Atlantic 10 Basketball: VCU, Dayton among most likely to grab 2019 autobid

#6: Saint Louis Billikens

As talented as they are on paper, it’s frustrating that the Bil’s aren’t dominant in this year’s A10. This same team that was picked to finish first in the preseason coaches’ poll is 3-7 in their last ten, and that includes a home loss to Richmond and a 30-point loss to St. Joe’s.

The ceiling with this team is obvious — Jordan Goodwin, Hassan French, Javon Bess, and Tramaine Isabell is a top three core in the conference — but they just haven’t found a way to reach it consistently. At their best, they can beat the Butlers, Seton Halls, and Daytons of the world, but at their worst they can, well, go 3-7 over a ten game stretch.

The problems for SLU have nothing to do with effort or intensity — their stout defense is what’s kept them north of the league’s bottom half — they just go on stretches where they completely forget how to put the ball in the hole on offense. According to Kenpom.com, they run the 248th most efficient offense in the nation (out of 351 teams) and they’re among the bottom twenty in both three-point and free-throw shooting percentages.

It’s hard to see them catching fire in Brooklyn for a long enough stretch to make it out alive, but if they play hard enough defense to make each game a rock-fight, anything can happen.

#5: George Mason Patriots

Dave Paulsen deserves credit for getting this Patriots team to bounce back as well as they have after a disappointing non-con slate. It’s true that they’ve come back down to earth after starting conference play at 7-1, but they’re still playing well enough to warrant a top five ranking in the league.

Even though they are 3-4 over their last seven contests, that stretch has included road matchups with Saint Bonaventure, VCU, and the surprisingly pesky Richmond, so it’s tough to imagine any team outside the top five performing too much better than this young Patriots team has.

What makes Mason dangerous is their depth and willingness to get the ball to whoever has the hot hand on a given night. Ten players are currently averaging at least 10 minutes per game, and seven of those are averaging at least six points. Otis Livingston and Jaire Grayer, the backcourt duo that was expected to be Mason’s stars, have been, respectively, inconsistent and hurt, but previously unheralded guys like Justin Kier and Jordan Miller have more than picked up the slack.

Injuries have been hurting a little bit more than usual over the past couple of weeks, but this team is still well enough-equipped to battle for the fourth seed in Brooklyn and even make a run at stealing the auto-bid.