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.