There’s an argument to be made no Atlantic 10 team played a more difficult conference schedule than Duquesne.

The Dukes are one of only five A-10 teams that played two games against Dayton (28-2, 17-0), the No. 3 team in the nation and a good bet to get at least a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

But those games — losses by scores of 73-69 and 80-70 — could keep Duquesne from procuring one of four double byes next week in the conference tournament at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The Dukes (21-8, 11-6) are tied for fourth with Saint Louis (22-8, 11-6) and St. Bonaventure (19-11, 11-6), with Rhode Island (20-9, 12-5) a game ahead.

Duquesne would win a tiebreaker with Saint Louis because the Dukes swept the season series, 2-0. But they split two games with the Bonnies.

The tiebreaker beyond head-to-head is a team’s record against those ahead of it in the standings, starting with first-place Dayton. Duquesne was 0-2 against Dayton, the Bonnies 0-1. Same win percentage, but, mathematically, 0-1 is the better record. St. Bonaventure would finish fourth and get the double bye.

Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot believes the second tiebreaker is unfair, and he plans to bring up the topic in league meetings this offseason.

“We played Dayton twice, so we already get two losses against the No. 3 team in the country,” he said. “St. Bonaventure plays (Dayton) once. Then, when we’re tied and we split, that becomes the No. 1 tiebreaker. So, really, we get penalized twice. If it was reversed, I’d say it wasn’t fair.

“But I don’t care. There’s nothing I can do. That’s the rule. But I think in the future, they should fix that.”

The regular season ends this weekend, starting Friday when the Dukes play Richmond at PPG Paints Arena. On Saturday, St. Bonaventure plays at Saint Louis, and Rhode Island visits UMass.

Based on the outcome of those games, Duquesne can finish anywhere between third and sixth.

Third- and fourth-place teams earn the double byes directly into the quarterfinals March 13 and only need to win three games to claim the tournament championship.

Falling into fifth or sixth means a team must win four games in four days, starting March 12.

“Whether we get the fourth seed, the fifth seed, the sixth seed, none of that really matters if we play a couple, three, four good games,” Dambrot said.

“Obviously, it’s easier (to play one less game), but there are some disadvantages, too, because you have to sit around (until Friday), which isn’t really my cup of tea, either. We’ll play with whatever seed we have, whoever we play, and try to play our best basketball when it matters.”

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