SB Nation DC - Atlantic 10 Tournament 2011: Richmond Tops Dayton To Win Atlantic 10 Championship

2011 Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship: Richmond Wins 67-54 Over Dayton, Earns Automatic Berth To NCAA Tournament

2011-03-13T19:15:33Z

The Richmond Spiders have ADVANCED TO GO, or to be more exact, they have exited Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City this afternoon as 2011 Atlantic 10 Tournament Champions, defeating the No. 9 seed Dayton Flyers 67-54 to earn an automatic berth in the 2011 NCAA Tournament. (thanks for hanging in on that Monopoly reference)

After allowing upstart Dayton to get within five points early in the second half the No. 3 seed Spiders quickly righted the ship behind the continued stellar play of senior star Kevin Anderson, and held a comfortable lead for the rest of the second half. Anderson topped his semifinal performance by scoring 23 points, and once again he got all the offensive support he needed from fellow senior Justin Harper, who scored 18 points of his own. Richmond finished the game 10 of 21 from three (a gaudy 48 percent).

Chris Johnson and Juwan Staten led Dayton in a losing effort with 11 and 10 points, respectively. After a surprising run to the final it appeared the Flyers were gassed from the start, never seriously threatening to steal the Atlantic 10 crown from the Spiders.

SBNation.com's own PHD of Bracketology, Chris Dobbertean, currently has Richmond as a No. 11 seed in the Big Dance, though I'm now curious if this win bumps them up the S curve to a No. 10 seed? Either way, the Spiders are not a NCAA tournament team to be trifled with (this year's incarnation or historically) - as mentioned yesterday, Richmond is the only school to win NCAA tournament games as a No. 12, 13, 14 and 15 seed. No matter where they're seeded this evening, I see them adding one more number to that list next week.

2011 Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship: Richmond Leads Dayton, 34-24, At Halftime

2011-03-13T17:59:01Z

It appears the unlikely run of the No. 9 seed Dayton Flyers might be coming to a close in the 2011 Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship. Third seeded Richmond stormed out of the gates in today's championship game, taking a 34-24 lead into the locker room behind (check the stat sheet again) 8 of 15 shooting from three point land.

As Atlantic 10 followers have come to expect all season long, Richmond was led by Kevin Anderson and Justin Harper in the first half. Anderson scored 11 points and Harper eight behind 4 of 9 shooting from three. The Spiders have generated 13 points off seven Dayton turnovers, and they seem to be that proverbial one step ahead throughout this final Atlantic 10 game of the year.

Bubble teams everywhere (shameless #3bids4CAA plug here) hope the second half plays out like the first, because a Dayton comeback and victory will crush someone's tournament dreams.

2011 Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship: Richmond Takes On Dayton In Finals

2011-03-13T16:48:34Z

The 2011 Atlantic 10 Tournament championship game pits No. 3 seed Richmond against upstart No. 9 seed Dayton. The Spiders are likely in the NCAA Tournament no matter what happens, but bubble teams everywhere will be watching closely to see if the Flyers will steal one of their bids.

Dayton was in the bubble picture early in the season, but faded with a poor finish in Atlantic 10 play. However, they have rebounded in the Atlantic 10 tournament in a big way. After topping No. 8 seed Massachusetts in the opening round, Dayton shocked top-seeded Xavier, 68-67, then defeated No. 12 seed St. Joseph's in the semifinals to reach the title game. Led by Chris Wright, the Flyers will annoy some bubble team (Virginia Tech?) if they complete their Cinderella run.

Richmond took a move conventional route to the title game, outlasting No. 6 seed Rhode Island in the quarterfinals before defeating No. 2 seed Temple in an outstanding semifinal game. Led by Kevin Anderson and Justin Harper, Richmond is the favorite in this game.

Action gets underway at 1 p.m. on CBS.

Atlantic 10 Tournament 2011: Richmond Advances To Finals With 58-54 Win Over Temple

2011-03-12T22:44:01Z

Chris Mooney and his Richmond Spiders defeated the Temple Owls 58-54 today in the second 2011 Atlantic 10 semifinal match-up of the day. Somewhere Johnny Newman is smiling.

The No. 3 seed Spiders will face surprise finalist Dayton, who courtesy of a late season collapse entered the Atlantic 10 tournament as the No. 9 seed.

Kevin Anderson's 22 points on 8 of 17 shooting led the Spiders, receiving support from fellow senior Justin Harper, who finished with 18 points and 9 rebounds. The line of the game though has to go to Richmond forward Kevin Smith, who grabbed 14 rebounds while shooting 0 for 3 from the floor and 0 for 2 from the stripe.

Temple was led in defeat by guard Juan Fernandez, who was just a wee bit shy of recording a triple double, finishing with seven points, seven rebounds and 10 assists.

I'll leave you with this random fact: Richmond holds the distinction of being the only school to win NCAA tournament games as a No. 12, 13, 14 and 15 seed.

Atlantic 10 Tournament 2011: Temple leads Richmond 31-30 At Halftime

2011-03-12T21:28:39Z

Break out the jello pudding pops Temple fans, and enjoy the Owls' 31-30 halftime lead over the Richmond Spiders in the 2011 Atlantic 10 Tournament Semifinal Game No. 2. Temple's razor thin margin can be directly attributed to their five made three pointers in the first half and two measly turnovers (as opposed to just two made three pointers and six turnovers for Richmond).

A balanced attack (five players between four and nine points) has fueled Temple, while Richmond has relied on senior stalwarts Justin Harper and Kevin Anderson to provide the scoring punch (12 and 11 points, respectively).

Richmond currently sits on the bubble, probably in the Big Dance, but still a little bit nervous about Sunday evening. Taking down the #24 ranked Owls would go a long way towards solidifying their place in the field of 68. Getting blown out in the second half would be "crossing the streams"-bad.

Atlantic 10 Tournament 2011: Chris Wright Leads Dayton To 64-61 Win, Berth In Finals

2011-03-12T20:10:57Z

The No. 9 seed Dayton Flyers, after a sluggish end to their season, will be playing in the 2011 Atlantic 10 Championship Final Sunday afternoon. Dayton beat St. Joseph's 64-61 in Atlantic City in the first semifinaI contest of the day.

Chris Wright (no, not the other one who has twitter all a flutter at this very moment) scored 17 points to go along with 15 rebounds and five assists to lead Dayton. Teammate Chris Johnson (no relation) chipped in 19 points and four rebounds for the Flyers, who await the winner of semifinal game two, piting No. 2 seed Temple vs. No. 3 seed Richmond.

The No. 12 seed Hawks made a valiant run in Atlantic City, winning back-to-back overtime games just to get here. Phil Martelli, we will miss you, but know we always love you for telling Billy Packer what a pompous windbag he really is on national television.

Atlantic 10 Tournament 2011: Dayton Leads St. Joseph's, 28-24, At Halftime

2011-03-12T19:04:24Z

Just when it looked like Phil Martelli’s magic might be wearing off, his No. 12 seed St. Joseph’s Hawks have climbed back into their match-up with the No. 9 seed Dayton Flyers after trailing by 11 midway through the first half of this 2011 Atlantic 10 Tournament semifinal game.

In an unlikely battle of Davids, Dayton has been led by the Duo Chris, as guard Chris Johnson has scored nine points and burly forward Chris Wright has filled the halftime stat sheet with six points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Martelli and his Hawks should be happy to be down just four points, as they shot a woeful 31 percent (9-29 field goals) in the first half, a number that was actually much worse before the iron became a little less unkind for St. Joseph's late in the half. The Hawks have been lead by the guard tandem of Charoy Bentley and Langston Galloway in the first half, with the duo combing for 15 of St. Josephs' 24 first half points.

Atlantic 10 Tournament 2011 Bracket And Schedule For Semifinal Action

2011-03-12T16:08:15Z

It was a thrilling day of quarterfinal action at the 2011 Atlantic 10 Tournament in Atlantic City on Friday, with one side of the bracket completely busted. On Saturday afternoon, Dayton, St. Joseph's, Temple and Richmond will play for two spots in Sunday's championship game.

The first upset of the day came early, as No. 9 seed Dayton moved back to the fringes of the NCAA Tournament bubble with a 68-67 upset win over No. 1 seed Xavier. The second upset came after that, as No. 12 seed St. Joseph's, who only won nine games in the regular season, pulled off its second straight upset, topping No. 4 seed Duquense in overtime. St. Joseph's had defeated No. 5 seed George Washington in the opening round.

The night games went more to form. No. 2 seed Temple routed No. 10 seed La Salle, while No. 3 seed Richmond got a key win to bolster its NCAA Tournament bubble hopes, topping No. 6 seed Rhode Island.

Here is a schedule of Saturday's action.

No. 9 Dayton vs. No. 12 St. Joseph's, 1 p.m., CBS College Sports: Dayton lost its bubble status late in the regular season with a poor finish in Atlantic 10 play, but could regain it with a win over the upstart St. Joseph's squad.

No. 2 Temple vs. No. 3 Richmond, about 3:30 p.m., CBS College Sports: Richmond is probably in the NCAA Tournament no matter what happens in this game, but a win would certainly lock that bid up.