Congratulations to the squad, to Coach Drew, and every single other fan like us out there. The real job starts now. We should have full confidence in this week.

I loved observing the appreciation between Drew and Steve during the net cutting, and again at postgame reception. These two make a duo.
And are blessed to have both.

We have lost ONLY 3 games since December 16th. WE HAVE LOST ONLY 3 GAMES IN THE LAST 4 MONTHS!!!!!!

The three top teams are all playing great basketball. This should be a 3 bid conference but there is a real risk it will be 1.

Dayton started the season with a really great point guard (Malachi Smith), who got a season-ending injury after playing seven minutes of the first game of the season. And then, their very good backup point guard got a thumb injury in the first half of their game at Loyola on March 1, and wasn't able to play in the second half of their loss at Loyola or their win against St. Louis and VCU (in OT). If Javon Bennett is able to play in the A-10 Tournament, Dayton has a good chance of winning. If not, they're still a lock to get in and another A-10 team will join them in the tournament.

One of the interesting things that's cropped up is that with the changes to the NIT rules, the A-10 might get several teams into the NIT. I've seen Richmond, Loyola, Duquesne and UMass mentioned as NIT candidates (if they don't win the auto bid). If St. Bonaventure wins a game or two in the conference tournament, they're back on track for consideration. There's a very good chance of two NCAA bids and 2-4 NIT bids for the A-10 this year.

How does the A-10 get back to 2 at large bids per year (or more)? Schedule and win games against mid to lower tier P6 schools (Penn State, Minnesota, Georgia, Ole Miss, Providence, Butler, Georgetown, Oregon State, Arizona State, Stanford, Cal, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, etc.) Schedule and win games against perennial top mid major programs (Akron, Toledo, Northern Iowa, Vermont, Belmont, Oakland, Wright State, etc.). Get the league to create challenges with peer leagues (American, Mountain West, West Coast) to get higher quality home games. Be aggressive in going after spots in top MTEs to get Q1 games at neutral sites. And finally, if you think your team isn't going to be very good, find some teams you know you can beat to get on your schedule.

It takes two to tango, but the A-10 has more heft for scheduling than the MVC.... Or so it appears so far.