Atlantic 10 Basketball: 2020 conference tournament preview, predictions

Atlantic 10 Basketball: 2020 conference tournament preview and predictions

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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DAYTON, OH – FEBRUARY 11: Fatts Russell #1 of the Rhode Island Rams (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Predictions

Wednesday, March 11 (First Round)

12) George Mason 73

13) Saint Joe’s 68

11) George Washington 62

14) Fordham 52

No surprises here. The bottom two are just egregiously bad this season. Joe’s has an almost respectable offense, so they could conceivably get hot enough to survive, but they probably won’t have enough to beat a good-for-a-12-seed Mason team. George Washington will exact revenge on Fordham after handing them their only two wins of conference play.

Thursday, March 12 (Second Round)

8) UMass 70

9) VCU 62

I’m thinking Tre Mitchell will continue his hot streak and that the Rams, despite Marcus Evans’ return, still won’t have enough confidence to get over the hump.

5) Saint Bonaventure 60

12) George Mason 57

I think this game will be closer than one might think. Bonas is solid but 8 (…8!) of their 11 conference wins came against the bottom 4, and while Mason obviously isn’t a contender for the ‘ship, this isn’t a bad matchup for them. I don’t see Mark Schmidt letting this one get away, especially since there will be a strong contingent of Bonnies fans in attendance, but expect a ball game either way.

7) Davidson 72

10) La Salle 56

The Wildcats already have a 25-point victory over the Explorers this season, and I don’t expect Bob McKillop to head home from this tournament winless.

6) Duquesne 77

11) George Washington 70

Duquesne will exact revenge for letting GW steal a win from them in Pittsburgh. That never should have happened, and the Dukes are too good to let it happen twice.

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