The Atlantic 10 was a fairly balanced league in the 2015-2016 season, particularly at the top, where Dayton, VCU and St. Bonaventure each shared the regular season title at 14-4. Dayton, the preseason favorite in the A-10, earned the No. 1 seed after going 2-1 against its two co-champions, VCU and St. Bonaventure, during the regular season. VCU performed excellently this season in head coach Will Wade's first year after Shaka Smart left for Texas during the 2015 offseason.
The next tier of the league is formed by St. Joseph's, George Washington and Davidson, who had solid if unspectacular conference seasons, while Rhode Island finished with a .500 record. The remaining half of the league finished below that mark, including 5-13 George Mason and Saint Louis and 4-14 La Salle.
The A-10 has multiple teams that can potentially go on an NCAA Tournament run. The first step is getting to the Big Dance. With star players like St. Joe's DeAndre Bembry and rising coaches like Dayton's Archie Miller, the Atlantic 10 Tournament should serve as the perfect precursor for college basketball fans starved for March Madness.
The format
The four lowest seeds (Duquesne, George Mason, Saint Louis, La Salle) will each play in the tournament's first round, while the top four seeds receive byes through the first two rounds. The winners of the two first-round games will then play the top seeds that didn't receive a second-round bye — No. 5 George Washington and No. 6 Davidson — in the second round. No. 8 Fordham and No. 9 Richmond will also play in the second round, along with No. 7 Rhode Island and No. 10 Massachusetts.
The teams
1. Dayton
2. VCU
3. St. Bonaventure
4. St. Joseph's
5. George Washington
6. Davidson
7. Rhode Island
8. Fordham
9. Richmond
10. Massachusetts
11. Duquesne
12. George Mason
13. Saint Louis
14. La Salle
Bracket
You can see the whole thing here. Stream many of the games herthrough the Atlantic-10's website, or NBC.
Schedule and Results (all times Eastern)
Wednesday, March 9 (First Round)
Game 1: No. 13 St. Louis 83, No. 12 George Mason 78
Game 2: No. 14 La Salle 88, No. 11 Duquesne 73
Thursday, March 10 (Second Round)
Game 3: No. 9 Richmond 70, No. 8 Fordham 55
Game 4: No. 5 George Washington 73, No. 13 St. Louis 65
Game 5: No. 10 Massachusetts 67, No. 7 Rhode Island 62
Game 6: No. 6 Davidson 78, No. 14 La Salle 63
Friday, March 11 (Quarterfinals)
Game 7: No. 1 Dayton 69, No. 9 Richmond 54
Game 8: No. 4 St. Joseph's 86, No. 5 George Washington 80
Game 9: No. 2 VCU 85, No. 10 Massachusetts 70
Game 10: No. 6 Davidson 90, No. 3 St. Bonaventure 86 (OT)
Saturday, March 12 (Semifinals)
Game 11: No. 4 St. Joseph's 82, No. 1 Dayton 79
Game 12: No. 2 VCU 76, No. 6 Davidson 54
Sunday, March 13 (Championship)
No. 4 St. Joseph's 87, No. 2 VCU 74
