However, if Dayton (22-9) and Xavier (18-13) both hear their names called Sunday, there’s a possibility it could happen in quick succession.
USA Today’s updated bracket on Thursday included a tantalizing matchup: No. 12 seed Dayton vs. No. 12 seed Xavier at UD Arena in the First Four. The winner would play No. 5 seed Saint Mary’s in Milwaukee.
The prediction listed Dayton and Xavier among the “Last Four In,” so just on the right side of the at-large bubble, along with Southern Methodist, which beat Dayton in December, and Wyoming. The teams left out of the tournament in USA Today’s prediction include three other A-10 teams that will be working to improve their hopes this week in Washington.
• First four out: VCU; Wake Forest; BYU; and Indiana.
• Next four out: Saint Louis; Florida; Virginia Tech; and Saint Bonaventure.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi also brought up the possibility of Dayton and Xavier renewing their rivalry in the NCAA tournament, though he does not have Dayton in the field in his latest update.
“Trying to imagine a Xavier-Dayton “First Four” game at the UD Arena,” Lunardi wrote on Twitter on Wednesday, “with Wright State part of the opener. And Wake Forest also in town…”
Several NCAA tournament experts are also predicting Wright State will play in the First Four as a No. 16 seed, though the Horizon League champion has never been a No. 16 seed.
Dayton and Xavier haven’t played since 2015 when they met in the championship game of the Advocare Invitational in Orlando. Xavier won 90-61. Prior to that game, they hadn’t played in 1,017 days. The longtime rivalry died when Xavier left the A-10 for the Big East.
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