Dayton Flyers clinch double bye in A-10 tournament

UD will play in A-10 quarterfinals on March 10

The Dayton Flyers secured a double bye in the Atlantic 10 tournament for the third straight season Tuesday. With an 83-70 victory over George Mason at UD Arena, they assured themselves of one of the top four seeds.

That means they won’t play until the A-10 quarterfinals on March 10 at PPG Paints Arena. The Flyers (22-5, 13-2) will seek their first tournament title since 2003, though there’s the little matter of three more regular-season games to worry about first.

“I haven’t thought about the Atlantic 10 tournament at all,” Dayton coach Archie Miller said. “Double bye, no bye, game on the first day, in my opinion when you get to tournament play, winning the first game is always the most important thing. Anything can happen after that. To have a double bye and not have to win as many games to get to the championship, that’s probably important. Being 13-2 with three to go, that’s what we’re looking at right now.”

Credit: David Jablonski - Staff Writer

Credit: David Jablonski - Staff Writer

Record in reach: Dayton can set a single-season average attendance record if it draws a crowd of 12,877 in its final home game March 1 against Virginia Commonwealth. That shouldn't be a problem because it will be Senior Night, and it's possible one team will clinch either a share of the A-10 regular-season title or the championship outright, depending on what happens this weekend.

RELATED: Photos from Dayton vs. George Mason

Dayton drew 13,071 on Tuesday. It is averaging 12,989 fans per game. The school record for average attendance (12,982) was set in the first season of UD Arena (1969-70).

Back on the bench: Freshman Kostas Antetokounmpo returned to the team for the game. He spent the weekend in New Orleans with his family watching his brother Giannis play in the NBA All-Star Game. Playing in his first All-Star Game and starting for the East, Antetokounmpo scored 30 points on 14-of-17 shooting.

Next game: Dayton plays at Davidson (14-12, 7-8) at 9 p.m. Friday on ESPN2. The Wildcats lost 84-76 at Richmond (16-11, 10-5) on Tuesday.

The Flyers are 1-1 against the Wildcats since they joined the A-10. Dayton lost 77-60 at Davidson on Jan. 20, 2015. Last season, Davidson lost 80-74 at UD Arena.

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Davidson is 3-4 at home in A-10 play with losses to Richmond, Fordham, Rhode Island and George Mason. Davidson handed Virginia Commonwealth one of its two losses, winning 69-63 on Jan. 14 at Davidson.

Around the A-10: Rhode Island (18-9, 10-5) won 67-56 at La Salle on Tuesday. Jared Terrell scored 24 points. The Rams have won two straight on the road since losing two straight at home to Dayton and Fordham.

Virginia Commonwealth (22-5, 12-2), which trails Dayton by a half game, hosts Saint Louis at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

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