Atlantic 10 Basketball: VCU rolls past Dayton to win 2023 tournament

Another Atlantic 10  Basketball tournament is in the books, and it belongs to the VCU Rams, who defeated the Dayton Flyers to punch their ticket to the big dance.

The VCU Rams took home several Atlantic 10 honors this season, including regular season champions, player, and defensive player of the year. Now you can add conference tournament champions to that resume.

This is the third time the number-one seed has cut down the net of the Atlantic 10 tournament in the last ten years. The 2013 Saint Louis Billikens and 2021 St Bonaventure Bonnies accomplished the same honor.

Dayton shot a combined 32.1 percent and 13.6 percent from behind the arc in the championship game, as only five Flyers were in the scoring column in this contest.

Dayton led by six at the half and showed flashes of success throughout the first half; however, VCU’s defense held the Flyers to just six points which all came from the free-throw line, in the final ten minutes and twenty-one seconds.

Dayton’s frontcourt did most of the damage; Daron Holmes II had 28 points,16 rebounds, shot 56 percent, and scored the Flyer’s last nine, and Mustapha Amzil posted 17 points, five rebounds, and 50 percent.

The league’s player and defensive player of the year, Ace Baldwin Jr, led the charge for VCU. The junior guard played every minute of this game and added 16 points and seven assists; however, it was not a one-person job for the Rams. Jalen DeLoach had 13 points and ten rebounds to help lead the Rams to victory.

This is Coach Mike Rhoades’ second Atlantic 10 regular season championship and his first tournament championship.

VCU is used to postseason success, as this bid marks the tenth NCAA tournament appearance for the Rams in the last twelve years.

With VCU earning the regular-season and conference championship this season, just one Atlantic 10 team receives a bid to the Field of 68.

While the VCU Rams earned the right to hear their name on Selection Sunday, many could make a strong argument for the Dayton Flyers to get an opportunity in the postseason.

So what’s next for VCU? The Rams earned the twelfth seed in the west bracket of the 2023 NCAA tournament and will play the five-seed St. Mary’s Gaels on Friday.