Atlantic 10 Tournament: St. Bonaventure on the Bubble after Friday loss
St. Bonaventure is set for an uneasy next day and a half after falling to Davidson in overtime Friday night.
By Parks Smith Mar 12, 2016, 6:10am PST
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Saturday was shaping up perfectly for Atlantic 10 fans hoping for the conference to grab four NCAA bids. On one side of the bracket, a power matchup was put together between Dayton and St. Joseph's. Both of those teams can likely rest pretty easy when it comes to the NCAA Tournament now, especially with a close affair today.
On the other side of the bracket, VCU got revenge on UMass with 85-70 drubbing of the Minutemen. We thought the Rams would face off against St. Bonaventure in today's second semifinal but the Bonnies were upset by Davidson in a 90-86 overtime thriller in Brooklyn.
According to SB Nations' resident bracketologist Chris Dobbertean, yesterday's second session results moved the Rams out of Dayton and has the Bonnies on the edge. St. Bonaventure is going to have an uneasy next 36 or so hours as they are now squarely on the bubble and part of Dobbertean's "Last Four In".
The 22-7 Bonnies are expected to finish the day tomorrow with an RPI of 25, the second highest in the conference behind Dayton. Mark Schmidt's biggest problem heading into Sunday is his non-conference scheduling this season which ranks 158 in the country. Schmidt scheduled only one Power 5 team, Syracuse, and also suffered a loss against non-Top 100 opponent Siena as the Bonnies finished 8-3 before A10 play.
St. Bonaventure did have an impressive 14-4 mark in the Atlantic 10 sweeping St. Joseph's, splitting with Dayton, and winning their only matchup against George Washington. Still when you look at Top 100 wins for the Bonnies it's all A10 members and Ohio (75).
Are the Bonnies deserving of the NCAA Tournament? Yes. Will they have a tough case to make Sunday with a resume devoid of signature wins? Absolutely.
What St. Bonaventure fans should be watching...
While most teams are in a wait and see pattern at this point in the year the Bonnies still have a few dominos they need to root for around the college hoops landscape today and tomorrow.
First off, VCU needs to stop Davidson from stealing a bid in the Atlantic 10. The A10 would still get four bids if the Wildcats somehow win in Brooklyn but that fourth team wouldn't be the Bonnies.
Also, keep an eye on the SEC and the Sun Belt. Memphis helped out the Bonnies last night knocking down Tulsa in AAC play but there are still a few landmines. Georgia needs to be dispatched today by Kentucky to avoid the Bulldogs sneaking in the tournament with a bid. In the Sun Belt, bid thieves are swirling around top-seeded Arkansas-Little Rock. Bubble teams should be rooting for UALR as they don't want the 25-4 Trojans to enter the at-large conversation.