The regular season is over, and now all 14 teams will compete at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh for the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Each week, The Good Five Cent Cigar Sports Staff votes on the rankings of every team in the A-10.
Here’s how the final rankings shaped up as of March 9:
14th Place: St. Bonaventure University Bonnies (15-16, 4-14) (-4)
The Bonnies have lost six of their last seven games heading into the Atlantic 10 Tournament, with their only win coming against the University of Rhode Island on Feb. 26.
The Bonnies will take on La Salle University in the first round on Wednesday. The last time these two teams faced off was Jan. 17, where the Explorers emerged victorious, 78-74. It should be a close matchup between these two as St. Bonaventure owns the conference’s 12th-ranked defense, and La Salle is the A-10’s worst offense, in terms of points per game.
13th Place: University of Richmond Spiders (15-16, 5-13) (-2)
The Spiders enter tournament play tied with the Bonnies for the longest losing streak in the A-10 at three games. The Spiders, unlike the Bonnies, lost their three games by a combined 10 points, including two one-score games. St. Bonaventure lost its last three games by a combined 27 points.
The Spiders will take on Loyola University Chicago in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament. The only time these teams played this season was on Feb. 28, where the Ramblers got the 69-66 victory, starting Richmond’s three-game losing streak.
T-11th Place: La Salle University Explorers (9-22, 5-13) (+3)
The Explorers got just their second win in 11 games when they defeated Fordham University, 87-84, on March 4.
It’s been a tough season for La Salle as the program adjusts to head coach Darris Nichols’ scheme and philosophy in his first season at the helm, but getting at least one Atlantic 10 Tournament win in his first season could provide some confidence to fans heading into next season, when Nichols will have a full recruiting cycle under his belt.
T-11th Place: Loyola University Chicago Ramblers (8-23, 4-14) (+2)
The Ramblers are now winners of two of their last three and carry the most momentum of any team playing in the first round.
Now, don’t expect the Ramblers to go on a Cinderella run, but getting at least one win may help ease the pain of what has been an abysmal season for Loyola Chicago.
10th Place: University of Rhode Island Rams (16-15, 7-11) (+2)
After defeating then No. 18 Saint Louis University on Feb. 17, the Rams have lost four of their last five games, scoring less than 60 points in three of those. The only bright spot for the Rhody is that the tumble to end the season wasn’t enough to put them in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament for the first time under head coach Archie Miller.
URI will face Duquesne University in the second round on Thursday, as the team looks for its first Atlantic 10 Tournament win in Miller’s tenure. The two teams split the season series with URI taking the most recent matchup on March 4, 64-52.
9th Place: George Washington University Revolutionaries (17-14, 8-10) (-)
George Washington’s rollercoaster end to the season continued as it alternated wins and losses in its last six games.
The Revolutionaries will take on Fordham on Thursday in the second round, with the winner set to face Saint Louis in the next round. These two teams are about as evenly matched as possible, with George Washington ranked second in the A-10 in offense and Fordham ranked first in the A-10 in defense.
8th Place: Duquesne University Dukes (17-14, 9-9) (-)
The Dukes snapped a four-game losing streak with a 79-77 victory over Richmond on Saturday. Before the losing streak, Duquesne put together a five-game winning streak to help avoid a first-round berth.
The winner of the matchup between the Dukes and the Rams will take on No. 2 Virginia Commonwealth University in the quarterfinals. Before reaching that matchup, though, Duquesne will need to rely on its top two scorers in fourth-year Tarence Guinyard and third-year Jimmie Williams, ranked second and eighth in the A-10 in points per game, respectively, if they want to best a URI defense ranked fourth in the conference.
7th Place: Fordham University Rams (17-14, 8-10) (-1)
Fordham’s first season under head coach Mike Magpayo has been nothing but an extreme success, and even that seems like an understatement. The Rams were picked to finish last in the A-10 preseason poll, but finished eighth in the final standings.
The Rams have won five of their last seven games, and if they beat George Washington, they should be viewed as a serious opponent to a slumping Billikens team.
6th Place: Davidson College Wildcats (19-12, 10-8) (-1)
The Wildcats feel like the epitome of mid in the A-10, as they win almost every game against teams worse than them and lose every game against teams better than them. This trend was most apparent in Davidson’s final two games, a 70-67 loss against Saint Joseph’s University and a 68-63 win over St. Bonaventure.
The Wildcats await the winner of the first-round matchup between Richmond and Loyola Chicago, but if the trend continues, then Davidson shouldn’t have to worry too much about which team wins.
5th Place: University of Dayton Flyers (21-10, 12-6) (-3)
The Flyers’ six-game winning streak was snapped on Friday with a home loss to VCU, 68-62. It was a loss that most likely brought Dayton fans back down to Earth, as the top two teams separated themselves from the rest of the conference.
The one positive that came from the loss is that the Flyers still earned the coveted double-bye, so they will have plenty of time to rest, recover and regroup before playing again in the quarterfinals on Friday.
T-3rd Place: George Mason University Patriots (23-8, 11-7) (+4)
The Patriots picked up their biggest win of the season on Sunday with a dominant 29-point victory over the Billikens. The Patriots have won two of their last three after losing the previous four.
George Mason will take on the winner of the first-round matchup between La Salle and the Bonnies. The question now is if the Patriots can keep up this momentum and make a surprise run to make the conference a two or three-bid league.
T-3rd Place: Saint Joseph’s University Hawks (21-10, 13-5) (+1)
The Hawks have won six-straight games, the longest winning streak in the A-10, and secured a double-bye in the Atlantic 10 tournament.
If the Hawks want to go dancing, they’ll most likely need to face off against at least one of Saint Louis or VCU. St. Joe’s lost to both teams in the regular season, but the Hawks seem to always pull out a win when it matters most. Also, it’s March, a month where seemingly anything can happen.
2nd Place: Saint Louis University Billikens (27-4, 15-3) (-1)
After starting conference play 12-0, the Billikens have gone 3-3 in their last six games. A shocking fall for a team that once looked unbeatable.
The Billikens almost assuredly are in the NCAA Tournament, whether they win the Atlantic 10 Tournament or not, but this recent slip should be very concerning. An early exit could lead to a much lower seed or even a First Four appearance in a disappointing end to an unbelievable season.
1st Place: Virginia Commonwealth University Rams (24-7, 15-3) (+2)
VCU, somehow, was crowned co-champions with the Billikens following the team’s win over Dayton on Friday. The Rams rattled off three-straight wins to end the season after an 88-75 loss on Feb. 20 against Saint Louis.
VCU is viewed by many as a bubble team to receive an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament. If they don’t want to leave their fate up to the selection committee, the Rams will most likely have to face the Billikens in the final. Will the Rams finally beat a struggling SLU team when it matters, or will they have to wait until Sunday night to find out if they will continue to play in March?
