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Atlantic 10 Basketball: 2021 Conference Tournament preview and predictions

By Adam Bernstein

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 12: A general view of the Barclay Center prior to the start of the 2020 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament - Second Round on March 12, 2020 in the Brooklyn Borough of New York City. Tournament games will be played without fans amid growing concerns of the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus). (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 12: A general view of the Barclay Center prior to the start of the 2020 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament - Second Round on March 12, 2020 in the Brooklyn Borough of New York City. Tournament games will be played without fans amid growing concerns of the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus). (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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Atlantic 10 Basketball VCU Rams Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Atlantic 10 Basketball VCU Rams Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

Atlantic 10 basketball fans have been waiting desperately for the chance to see their team compete in the conference tournament ever since the world was put on lockdown just about a year ago. The conference decided to cancel its championship tournament about an hour before the second-round games were scheduled to tip-off. This was not the way we had hoped to see the season end as it was a big year for the A10 Conference.

Last season, there were several teams projected to make big runs in the tournament and would potentially have opportunities at seeing NCAA tournament games. The Dayton Flyers were shaping up to be a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament due to dominant performances from Obi Toppin and Jalen Crutcher and, impressive calls from Coach Anthony Grant.

Although the tournament did fall short due to the Coronavirus outbreak, fans can get excited about this year’s tournament. This season was very different than any other because of programs being shut down due to positive cases and several scheduling changes around the conference.

In fact, there are some teams that played fewer games than other teams which affected their seeding when it comes to making the bracket. Overall, this season has been extremely competitive for every team which may allow for several upsets to occur throughout the week.

The quarterfinals will display the top four seeds in the conference this past season on Friday. I have a few underdogs to come out of that round and advance to the semi-finals that many did not have when filling out their brackets.

Although St. Bonaventure did finish with the best record and is the first-seed, I believe the Saint Louis Billikens will come out as champions. The Billikens were projected to finish second this season but, finished fourth in the standings.

Saint Louis also did play fewer games due to a program shut down from internal positive cases. I believe the senior duo of Hasahn French and Jordan Goodwin will put on a show. Senior leadership and smart play-calling from Coach Travis Ford makes the Billikens an immediate contender.

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