VCU and George Mason shared the regular-season championship, but VCU earned the top seed in the Atlantic 10 basketball tournament based on a regular-season win over the Patriots.
Not surprisingly, VCU is the college basketball betting odds favorite to win the conference tournament. A big question is whether VCU has done enough to earn an NCAA bid even if it doesn’t win the conference tournament.
Here is a look at the Atlantic 10 Tournament
Dates: Wednesday through Sunday
Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
Championship: 1 p.m. ET Sunday (CBS)
Defending champion: Duquesne
Who’s hot: Dayton has won four in a row including a 79-76 win at VCU in the regular season finale.
Top 5 NCAA NET Rankings (Through Saturday, March 8)
1. VCU (31)
2. Dayton (66)
3. George Mason (73)
4. St. Joseph’s (74)
5. St. Bonaventure (96)
Players to watch: Max Shulga, 6-5, Sr., VCU (15.5 ppg. .413 3-point, 5.9 rpg.); Joe Bamisile, 6-4 grad, VCU (15.2 ppg. 5.3 rpg.); Nate Santos, 6-7, Sr., Dayton (14.1 ppg. 5.3 rpg.); Enoch Cheeks, 6-3, Sr., Dayton (13.4 ppg. 6.3 rpg.); Rasheer Fleming, 6-9, Jr., St. Joseph’s (15.5 ppg. 8.6 rpg.); Reed Bailey, 6-10, Jr., Davidson (18.9 ppg. 6.3 rpg. .429 3-pt); Robbie Avila, 6-10, Jr., St. Louis (17.4 ppg. 6.8 rpg. 4.0 apg.); Gibson Jimerson, 6-5, R-Sr., St. Louis (18.3 ppg. .372 3-pt).
Fast fact: The Atlantic 10 hasn’t had a repeat tournament champion since Temple won three in a row from 2008-2010. Temple now competes in the AAC.
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Atlantic 10 Basketball Tournament Odds
| Team | BetMGM Odds |
| VCU | -110 |
| Dayton | +400 |
| George Mason | +500 |
| St. Joseph’s | +800 |
| Loyola Chicago | +1500 |
| St. Bonaventure | +1800 |
| St. Louis | +2000 |
| George Washington | +3000 |
| Davidson | +6600 |
| Duquesne | +8000 |
| Rhode Island | +10000 |
| UMass | +25000 |
| Richmond | +30000 |
| La Salle | +30000 |
| Fordham | +30000 |
Odds via BetMGM as of March 10
Atlantic 10 Basketball Tournament Prediction
I like Dayton (22-9, 12-6) to win the tournament. Seeded No. 3, Dayton earned a double-bye into the quarterfinals, along with VCU, George Mason, and Loyola Chicago.
Besides its win over VCU, Dayton has also beaten two sure-fire NCAA teams, Marquette and UConn. The Flyers have won eight of their last 10 games and come in with good momentum.
That said, there are several other teams that could win the tournament, led by top-seeded VCU (25-6, 15-3). The Rams had won nine in a row before losing the regular-season finale to Dayton. VCU is probably the only Atlantic 10 that could lose in the conference tournament and still earn an NCAA bid, but even that isn’t assured.
VCU is also first in the Atlantic 10 in scoring defense (62.7 ppg.) and second in scoring (77.9 ppg.). The Rams’ 15.2 scoring margin is considerably better than anybody else’s. The next closest team is George Mason (7.7).
George Mason (24-7, 15-3) and Loyola Chicago (21-10, 12-6) are also contenders, especially since they will receive double byes. George Mason is second in the conference in scoring defense (63.1), but just 10th in scoring (70.8). Will the Patriots have enough firepower?
As for Loyola Chicago, the Ramblers are sixth in scoring (74.2) and seventh in scoring defense (69.0). They have won seven of their last eight games and come in with good momentum. Loyola Chicago won’t overwhelm teams with talent, but it has six players averaging between 7 and 13.5 points, led by 6-foot-4 junior Jayden Dawson (13.5 ppg., .388 three-point). The Ramblers also lead the Atlantic 10 in three-point percentage (.359), right ahead of Dayton (.357).
There appear to be two major dark horses in the Atlantic 10 basketball tournament – No. 5 St. Louis (18-13, 11-7) and No. 6 St. Joseph’s (20-11, 11-7).
St. Louis has three players averaging 16 or more points. Besides the aforementioned Avila and Jimerson, 5-foot-10 senior Isaiah Swope averages 16.4 points. The problem is that nobody else on the team averages as many as seven points. So, the big three have to produce at a high rate for the Billikens to be competitive.
St. Joseph’s also has some serious scorers. While the aforementioned Fleming is the top NBA prospect out of the Atlantic 10, 6-foot-2 sophomore Xzayvier Brown (17 ppg.) and 6-foot-2 senior Erik Reynolds II, the school’s all-time leading scorer who is averaging 16.8 ppg., give the Hawks plenty of firepower. Reynolds hasn’t enjoyed a great shooting season (.316 from three-point range), but he has the ability to carry a team.
There don’t appear to be any other contenders, but who really knows in a conference with so much parity? Remember, No. 8 seeded St. Bonaventure (21-10, 9-9) beat VCU, but that came a while ago, on New Year’s Eve.
