This year, Dayton, Rhode Island and Xavier could be No. 5 seeds — or higher. That would make them dangerous tournament entries, especially with experienced rosters and savvy leadership. Imagine working hard all season to get a No. 4 seed and your reward is a second-round game against one of these polished A-10 teams.

And if you haven’t heard of Dayton’s Roberts or Rhode Island forward Will Daniels, let this week serve as your introduction. They are two of the nation’s top seniors, two old-school players who are elevating their teams as they complete their college careers. And they are two players who could break more than a few hearts, given the chance, in March.

Daniels is sixth in the A-10 in scoring (18.3 ppg), fifth in field-goal percentage (49.5), and seventh in rebounding (7.3).

“He’s gotten himself stronger and a lot more physical, to be able to go inside and outside,” Baron said. “The nice part is that Will is also doing an excellent job of passing the ball. I think that really makes a player very special when he can also do that and make his teammates better.”

Roberts simply is one of the most efficient and complete guards. He ranks among the conference’s top six in scoring (19.1), field goal percentage (49.4), free-throw percentage (86.8), and assists (4.46). Baron says it will be a challenge to slow Roberts, let alone stop him from making big plays.

“As good as he’s been, when you enter into league play, we need him [to be] even better,” Gregory said.

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That’s a message that would serve the entire conference well. The A-10 must strive to be competitive, top to bottom, during conference play. That would only validate the results that already have been recorded. Nine of its 14 teams have won at least seven games. Only St. Bonaventure, LaSalle and George Washington are below .500.

With established coaches such as Bobby Lutz at Charlotte, Karl Hobbs at George Washington, Phil Martelli at Saint Joseph’s, Sean Miller at Xavier, Fran Dunphy at Temple, and Rick Majerus at Saint Louis, the conference has the potential to deliver big-time results on a consistent basis.

“I think it’s going to be 16 unbelievable [conference] games, not only for us, but for the entire league,” Gregory said.

Now that’s a sales pitch. If Gregory is right, that would benefit Dayton and Rhode Island as much as Wednesday’s game. And, for once, the A-10 wouldn’t have to worry about getting noticed by the rest of the college basketball.