Based on the 18-game Atlantic 10 Conference regular season, it’s hard to argue VCU coach Mike Rhoades’ team has the best chance to win the A-10 tournament. The No. 1 seed Rams (25-7) opened play with a 71-53 victory against No. 8 Davidson in the quarterfinals and will play No. 4 seed Saint Louis (21-11) in the semifinals at 1 p.m. Saturday.
“We have a heck of an opponent,” Rhoades said Friday during a press conference at the Barclays Center on an off day for the tournament. “We had two great battles with them this year, and we were fortunate to win both of them.”
VCU won the first game 73-65 at Saint Louis on Feb. 3. That was a three-point game with three minutes to play. VCU then put the game away with an 8-0 run. A-10 Player of the Year Ace Baldwin scored 37 points.
In the second game, won 79-67 by VCU in Richmond on Feb. 28, it was a similar story. VCU led by four with four minutes to play and scored five straight points over the next two minutes.
“We know we better be ready to go,” Saint Louis coach Travis Ford said Friday. “Obviously, they’re a really good basketball team. But we’re excited to be able to keep playing. That’s what it’s about at this point. Give it everything you’ve got. Try to figure out how to get to the next day. We were able to do that last night.”
Hometown talent: Dayton guards Koby Brea and Malachi Smith are from New York City — Washington Heights and the Bronx, to be exact. Brea saw fans from their side of town flock to the Barclays Center to watch Fordham on Thursday, and he had plenty of fans in the stands to watch him as well.
No. 2 seed Dayton plays No. 3 seed Fordham in the semifinals at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
“It’s always good to see that kind of atmosphere as competitors,” Brea said. “That’s what we want to go up against. That’s what we want to see in arenas like this one. So it was definitely good to see, and, yeah, I definitely had a few people here from my family and friends and a lot of Dayton Flyers fans, of course. I feel like we’ll expect more. But it will be a good battle, and it will be an amazing atmosphere to play in.”
Selection Sunday: The A-10 champion will hear its name called on the NCAA tournament selection show hours after the game Sunday. It will likely be the only A-10 team to play in the NCAA tournament, though Rhoades made a pitch for his team to receive an at-large berth if it doesn’t win the A-10 tournament.
“We’re 25-7,” he said. “We won the A-10 by three games. We’ve played a good schedule. That’s pretty darn good. I think any coach ever in the A-10 would take that in a second.”
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