- The Atlantic 10 basketball tournament will run March 12-17 in Brooklyn.
- No. 3 seed Dayton (+140) is favored to win.
- No. 5 seed VCU has made 10 of the last 12 NCAA Tournaments.
The Atlantic 10 has been aggressive in the expansion market over the last 15 years, adding hot commodities like VCU, George Mason, and Loyola Chicago. The result is a conference that’s as competitive as any mid-major at the top of the table.
This year’s tournament has unique selection drama because of one team in particular, making it one of the most fascinating NCAA conference basketball tournaments to tune in for.
Naturally, BetMGM has NCAA basketball odds for both the single games and the championship market.
Atlantic 10 Tournament Schedule
The Atlantic 10 men’s basketball tournament runs March 12-17 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
- Game 1: No. 12 Fordham vs. No. 13 Davidson (March 12)
- Game 2: No. 10 La Salle vs. No. 15 George Washington (March 12)
- Game 3: No. 11 Rhode Island vs. No. 14 Saint Louis (March 12)
- Game 4: No. 8 George Mason vs. No. 9 Saint Joseph’s (March 13)
- Game 5: No. 5 VCU vs. Game 1 Winner (March 13)
- Game 6: No. 7 St. Bonaventure’s vs. Game 2 Winner (March 13)
- Game 7: No. 6 Duquesne vs. Game 3 Winner (March 13)
- Game 8: No. 1 Richmond vs. Game 4 Winner (March 14)
- Game 9: No. 4 UMass vs. Game 5 Winner (March 14)
- Game 10: No. 2 Loyola Chicago vs. Game 6 Winner (March 14)
- Game 11: No. 3 Dayton vs. Game 7 Winner (March 14)
- Game 12: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner (March 15)
- Game 13: Game 10 Winner vs. Game 11 Winner (March 15)
- Game 14: Game 12 Winner vs. Game 13 Winner (March 16)
Atlantic 10 Tournament Odds
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Dayton | +150 |
| Richmond | +450 |
| UMass | +600 |
| Loyola Chicago | +650 |
| VCU | +1000 |
| Duquesne | +1200 |
| St. Bonaventure | +1200 |
| George Mason | +1600 |
| Saint Joseph's | +2000 |
| Davidson | +5000 |
| La Salle | +10000 |
| Fordham | +15000 |
| George Washington | +20000 |
| Saint Louis | +20000 |
| Rhode Island | +20000 |
Atlantic 10 Tournament Prediction
Loyola Chicago (+650) will win the Atlantic 10 Tournament and earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
While Dayton is the team that gets all the hype, the Flyers have played poorly outside of Ohio over the last two months. These odds just shouldn’t be this lopsided.
I’ll take a shot with an experienced Loyola program that’s 10-1 since Jan. 30 and priced at a rich number.
Here are a couple of other notes to consider:
Dayton’s Unique Position
It’s unusual to have the third-place team of a mid-major conference in clear position to earn an at-large NCAA Tournament berth, but that’s exactly what’s happened with the 2024 Dayton Flyers. DaRon Holmes is a likely NBA draft pick, and the Flyers scored nonconference wins against LSU, St. John’s, SMU, Troy, and Cincinnati.
Thus, Dayton’s presence flips the usual mid-major tournament calculation completely on its head. Typically, a win from a lower-seeded team often creates bid-steal situations in strong mid-majors like the A10. Instead, Dayton could actually save a bid by winning this tournament.
Take this year’s Missouri Valley Conference Tournament as an example. Indiana State was the No. 1 seed and best team, but the Sycamores lost in the championship round to Drake. Drake secured the automatic bid, and now Indiana State is projected to receive an at-large bid that Drake would have missed. The MVC went from a likely 1-bid league to a likely 2-bid league because of a conference tournament upset.
If chalk holds in the Atlantic 10, No. 1 seed Richmond will receive the automatic bid, and Dayton will receive an at-large bid. But because none of the remaining A10 teams have a strong enough team resume to merit at-large consideration, a Dayton tournament championship would actually reduce the conference’s representation in the NCAA Tournament.
This leaves the Atlantic 10 in the uncomfortable but logically inevitable position of rooting against the Flyers in their own conference tournament. There’s something you don’t see every day.
Can VCU Figure It Out Yet Again?
Since the Rams won that fateful NCAA Tournament bid with Shaka Smart in 2011, VCU has been on something of a qualifying tear.
The team has rarely been the clear top team in its conference – it was the No. 4 seed in the 2011 CAA Tournament – but often finds a way into a conference autobid or a worthy at-large profile. (Speaking of which: here’s the VCU tournament resume for this season.)
VCU is the No. 5 seed in this year’s tournament and ended the regular season with consecutive losses to Richmond, Duquesne, and Dayton. But the Rams have still made the Big Dance in 10 of the last 12 years the tournament has been held. Can they do it again this year?
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2023-24 Atlantic 10 Standings
Team Conf. Wins Conf. Losses Win Pct. Loyola Chi. 15 3 .833 Richmond 15 3 .833 Dayton 14 4 .778 UMass 11 7 .611 VCU 11 7 .611 Duquesne 10 8 .556 George Mason 9 9 .500 Saint Joseph’s 9 9 .500 St. Bona. 9 9 .500 La Salle 6 12 .333 Fordham 6 12 .333 Rhode Island 6 12 .333 Davidson 5 13 .278 Saint Louis 5 13 .278 George Wash. 4 14 .222 -
Atlantic 10 Tournament Champions
Year Winner Runner-Up 1977 Duquesne Villanova 1978 Villanova West Virginia 1979 Rutgers Pittsburgh 1980 Villanova West Virginia 1981 Pittsburgh Duquesne 1982 Pittsburgh West Virginia 1983 West Virginia Temple 1984 West Virginia St. Bonaventure 1985 Temple Rutgers 1986 Saint Joseph’s West Virginia 1987 Temple George Washington 1988 Temple Rhode Island 1989 Rutgers Penn State 1990 Temple Massachusetts 1991 Penn State George Washington 1992 Massachusetts West Virginia 1993 Massachusetts Temple 1994 Massachusetts Temple 1995 Massachusetts Temple 1996 Massachusetts Temple 1997 Saint Joseph’s Rhode Island 1998 Xavier George Washington 1999 Rhode Island Temple 2000 Temple St. Bonaventure 2001 Temple Massachusetts 2002 Xavier Richmond 2003 Dayton Temple 2004 Xavier Dayton 2005 George Washington Saint Joseph’s 2006 Xavier Saint Joseph’s 2007 George Washington Rhode Island 2008 Temple Saint Joseph’s 2009 Temple Duquesne 2010 Temple Richmond 2011 Richmond Dayton 2012 St. Bonaventure Xavier 2013 Saint Louis VCU 2014 Saint Joseph’s VCU 2015 VCU Dayton 2016 Saint Joseph’s VCU 2017 Rhode Island VCU 2018 Davidson Rhode Island 2019 Saint Louis St. Bonaventure 2021 St. Bonaventure VCU 2022 Richmond Davidson 2023 VCU Dayton -
Most Atlantic 10 Tournament Championships
Team Championships Temple 9 Massachusetts 5 Xavier 4 Saint Joseph’s 4 George Washington 2 Pittsburgh 2 Richmond 2 Rhode Island 2 Rutgers 2 Saint Louis 2 St. Bonaventure 2 VCU 2 Villanova 2 West Virginia 2 Davidson 1 Dayton 1 Duquesne 1 Penn State 1
Conference Tournament Previews & Predictions
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