Atlantic 10 Basketball Tournament: VCU versus the field in Brooklyn

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 08: A general view as the George Washington Colonials play the Saint Louis Billikens during the second half in the Second Round of the Atlantic 10 Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 8, 2018 in Washington, DC.(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

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PITTSBURGH, PA – MARCH 15: Trae Young #11 of the Oklahoma Sooners reacts between Jeff Dowtin #11 and Fatts Russell #2 of the Rhode Island Rams in the second half of the game during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 15, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

Possible dark horses

Even though they won’t have that extra day of rest that the teams mentioned in the previous section will be fortunate enough to receive, two teams stand out as possible candidates to make miracle runs and punch a ticket to the final 64: the Rhode Island Rams and the Saint Louis Billikens.

The Rams were the definition of an up-and-down team throughout conference play, but anything can happen for them in Brooklyn if they can play like they’ve shown the ability to during some of those “up” swings. This same team that we saw lose to Fordham and UMass (the 14th and 13th seeds, respectively), is also the only team in the conference that can claim wins over both Dayton and VCU.

David Coxes’ rotation is relatively inexperienced overall, but point guard Jeff Dowtin is the type of leader that gets up for these types of big games, and Cyril Langevine is next to unguardable in the post. If they can get past La Salle, they’ll still have decently fresh legs for their date with the Rams on Friday.

Saint Louis was picked in the preseason coaches’ poll to finish first in the final standings, so it’s disappointing to see them entering the Tournament as the 7 seed, but they still have a level of raw talent, physicality, and Senior leadership that can’t be overlooked in a playoff atmosphere. As the most experienced team in the conference, they won’t be intimidated by anyone, not even VCU, and they also have that chip on their shoulder as a previously highly-touted team that desperately wants to prove themselves worthy.

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