Last year, Duquesne was the Cinderella story by winning the Atlantic 10 Tournament as a No. 6 seed. And then as the No. 11 seed, the Dukes earned a first-round NCAA Tournament win.
Dayton also earned an NCAA Tournament bid. To show the parity in the A-10, Loyola Chicago and Richmond tied for the regular-season title.
This year, VCU was the choice in the media/coaches preseason poll, while Dayton was second. But to show the balance, five teams earned at least one first-place vote. St. Joseph, St. Louis, and Loyola Chicago were third through fifth with each garnering at least two first-place votes.
So these five teams are definitely contenders in a league that likely won’t earn more than two NCAA bids. (BetMGM’s college basketball odds have Dayton first and VCU second).
Once again, there could be more than five contenders, including St. Bonaventure, which won 14 of its first 15 games, including a 77-75 home triumph over VCU.
George Washington, picked 13th in the 15-team league in the preseason poll, has already beaten Dayton by 20 points.
So good luck handicapping this highly competitive and balanced league.
Odds as of Jan. 8
Atlantic 10 Basketball Odds (Regular-Season Champion)
| Team | BetMGM Odds |
| Dayton | +190 |
| VCU | +240 |
| St. Bonaventure | +600 |
| St. Joseph | +900 |
| George Mason | +1000 |
| St. Louis | +1100 |
| Loyola Chicago | +1700 |
| Rhode Island | +2000 |
| Davidson | +3000 |
| George Washington | +4000 |
| Duquesne | +12500 |
| Richmond | +12500 |
| Massachusetts | +15000 |
| Fordham | +25000 |
| LaSalle | +25000 |
Atlantic 10 Basketball Predictions
There is still a feeling that the top two preseason favorites, VCU and Dayton, will be the teams to beat in the Atlantic 10.
Both are the highest-ranked teams in KenPom’s ratings, with VCU 42nd and Dayton 48th entering the week.
Dayton owns wins over UConn and Marquette and suffered a 92-90 loss to North Carolina, an 89-84 loss to Iowa State, and a 66-59 defeat to Cincinnati, all ranked when the Flyers played them. The George Washington loss was the one truly bad defeat.
VCU hasn’t been overly impressive through the first 15 games. There hasn’t been that big non-conference win and there was the aforementioned loss to St. Bonaventure despite a season-high 26 points from graduate guard Phillip Russell. The Rams are in the top five in the Atlantic 10 in both scoring and scoring defense, a good combination to have.
One of the early-season questions is whether St. Bonaventure is for real. The Bonnies’ only loss in the first 15 games was 72-67 to a Utah State team that has earned two consecutive NCAA berths and won 13 of its first 14 this year.
That said, the non-league schedule hasn’t been overly challenging, but there was a win over Providence on a neutral court, although the Friars aren’t off to a great start, and as mentioned, the impressive victory over VCU. Chance Moore and Melvin Council Jr. are both averaging more than 14 points per game for the Bonnies.
One of the best bets could be St. Louis. The Billikens had an uneven non-conference slate, but a 15-point home win over a strong St. Joseph’s team was an impressive early-season Atlantic 10 showing. St. Joseph was ahead of St. Louis in both the preseason poll and the BetMGM odds.
First-year St. Louis coach Josh Schertz, who guided Indiana State to the NIT final last season, brought 6-foot-10 junior Robbie Avila with him. Avila is averaging more than 18 points per game in his first season with St. Louis.
St. Louis has a high-flying offense. Isaiah Swope and Gibson Jimerson are also averaging more than 18 points per game. The key for the Billikens will be getting production from others. They are averaging more than 77 points per game.
St. Joseph has had its moments, including a Quad 1 win over Texas Tech, but the Hawks have been inconsistent. One problem is that senior guard Erik Reynolds II, among the top offensive players in the Atlantic 10, was shooting a career-low .377 from the field in the Hawks’ first 15 games. If Reynolds reverts to form, the Hawks could be dangerous.
George Mason could be an outside contender. But the Patriots, despite winning 10 of their first 15 games, didn’t have a major prestige victory. One of the losses was to Rhode Island, a potential dark horse. Rhode Island is the Atlantic 10’s leading scoring team (81.1 ppg.) but must do better defensively, where the Rams allow more than 70 points per contest.
There could be other teams that emerge, ala Duquesne of last year, in one of the more balanced leagues in the country.
