March Forecast III: Where the Flyers stand in NCAA tournament picture

Return to Buffalo possible for UD in March

It’s never to early to think about the NCAA tournament. Five weeks before Selection Sunday, the Flyers look like a No. 8 or 9 seed, but they have some work to do if they want to make sure they’re not sweating on March 12 — or they could win the Atlantic 10 tournament that day and take away all the suspense.

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Dayton (16-5) ranks 30th in the RPI, 36th in the Pomeroy ratings, 37th in the Sagarin ratings, 19th in the KPI Sports ratings and 42nd in ESPN's Basketball Power Index.

The Flyers did themselves a big favor by not losing at Fordham on Tuesday. The Flyers don't have any great wins (beating No. 44 Rhode Island is their best) but don't have any sub-200 losses. Massachusetts, though, is heading that direction. It is 1-5 since beating Dayton and has fallen to No. 163 in the RPI. Fordham is No. 212.

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Here’s where a few of the experts predict the Flyers will land in the Big Dance:

Joe Lunardi, ESPN: No. 8 Dayton vs. No. 9 Minnesota in Buffalo, N.Y.

Jerry Palm, CBS: No. 8 Dayton vs. No. 9 California in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Michael Beller, Sports Illustrated: No. 7 Dayton vs. No. 10 Minnesota

In his bubble watch, Beller writes : “The Flyers have been safely in our field of 68 every week, and checked in as a No. 7 seed this week. Their best win of the season, however, is over bubble-riding Rhode Island. They have one win against a team in our field of 68, and that came against Southern Conference powerhouse East Tennessee State. No offense to the Buccaneers, but a win over them isn’t exactly an NCAA tournament imprimatur. Dayton is still in strong position for an at-large bid, but that could change with a couple of bad losses.”

Stewart Mandel, Fox Sports: No. 8 Dayton vs. No. 9 Clemson in Buffalo.

131Sports: No. 8 Dayton vs. No. 9 Marquette in Tulsa.

Bracketologist: No. 8 Dayton vs. No. 9 Virginia Tech in Tulsa.

Bracket Matrix: Dayton's average seed is 8.41, and it is listed on 88 of 89 brackets.

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