NEWSLETTER
The Atlantic 10 keeps adding teams and losing tournament spots! Unlike previous years, only one of the 15 participants in the Atlantic 10 Tournament will be playing in the Big Dance.
When is the A10 Tournament?
March 7th through Sunday, March 12th.
Where is the Atlantic 10 Tournament played?
At at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY, home of the new-look Brooklyn Nets of the NBA and the WNBA’s new super-team, the New York Liberty.
How to watch
This one is actually going to get some nice time slots on cable. But like watching golf on NBC, you’re going to need to watch it on 8 different platforms/channels.
The first round will be streamed on ESPN+
The second round and quarterfinals will be on USA.
The Semifinals will be shown on CBS Sports Network.
The Final will be on CBS Sunday afternoon.
Who won the regular season title?
VCU ended the year with a 15-3 record to take the crown.
Defending Champ
Sixth-seeded Richmond upset the top three seeds on the way to stealing the auto-bid.
Who will participate
For some reason, all 15 teams.
How Many teams will the A10 send to the tournament?
I think we’re at a point where no amount of help would get Dayton or VCU in as an at-large so, the A-10 joins the ranks of the single bid leagues this year (first time since 2005.)
Atlantic 10 Tournament Bracket
Lots of teams = lots of byes. Top four teams will get the double-bye to Thursday. The next five will avoid the first round and play starting Wednesday. No reseeding, no funny business, and no games on Friday.
Atlantic 10 Tournament Odds
Couple of favorites, but a nice, healthy middle class here. It does not appear that Sister Jean will be on the sidelines at the NCAA Tournament this year, as A-10 newcomer Loyola are long shots.
Atlantic 10 Tournament Preview
Dayton is the best offense, has the best player in DaRon Holmes, and despite some struggles down the stretch probably had a better season overall than VCU. Bad losses to GW and George Mason marred the middle of the season and poor free throw shooting may do them in in the long run, but for now, they are a deserving favorite.
VCU is technically the top seed, but without reseeding or home court, it’s not a huge advantage, especially considering they have a dangerous St. Louis team lurking. Built on defense, they turn teams over at a 24.2% clip and can grind you down forcing long possessions and bad shots.
If I had to pick a longer shot, it’d be Duquesne though. Not picked to do a ton this year, they’ve been sneaky good on both sides of the ball and even have a win over VCU earlier this year. Unfortunately, like Dayton, they are horrid at the line and that worries me if they needed to hold a lead against better teams this week.
St. Louis is a hell of an ‘also-ran’ to go with the top two teams. Clearly not quite as good of an overall team as either Dayton or VCU, they did close the season with a win over Dayton and have a very strong backcourt that has them ranked just behind Dayton in most of the offensive metrics.
Atlantic 10 Tournament Prediction
Billikens for me here. Not much value in the top two at those prices and St. Louis has drifted out to 5/1 or better at a few shops.
My Bet: St. Louis +550
