Dayton finds new opponent after UMass game postponed

The switch came about because UMass paused all athletic activities for a minimum of 14 days, a period starting Sunday, because of a COVID-19 surge on campus.

Dayton (11-5, 7-4) was scheduled to play the Minutemen (7-4, 6-2) at 7 p.m. Tuesday. UMass won 75-63 at Rhode Island on Saturday. A 14-day pause means UMass will have to postpone games against four of the top seven teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference: Dayton; Virginia Commonwealth; Saint Bonaventure; and Duquesne.

“It will only be lifted when public health conditions improve substantially,” UMass announced.

The UMass game against VCU was a replacement for another postponed game: VCU against Richmond. And it’s the second UMass-VCU game postponed because the original matchup was scheduled for Jan. 27.

Dayton will now play VCU (13-4 6-2) for the second time. The Rams beat the Flyers 66-43 on Jan. 23 in Richmond, Va. VCU is in second place in the Atlantic 10 Conference, one half game behind St. Bonaventure (9-2, 7-2).

The Rams were scheduled to play Davidson at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Richmond, but Davidson (10-5, 6-2) paused all team activities Jan. 27 and now has postponed its last three games. VCU also had to postpone a game Sunday because of Duquesne’s COVID-19 issues.

This is the second straight schedule change for Dayton. The A-10 found Dayton a new game last week when Richmond paused basketball activities, sending George Mason to UD Arena to take Richmond’s place. The Flyers beat George Mason 74-64, the same score they won by Jan. 2.

There are a number of other teams in the A-10 battling COVID-19 issues. Here’s the latest:

• Since playing Dayton on Jan. 17, George Washington (3-9, 2-3) has postponed six games and isn’t scheduled to play again until Feb. 13.

• Richmond (10-4, 4-2) hasn’t played since Jan. 16 and has postponed five games. It’s scheduled to return Feb. 17 at home against VCU.