Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament

NCAA Postseason Berths on the Line for Dayton and Rhode Island

Feb 24, 2009

Five games will take place on Wednesday night and three of them have major post-season implications. Dayton, Rhode Island, and Duquesne have key contests.

For three teams, this Wednesday in late-February is just as important as mid-March. The Dayton Flyers could find themselves in first place in the A-10 with a win. With a loss, they could potentially drop to fourth place. Duquesne's postseason life is on the line against UMASS. With a loss, their NCAA tournament hopes will fall to the wayside. Rhode Island, with a win over Dayton, can take second place in the A-10 and enhance their NCAA tournament resume in a significant way.

Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Games

Duquesne (16-9, 7-5) at UMASS (10-15, 5-7) 7 P.M.

Since winning seven in a row, the Dukes have a meager 4-5 record in the last month and find themselves clutching at any post-season hope that seemed so close a mere month ago. Aaron Jackson and Damian Saunders are still picking up the pace but this is a must-win game before playing Rhode Island, Saint Louis, and Dayton. An NIT berth could be in their future if they perform well down the stretch. UMASS has much less to play for other than seeding in the A-10 tournament. They are coming off an impressive late-game win at St. Joe's which could provide some momentum.

Prediction: UMASS wins in the Upset Special of the day

Saint Louis (17-10, 8-5) at St. Bonaventure (13-13, 4-9) 7 P.M.

Which St. Bonaventure will show up? The one that beat mid-level A-10 teams such as Richmond, UMASS, and LaSalle at home or the one that was defeated by basement dwellers Fordham and GW and upper-echelon Xavier, Dayton, and St. Joe's. This is a good match-up for Saint Louis. They are establishing themselves as a top-five team in the A-10 and even have a post-season pulse after their huge win over Dayton. This is one small roadblock on their road to success.

Prediction: Saint Louis wins by double digits

This has the potential to be one of the better games of the season and expect late-game thrills and perhaps an overtime session to determine the outcome. Dayton employs one of the stingiest defenses (59 points/game) in college basketball while Rhode Island is content with a run-and-gun offense (80 points/game for while giving up 72 points/game). Rhode Island could leapfrog Dayton in the standings with a win and establish themselves as a post-season option for the NCAA committee while Dayton needs a win before playing host to Temple on Saturday who will also challenge the Flyers for a top-two spot in the league. If Dayton wins this one, they will be tied for first with Xavier.

Prediction: Dayton wins it by 4

Richmond (14-13, 6-6) at Fordham (3-21, 1-11) 7 P.M.

Richmond is playing better, having just defeated a hot Charlotte squad that just defeated Xavier, and they have two of the most dynamic guards in the leauge in David Gonzalvez and Kevin Anderson. Fordham has won once in fifteen games and has been blown out in most of those. Jio Fontan continues to be a freshman phenom (sorry for the cliché) and offers hope for the next three seasons. Fordham could surprise a team late this season but I see it against LaSalle not Richmond.

Prediction: Richmond wins in a rout

Charlotte (10-16, 4-8) at GW (8-16, 2-10) 9 P.M.

These teams faced off only eleven days ago, a very short time span, but Charlotte gained momentum by defeating Xavier since then. Furthermore, Charlotte beat GW by 18 last game. It's too bad the 49ers tend to play down to competition and have a 2-8 road record. None of what happened against Xavier will matter in this one. After all, they lost to Richmond soon thereafter. Lamont Mack and An'Juan Wilderness are playing better which offers hope that they can win this one. Like the Bonnies, one is just not sure of what to expect from GW. They can play Dayton, Saint Louis, and Rhode Island right to the buzzer but can lose to LaSalle twice by sound margins, get crushed by Charlotte, and get beaten by Hawaii and Longwood. That should not happen to an A-10 team.

Prediction: Charlotte wins by double digits

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