HoopsHD continues its series leading up to Selection Sunday and March Madness, as we simulate what would have happened in TTTW (The Tournament That Wasn’t). Up next is the Atlantic Ten Conference, where the Dayton Flyers were looking to extend an 18-0 regular season into a perfect 21-0 against conference opponents. Richmond and Rhode Island entered with dreams of at-large bids, and Saint Louis was even still in the bubble talk. Would the Flyers be perfect? Would someone else lock up at least an at-large bid? Could a bid thief like Davidson or St. Bonaventure steal it? Let’s find out!
ATLANTIC TEN SECOND ROUND
The second round of the Atlantic Ten tournament began with a highly entertaining game between 8-seed UMass and 9-seed VCU, with the Rams holding on for a 69-66 win when Samba Diallo’s potential game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer just barely missed. The other three games proved to be a lot less exciting. Although George Mason held a halftime lead, 5-seed St. Bonaventure rolled in the second half and won going away, 78-60. Davidson’s Kellan Grady scored 28 points to lead his Wildcats to a convincing 79-55 win over La Salle. And in the nightcap, a double-double from Michael Hughes led the way as Duquesne took down Fordham, 66-58.
ATLANTIC TEN QUARTERFINALS
The Dayton Flyers had gone a perfect 18-0 against Atlantic Ten competition during the regular season, and that perfection continued in their quarterfinal matchup with VCU. Obi Toppin was once again dominant in this game, scoring 25 points and pulling down 12 rebounds, while teammate Trey Landers had a double-double as well with 12 points and 13 boards. The Flyers built a 14 point halftime lead and then turned on cruise control, coasting in for an 82-74 win.
The Saint Louis Billikens needed a win in their quarterfinal matchup with 5-seed St. Bonaventure in order to keep their remote at-large bid chances alive and, even more importantly, to set up an Arch-Baron Cup semifinal against Dayton. Despite St. Louis building a 47-33 halftime advantage, the Bonnies came out on fire in the second period, and halfway through it took a 64-63 lead. The game was close the rest of the way, and when Bobby Planutis missed a pair of free throws with 30 seconds left, the Billikens had the ball down 2 with a chance to tie or win. Despite getting two offensive rebounds and three good looks at a tying or winning shot in their final possession, Saint Louis could not get the ball through the net, and the Bonnies pulled off the mild upset, winning 85-83 and advancing to the semifinals.
The excitement continued in the third quarterfinal between 7-seed Davidson and 2-seed Richmond. The Spiders, a team squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble, absolutely needed this win to keep their at-large bid dreams alive. The Davidson Wildcats, however, had other plans. Jon Axel Gudmundsson scored 24 points and Kellan Grady added 17 to lead Davidson to an 88-84 upset victory that would likely send Richmond to the NIT.
The Rhode Island Rams also had at-large bid dreams entering the Atlantic Ten tournament, though they knew that in all likelihood winning the automatic bid may be their only real path to a dance ticket. The 3-seed got a tough battle from 6-seed Duquesne in a game that was close throughout. Rhode Island led by 3 at the half and was able to hold on for a 63-56 victory. The Rams were led by 21 points from Fatts Russell and a double-double by Cyril Langevine.
ATLANTIC TEN SEMIFINALS
The Dayton Flyers had every bubble team in the nation rooting for them to capture the A-10 automatic bid as they entered their semifinal matchup with St. Bonaventure. Alarm bells started ringing across the nation when the Bonnies played one of their best halves of the season and took a 43-36 lead into the halftime break. However, Obi Toppin and company proved to be too much for the upstart Bonnies, as they came out on fire in the second half and cruised to a 93-84 victory. Toppin had another double-double to lead the way, scoring 26 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.
In the second semifinal, the Davidson Wildcats had dreams of making up for a disappointing regular season by capturing a conference tournament title. Rhode Island was just as hungry, however, trying to make up for a late-season slump that may have cost them an at-large bid. The game was back and forth most of the way, until the Rams opened up a 10-point lead with 3:30 left to play. Davidson had one last run left, however, and had a chance to tie the game on a Gundmundsson three with 5 seconds left – but the ball did not go through the net and a free throw by Fatts Russell made the final score 75-71 in favor of Rhode Island.
ATLANTIC TEN CHAMPIONSHIP
The Dayton Flyers entered the Atlantic Ten title game looking to secure a shot at a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Rhode Island Rams knew that they were a longshot at best for an at-large bid if they could not win today. The first half of the game proved to be as entertaining as possible, and Rhode Island took a 2-point lead into the break, 43-41. However, just like in their semifinal matchup with the Bonnies, the Flyers proved that they were the better team in the second half. A 15-5 run midway through the period proved to be the final punch, and the Flyers cruised in for a 95-79 win to finish Atlantic Ten play at a perfect 21-0. Obi Toppin was his usual dominant self, taking home conference Most Outstanding Player honors after scoring 25 points and pulling down 10 rebounds in the finals. Rhode Island was left to wait to see if their name was called during the Selection Show.
