No first round bye, but Butler in prime position with No. 5 seed in A-10 Tournament

A look at the Atlantic 10 Tournament Bracket. Butler faces off against Dayton on Thursday. (photo by Atlantic 10)

At the end of Saturday’s 73-62 victory over Xavier, the fate of Butler’s seeding in the Atlantic 10 postseason tournament rested in the hands of  Virginia Commonwealth, the very team that demolished the Bulldogs 84-52 a week earlier.

A win by VCU against Temple and Butler would earn the #4 seed along with a first round bye.

Naturally the Rams, who led by double figures for most of the contest against Butler, turned a 16 point lead into a 17 point deficit, losing to Temple 84-76 in the process.

However, the loss by VCU may turn out to be a present in disguise for the Bulldogs.

With the #5 seed Butler earned arguably the most favorable draw in the A10 tournament, as they open up play Thursday afternoon against Dayton  at the Barclays Center.  A victory against Dayton moves the Bulldogs into Friday’s Quarterfinals where the Explorers of LaSalle await.

True, LaSalle did defeat them 54-53 back on January 23rd, but that was thanks to a layup with 2.7 seconds left to play by A10 Player of the Year hopeful Ramon Galloway. This was a sold-out home game for LaSalle, and  a game that honestly Butler never should have let slip away. After taking a five point lead into the halftime locker rooms, the Bulldogs were outscored 31-25 in the second half.

Along with that, other factors accompanied the loss:

1. Butler was a 2 1/2 point underdog according to Las Vegas odds-makers
2. This was the third consecutive game the Bulldogs were without star guard Rotnei Clarke.

LaSalle will not be a pushover by any means but, assuming Butler defeats LaSalle and the bracket plays out like most think it should, they would have a date with #1 seeded St. Louis. This is a matchup every Bulldog would have circled on their calender, because it is against the only team that has beaten Butler twice this season.

One of the hardest things in sports is to beat a great team on three separate occasions. So for Butler, facing the Billikens one more time might be the best way to earn a spot into Sunday’s A10 Title game.

As for who they would play in the A10 conference championship?

That’s anybody’s guess, but most experts suggest VCU will advance to the title game on the other side of the bracket.

It’s all speculation…but Butler vs VCU…..the Grudge Match from the 2011 Final Four(Butler won) and this year’s regular season meeting(VCU won)…with this possibly being the Bulldogs first and only year in the Atlantic 10, this could be the last meeting we see of Butler-VCU for a very long time.

That being said, this (speculated) last contest would be for all the marbles;

1. The winner of their all-time series (tied at 1-1) would be decided
2. The Atlantic 10 Champion would be crowned…and
3. To the victor goes the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament

Sometimes you can’t make this stuff up.

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