Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News
The Wright State Raiders and Dayton Flyers men’s basketball teams hope to play in the NCAA tournament and know what they have to do to get there: win their conference tournaments.
As the regular-season champion, Wright State (20-12) is the top seed in the Horizon League tournament and the favorite to win the championship. The Raiders beat No. 8 seed IUPUI 71-56 on Tuesday at the Nutter Center to advance to the semifinals at 7 p.m. Monday against No. 4 seed Green Bay at Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit. The championship game takes place at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Most NCAA tournament experts think Wright State will get a No. 15 seed in the NCAA tournament if it wins the Horizon League tournament. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi predicts it will get a No. 15 seed and play Tennessee in the first round in Jacksonville. Wright State played Tennessee last season as a No. 14 seed and lost 73-47.
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As the Horizon League regular-season champion, Wright State is guaranteed a NIT bid if it doesn’t win the Horizon League tournament. The website, DRatings.com, lists Wright State as a No. 8 seed in the NIT. The Raiders have never played in the NIT.
Dayton (19-10) also has a chance to play in the NIT if it doesn’t win the Atlantic 10 tournament, which starts next week at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It’s listed as a No. 4 seed in the NIT prediction.
