Atlantic 10 Basketball: Non-conference viewer’s guide for 2022-23 season
By Tyler Cronin
Welcome to the ultimate guide for the first two months of Atlantic 10 basketball, complete with what days to circle on the calendar, the interesting players to focus on, and the questions that will shape the opinions of how conference play is going to look.
Top 25 Most Watchable Games
The priorities in ranking these are finding competitive games between similar-level teams and chances for teams with NCAA Tournament dreams (top half of the league) to pick up wins that could be Q1 but will at least be Q2. There’s an upgrade for games that start tournaments (marked with an !), as winning your first game can be significant in getting tough matchups later on. For example, VCU faces Arizona St to open the Legends Classic. The winner likely will have the chance to play #22 Michigan, while the loser would have to face a Pitt program in the midst of a postseason drought.
Additionally, timing matters. Quality games on December 17th were left off because the A-10 has over six worthy of this list, but there is serious time overlap. A few games (marked with an &) were upgraded because they are fully isolated for all fans, as they are scheduled apart from other quality A-10 matchups, NFL games, major events in college basketball, college football, and the World Cup and outside of standard work hours. These games will absolutely demand your full attention.
*Kenpom preseason rank listed for all opponents, all times Eastern, some TV networks TBD
25. George Washington vs Washington St (71): Honolulu. Thur 12/22 at 9. ESPN2 !
Opening game of the Diamond Head Classic will go a long way in dictating if the Colonials have a strong Christmas Day game.
24. La Salle vs Temple (92)
23. St. Joe’s at Penn (163): Both Wed 11/30 at The Palestra, doubleheader at 6. ESPN+
Most likely, these teams are all far away from Tournament contention but local rivalries still really matter and it’s wonderful that the Philadelphia teams still play each other. The building will be full and emotions will be high for a bunch of players who have been facing off since childhood.
22. Montana (179) at Duquesne: Tue 11/8 at 7, ESPN+ &
Not a flashy game but due to opening day and election day, there are no NBA games this day and this is the only college game with two teams in the Top 180. Could be the best basketball game in America on the second night of the season.
21. DePaul (88) at Loyola Chicago: Sat 12/3 at 4
20. Vanderbilt (66) at VCU: Wed 11/30 at 7
A pair of good games that might require two screens.
19. Towson (98) at UMass: Thur 11/10 at 7, ESPN+ &
Defending CAA champions are a huge threat to the Minutemen in the season’s first week
18. Notre Dame (43) vs St Bonaventure: Long Island. Fri 11/25 at 4, ESPN+
17. George Mason at Auburn (13): Mon 11/7 at 8, ESPN+
Patriots will be significant underdogs but their offense gets the test of a Top 10 national defense immediately.