-52 (.563); 6. Saint Louis, 66-52 (.559); 7. Loyola (19-17, .528); 8. George Mason, 60-60 (.500); 9. Rhode Island, 60-64 (.484); 10. Duquesne, 56-65 (.463); 11. UMass 47-71 (.398); 12. George Washington, 42-73 (.365); 13. La Salle, 45-80 (.360); 14. Saint Joseph’s, 43-77 (.358); and 15. Fordham 37-84 (.306).
7. NBA Draft picks: Dayton has seen four players picked in the last seven drafts: Kostas Antetokounmpo (No. 60 in 2018); Obi Toppin (No. 8 in 2020); Toumani Camara (No. 52 in 2023); and DaRon Holmes II (No. 22 in 2024).
The only other players who finished their careers with A-10 programs and were drafted since 2018 were from VCU: Bones Hyland (No. 26 in 2021); and Vince Williams Jr. (No. 42 in 2022).
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