» RHODE ISLAND PREVIEW: Flyers seek season sweep | What to know about the game
Lunardi isn’t the only NCAA tournament expert who thinks Dayton has a chance to earn an at-large bid. Eric Haslam, of Haslametrics.com, puts Dayton in his “Next Four Out” with Indiana, Murray State and Furman.
Another website, BartTorvik.com, gives Dayton a 2.5 percent chance of earning an at-large bid.
» RECRUITING: 2020 targets expected to visit
Of course, any hope Dayton has hinges on winning its last three regular-season games against Rhode Island, La Salle and Duquesne and then making a run to the Atlantic 10 tournament championship game. Entering this weekend, Dayton is tied for second with Davidson and would get the No. 2 seed by a head-to-head tiebreaker.
Dayton's best at advancing to the NCAA tournament for the fifth time in six years lies in winning the A-10 tournament. In the last two seasons, only nine of the 72 at-large teams to make the tournament came from conferences outside the top six: the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, Pac-12 and Big East. Four of those nine teams (two each year) came from the A-10.
About the Author
