Dayton ended the regular season with a 78-51 victory at home against St. Bonaventure, clinching the outright Atlantic 10 Conference championship, and then went on the road to beat Saint Louis 78-66 on Saturday. The Flyers topped 40 percent shooting from the field and scored more than 70 points in back-to-back games for the first time in A-10 play.
“I think that gives our players confidence going into this tournament, especially being at home,” Dayton coach Shauna Green said Wednesday. “Hopefully, we can continue to put the ball through the hoop and score. That’s what it’s going to come down to. I think our defense has been solid and on point, but we’ve got to be able to make baskets.”
Dayton (22-8) earned the No. 1 seed in the A-10 tournament and will play No. 9 seed Richmond at 11 a.m. Friday at UD Arena in the first quarterfinal of the day. Richmond advanced with a 57-49 victory at No. 8 seed George Washington on Tuesday. Dayton beat Richmond 65-51 on the road on Jan. 12.
The other quarterfinal games Friday at UD Arena are: No. 4 Saint Louis vs. No. 5 Massachusetts at 2 p.m.; No. 2 Virginia Commonwealth vs. No. 7 Davidson at 4:30 p.m.; and No. 3 Fordham vs. No. 6 Duquesne at 7 p.m. All the quarterfinal games will be televised on ESPN+.
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If Dayton wins Friday, it will play Saint Louis or UMass at 11 a.m. Saturday. The second semifinal follows at 1:30 p.m. Those games will air on CBS Sports Network. The A-10 championship game takes place at noon Sunday and will air on ESPNU.
Dayton ranks 49th in the RPI. It has won six at-large bids in eight trips to the NCAA tournament since 2010, but Green doesn’t want to count on that. Three victories in three days would lock up an automatic bid. ESPN’s latest bracket prediction had Dayton earning a No. 12 seed as the A-10’s lone representative and playing No. 5 Princeton in Corvallis, Ore.
“Our RPI continues to rise,” Green said, “but I just think the only clear shot is by winning this thing.”
Dayton seeks its first tournament title since Green’s first season in 2017. That team also had the No. 1 seed and beat No. 8 VCU, No. 4 Saint Louis and No. 7 Duquesne. Jayla Scaife and Jordan Wilmoth, who were freshmen then and are now seniors, combined for 18 minutes in the championship game.
Green said Dayton’s seniors have been talking about this tournament coming to UD Arena since it was announced.
“They were really excited,” she said. “I think it’s great. I just want them to stay locked in. We’ve got to continue our mindset of one game at a time, one day at a time. The moment you look ahead is the moment you find yourself not playing anymore.”
Dayton and VCU received byes and more rest than the teams that played in the first round. Green gave the Flyers a day off on Sunday, and they did individual work Monday with the position coaches. They returned to full practice Tuesday.
“We’re a little bit older, so hopefully, a couple days off helps our legs,” Green said, “because you’ve got to be fresh.”
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