Possible return of Chatman gives Dayton hope in final weeks of regular season

It has all added up to a disappointing season. Losses to La Salle and Fordham spoiled Dayton’s A-10 chances early. A season sweep by Virginia Commonwealth killed any slim at-large NCAA tournament hopes. Dayton’s only path to March Madness now goes through Richmond, Va., where the A-10 tournament will be held from March 10-14, and it likely will have to win four games in four days — something it has never done — to claim the league’s automatic berth.

Hope is not dead, though. Dayton has at least four more regular-season games to build momentum. The final stretch of the regular season begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Rhode Island (9-12, 6-8). The possibility of guard Rodney Chatman returning from injury also makes the team optimistic it will be at full strength — or close to it — when the postseason begins.

When asked about Chatman’s status last week after a 76-67 loss to VCU at UD Arena, guard Elijah Weaver smiled and said his only response would be the eyeballs emoji everyone uses on social media to put the spotlight on exciting news.

Chatman hasn’t played since tearing a ligament in his right hand Dec. 30 and undergoing surgery Jan. 6. He had not returned to practice as of Thursday but did shoot around with the team before the game against VCU. He was expected to miss six to eight weeks following the surgery, and the six-week mark arrives Wednesday.

“I think he’s going to be back really soon,” Dayton guard Jalen Crutcher said. “When he comes back, I think we’re going to be even better.”

Dayton will need all the help it can get in the weeks ahead. This will be the most challenging stretch of the season. The road game at Rhode Island, which Dayton beat 67-56 on Jan. 30 at UD Arena, might be the easiest of the four games remaining on the schedule.

A home game against Saint Louis (10-3, 3-2) at 7 p.m. Friday follows. The Billikens had just returned from a five-week layoff when Dayton beat them 76-71 on Jan. 26 and will be better a better position to compete his time. Dayton then has a game at St. Bonaventure (10-3, 8-3) on Feb. 28 at a time to be announced.

Although Dayton is scheduled to play VCU again at UD Arena on March 3, it’s likely that game will be changed because the teams have already played twice. That’s one reason Dayton moved Senior Night to this Friday.

Dayton could also find a game next week between the Saint Louis and Saint Bonaventure games. The schedule has been a work in progress because so many teams have been sidelined by COVID-19 issues. Massachusetts (7-4, 6-2) has paused all all athletic activities through at least Feb. 21 because of an outbreak on campus. Fordham (2-11, 2-11) is facing the same situation with a pause that extends through Feb. 28.

Davidson (10-5, 6-2) has postponed five straight games and is not scheduled to play again until Saturday against Saint Joseph’s (1-14, 0-9), which was unable to travel to Dayton on Saturday and has postponed three straight games.

One A-10 program did return to action Sunday. Richmond (11-4, 4-2) beat Saint Mary’s College of Maryland, a Division III school, in its first game since Jan. 26.

Dayton and Rhode Island have been more fortunate than most schools in they haven’t had to pause activities because of positive COVID-19 tests. On the other hand, both programs have struggled with inconsistency, and Rhode Island brings a four-game losing streak into this game.

When Dayton coach Anthony Grant talked to reporters Thursday, he wasn’t 100 percent this game would happen because he had seen the opponent change before the previous two games. Dayton was supposed to play Richmond on Feb. 5 and played George Mason instead. It was supposed to play at UMass on Feb. 9 and played VCU instead. Then the game Saturday against Saint Joseph’s was postponed, giving the Flyers a rare weekend off in the middle of February.

“I think the thing we’ll focus on right now is really us,” Grant said. “We can all look at this, and what we think is going to happen could very well change tomorrow or the next day. We’ll make sure we’re taking care of us. As we get closer to that game, we’ll start preparing for Rhode Island if that’s who we end up playing. If not, we’ll prepare for whoever’s in front of us.”