The Atlantic 10 and American Athletic Conference (AAC) tip off their conference tournament basketball games this week. More watch and wager action continues as the one bid-leagues decide their representatives into the the NCAA Tournament next week and the major conferences tune up with more bids led by the ACC and SEC, Big East and Pac 12 plus the Big 12 and Big Ten and deeper Mountain West Conference this season.
The Atlantic 10 and American are each projected to send two teams to the NCAA Tournament, but there are some capable contenders who could steal a ticket to the Big Dance by winning the conference tournament.
Selection Sunday is less than one week away on March 17, and Florida Atlantic (FAU) is assured of making it back to the NCAA Tournament after their historic Cinderella run to the Final Four last season representing the American Athletic Conference. South Florida (USF) is teetering on the bubble despite winning the AAC regular season title ahead of FAU and Memphis.
But South Florida’s NET ranking of 78 with just one Quad 1 win and 5-3 vs. Quad 2 teams leaves the Bulls less desired than the FAU Owls (NET 34), who is 2-2 vs. Quad 1 and 8-3 vs. Quad 2 teams with both teams having a pair of bad losses to Quad 4 opponents. South Florida’s NET is also worse than AAC rivals SMU (57), Memphis (69) and closer to North Texas (81), and none of those teams have a chance to make the NCAA Tournament unless they win the AAC tournament for the automatic bid.
Richmond and Loyola Chicago both finished at 15-3 and shared the Atlantic 10 men’s basketball regular season title. Richmond will be the No. 1 seed in the 15 team A-10 Tournament at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. But both those teams are on the NCAA Tournament bubble with any loss ahead of the A-10 title game damaging their chances to make the Big Dance. Rather, it’s third-place finisher Dayton that is in the NCAAT field with a strong NET ranking of 21 with three Quad 1 wins separating them from Richmond (71) and Loyola-Chicago, who both went 1-2 vs. Quad 1 teams. Dayton finished just one game behind those two co-champions and lost to both on the road but did not player either team on their home court, where the Flyers finished 16-0 this season.
Florida Atlantic (+13000) and Dayton (+13000) are both major longshots to win the NCAA Tournament with the lowest odds from teams in the American and Atlantic 10. FanDuel Sportsbook futures odds to win the NCAA Tournament also including other futures betting options if you prefer to take a shot on those teams odds to make it to the Final Four, which Florida Atlantic (FAU) did last year as a No. 9 seed.
Atlantic 10 Tournament Odds
College basketball odds from FanDuel and leading online sportsbooks refresh periodically and are subject to change, including on props and live betting. Betting lines listed on favored teams as opening-round matchups and future games posted by sportsbooks.
- +170: Dayton
- +600: Richmond
- +700: Loyola-Chicago, Massachusetts
- +800: Virginia Commonwealth (VCU)
- +1200: Duquesne, St. Bonaventure
- +1800: George Mason, Saint Joseph’s
- +4500: Davidson
- +25000: All other teams
Barclays Center, Brooklyn, N.Y. – X (Twitter) – @A10MBB
First Round: Tuesday, March 12 on ESPN+
- Game 1: No. 12 Fordham vs. No. 13 Davidson (-4.5), Total 134.5 | 11:30 a.m.
- Game 2: No. 10 LaSalle (-1.5) vs. No. 15 George Washington, Total 147.5 | 2 p.m.
- Game 3: No. 11 Rhode Island vs. No. 14 St. Louis (-1.5), Total 155.5 | 4:30 p.m.
Second Round: Wednesday, March 13 on USA Network
- Game 4: No. 8 George Mason vs. No. 9 St. Joseph’s | 11:30 a.m
- Game 5: No. 4 VCU vs. Winner Game 1 | 2 p.m
- Game 6: No. 7 St. Bonaventure vs. Winner Game 2 | 5 p.m
- Game 7: No. 6 Duquesne vs. Winner Game 3 | 7:30 p.m
Quarterfinals: Thursday, March 14 on USA Network
- Game 8: No. 1 Richmond vs. Winner Game 4 | 11:30 a.m
- Game 9: No. 4 Massachusetts vs. Winner Game 5 | 2 p.m
- Game 10: No. 2 Loyola-Chicago vs. Winner Game 6 | 5 p.m
- Game 11: No. 3 Dayton vs. Winner Game 7 | 7:30 p.m
Semifinals: Friday, March 15 on CBS Sports Network
- Game 12: Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 9 | 1 p.m.
- Game 13: Winner Game 10 vs. Winner Game 11 | 3:30 p.m.
Championship: Saturday, March 16 on CBS
- Winner Game 12 vs. Winner Game 13 | 1 p.m.
Courtesy of Playbook Sports
- No. 1 seeds have been on an 8-1 SU/ATS run in the A-10 Tournament for the past three seasons.
- Championship game favorites are 21-9-1 ATS overall in the A-10 title game, including 16-4-1 ATS if they sport a win percentage greater than .727.
- Underdogs with same season double revenge are just 3-15-1 ATS the last 8 years.
- Semifinal round favorites of 3 or more points are 11-2 ATS the last 11 years.
- Championship game favorites of 5 or more points are 9-1 ATS.
The top Atlantic 10 teams in KenPom’s adjusted offense and defense rankings include: (national rank)
- Offense: Dayton (18), Massachusetts (84), St. Bonaventure (88)
- Defense: Loyola Chicago (24), Richmond (29), Duquesne (43)
Dayton, Richmond and George Mason were the league leaders in scoring defense all allowing 66 points per game. Loyola-Chicago, Richmond and George Mason are the best field goal percentage defenses allowing 40% shooting. On offense, Dayton (48.2%), Richmond (46.7) and George Mason (46.2) and St. Bonaventure (46.1) are the best shooting teams with Dayton (40.7) the best 3-point shooting team. Richmond, Dayton and VCU all allow 31% shooting from the 3-point line to lead the league. George Mason and UMASS have the best rebounding margins in the A-10 at +4-5 per game, while Richmond is dead last in rebounding (-4.0). LaSalle, Richmond, Dayton and UMASS have the best Assist/Turnover ratio.
American Athletic Odds
- +170: Florida Atlantic
- +440: Memphis, SMU
- +500: South Florida
- +950: North Texas
- +1500: Charlotte
- +1800: UAB
- +12000 to +25000: All other teams
Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, TX – X (Twitter) – @American_Conf
First Round: Wednesday, March 13 on ESPN+
- Game 1: No. 13 Rice vs. No. 12 Wichita State | 1 p.m.
- Game 2: No. 14 UTSA vs. No. 11 Temple | 3 p.m.
Second Round: Thursday, March 14 on ESPNU
- Game 3: No. 9 Tulsa vs. No. 8 East Carolina | 12:30 p.m.
- Game 4: No 5 Memphis vs. Winner Game 1 | 2:30 p.m.
- Game 5: No. 10 Tulane vs. No. 7 North Texas | 7 p.m.
- Game 6: No. 6 SMU vs. Winner Game 2 | 9 p.m.
Quarterfinals: Friday, March 15 on ESPN 2 & ESPNU
- Game 7: No. 1 South Florida vs. Winner Game 3 | 1 p.m
- Game 8: No. 4 UAB vs. Winner Game 4 | 3 p.m
- Game 9: No. 2 Florida Atlantic vs. Winner Game 5 | 7 p.m
- Game 10: No. 3 Charlotte vs. Winner Game 6 | 9 p.m
Semifinals: Saturday, March 16 on ESPN2
- Game 11: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 | 3 p.m
- Game 12: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 | 5 p.m
Championship: Sunday, March 17 on ESPN
- Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12 | 3:15 p.m
- First round underdogs off back-to-back straight up (SU) losses are 11-4 against the spread (ATS) – Rice.
- Semifinal round teams off a SU underdog win are 7-2 ATS.
- No. 1 seeds are 1-9 ATS vs. opponent off SU underdog win.
- No. 7 or higher seeds facing a No. 8 or lower seed are 3-13 ATS including 0-8 ATS versus an opponent coming off consecutive losses.
The top AAC teams in KenPom’s djusted offense and defense rankings include: (national rank)
- Offense: Florida Atlantic (14), Memphis (55)
- Defense: North Texas (39), SMU (48), South Florida (67)
Florida Atlantic is the team to beat with five returning starters from their Final Four team last year. Memphis is the only team in the A-10 with more than one Quad 1 win. South Florida was on a 15-0 SU and 11-2-2 ATS run to close the season until losing their regular season finale at Tulsa as a road favorite. SMU has a pair of All-Conference guards and has improved from 10 wins last season to 20 wins. Charlotte is a sleeper off 22 wins last season and 19 wins and counting this season.
March is also Problem Gambling Awareness Month, so bet responsibly as you watch and wager and the games and March Madness.
Check back daily as updated college basketball odds and betting lines are posted by sportsbooks and added to the scheduled Atlantic 10 and American Conference matchups. It’s time for exciting conference tournament basketball action ahead of the most anticipated event of the year – March Madness.
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