March Madness continues to draw closer with every passing week! The on-court intensity throughout this past week’s Atlantic 10 basketball slate of games only served as further proof. All 14 teams continue to jockey for seeding ahead of the A10 Tournament. In case you missed last week’s article, that tournament will no longer be played at the Barclays Center.
Read on for the latest Atlantic 10 basketball headlines, updated standings and games to watch in this upcoming week’s loaded schedule!
Atlantic 10 Basketball Headlines
We won’t even get started on the continued Saint Louis Billikens basketball hiatus. Despite not playing a game since two days before Christmas, the Billikens are ranked No. 23 in the country and serve as the Atlantic 10’s lone flag-bearer in the AP Top-25. Side note: they’re even higher than that in the latest FlurrySports college basketball rankings. With that, let’s get to some live basketball headlines.
La Salle Steals Road Win at Richmond
Expectations for La Salle and Richmond were near polar opposites coming into the 2020-21 Atlantic 10 basketball season. Richmond lived up to the billing in the nonconference season, but it was La Salle who sprung a major upset when the two teams went head-to-head on Saturday.
Sherif Kenney’s 17 points led all La Salle players in an 84-78 road victory over Richmond. Kenney may have led the scoring, but he was far from alone. Five other Explorers joined him in double figures for the game. Jared Kimbrough supplied 12 points, nine rebounds and three assists off the bench while Christian Ray scored 11 and grabbed eight boards. Jhamir Brickus, Scott Spencer and Jack Clark all supplied 10 points apiece. It was a total team effort for La Salle in a win that evened up their Atlantic 10 basketball conference record at 4-4.
Richmond was led in the game by 22 points, six rebounds and four assists from Grant Golden. Blake Francis was right behind with 21 points. The Spiders’ lack of depth was exposed in a big way on Saturday. While La Salle received 34 points from bench players, Richmond got only two. After blazing through a nonconference schedule that included multiple wins over SEC competition, the Spiders are just in the middle of the pack when it comes to the current A10 standings.
Can Anyone Beat St. Bonaventure?
It was business as usual for St. Bonaventure basketball once again this past week. The program picked up another pair of wins against two solid A10 teams. After turning a highly-anticipated matchup with VCU into a 16-point rout last Wednesday, the Bonnies survived Duquesne on Saturday for another road win.
Dominick Welch was one of three St. Bonaventure players to be on the court for 38 minutes or more against VCU. The heavy minutes didn’t seem to hamper his legs at all. The junior guard buried five of six shots from 3-point range in a 19-point night to lead the Bonnies to a 70-54 win. Jaren Holmes added 18 points while Kyle Lofton supplied 12 in playing the entire 40 minutes. Pesky defense has been critical to St. Bonaventure’s success in Atlantic 10 basketball play and it was on full display against the Rams. The Bonnies combined to procure 11 steals as a team, compared to just four for VCU. A 40-25 halftime deficit got turned on its head as St. Bonaventure only allowed 14 points (yep, just 14!) over the final 20 minutes of play.
Not to be outdone, St. Bonaventure returned to the hardwood three days later and earned a hard-fought 65-61 win over Duquesne. The Bonnies again trailed by a point at halftime in this one before outsourcing the Dukes by five after the break. Lofton’s 17 points and five assists led the way. Welch buried another three tiples on his way to 14 points.
George Mason Wins 2OT Thriller Over St. Joseph’s
George Mason and St. Joseph’s played a home-and-home series as part of this past week’s Atlantic 10 basketball action. The first game on Wednesday in Fairfax on the Patriots’ home court turned into a classic. It took 10 extra minutes, but George Mason would ultimately prevail with an 87-85 2OT victory.
Senior guard Javon Greene was the star of the show for George Mason. He filled the stat sheet in every way imaginable with 25 points, nine rebounds, four steals and two assists. Three other Patriots players joined Greene in double figures scoring, including Jordan Miller (17), A.J. Wilson (14) and Josh Oduro (14). Taylor Funk led SJU in defeat with 19 points.
The two teams ran it back on Saturday, this time on St. Joe’s home court in Philadelphia. George Mason emerged victorious once again, although no extra time was needed on this occasion. Miller led the scoring this time with 18 points while Greene chipped in another superb line of 13 points, eight boards and four assists. The wins evened GMU’s Atlantic 10 basketball record at 4-4.
Funk led all scorers in Saturday’s contest with 21 points for the Hawks. St. Joseph’s remained winless in Atlantic 10 basketball play this season.
Updated Atlantic 10 Basketball Standings
| Team | Conference Record | Overall Record |
|---|---|---|
| St. Bonaventure | 10-3 | 12-3 |
| VCU | 10-3 | 17-5 |
| Richmond | 6-3 | 13-5 |
| UMass | 6-3 | 7-5 |
| Davidson | 6-4 | 11-7 |
| George Mason | 7-6 | 11-8 |
| Dayton | 8-7 | 12-8 |
| Saint Louis | 4-4 | 11-5 |
| Duquesne | 6-7 | 7-8 |
| George Washington | 3-4 | 4-10 |
| Rhode Island | 7-9 | 10-13 |
| La Salle | 6-10 | 9-14 |
| Saint Joseph's | 2-9 | 3-14 |
| Fordham | 2-11 | 2-11 |
Upcoming Atlantic 10 Basketball Games to Note
If you call yourself a college basketball fan, you’re fully aware that the season is hitting its stride. For Atlantic 10 basketball fans specifically, the upcoming week of games promises to be nothing short of epic. There were too many marquee matchups to narrow it down to five for this column this week. Instead, here are eight across four days! After all, who doesn’t want more A10 action?!
Dayton at (22) Saint Louis
Date: Tuesday, Jan. 26
Time: 8 pm EST
TV Coverage: CBSSN
Rhode Island at La Salle
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 27
Time: 5 pm EST
TV Coverage: ESPN+
UMass at VCU
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 27
Time: 7 pm EST
TV Coverage: ESPN+
George Washington at George Mason
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 27
Time: 7 pm EST
TV Coverage: ESPN+
(22) Saint Louis at Richmond
Date: Friday, Jan. 29
Time: 6:30 pm EST
TV Coverage: ESPN2
La Salle at VCU
Date: Saturday, Jan. 30
Time: 1 pm EST
TV Coverage: NBCSN
St. Bonaventure at Davidson
Date: Saturday, Jan. 30
Time: 2 pm EST
TV Coverage: CBSSN
Rhode Island at Dayton
Date: Saturday, Jan. 30
Time: 4 pm EST
TV Coverage: CBSSN
