Atlantic 10 Basketball: Recap of 1st and 2nd rounds of 2023 tournament

There’s something special about Atlantic 10 basketball in March. Over the last two days, we’ve seen eleven different teams take the Barclays Center hardwood, all with the same goal: a chance to go dancing.

The difference between the Atlantic 10 and every other conference is how much parody there is throughout the league. Any team can win against anyone on any given night.

We’ve seen two upsets that both came in the second round late on Wednesday night when ten-seed Saint Joseph’s knocked off seven-seed George Washington and eleven-seed La Salle defeated six-seed Duquesne.

The Hawks were in a close battle in the first round with Loyola Chicago; however, a team effort from multiple contributors allowed Saint Joe’s to defeat the Ramblers 72-67. The Hawks responded the next night with a win over a talented George Washington squad.

However, Coach Fran Dunphy’s Explorers may be the most surprising team since the start of the tournament. They finished the season on a five-game losing streak. La Salle took care of business on day one, taking down Rhode Island 73-56. They controlled the second half against Duquesne the following night and earned the right to play Fordham on Thursday.

It looked like a strong possibility we would get a third upset with the twelve-seed Richmond Spiders taking down the five-seed George Mason Patriots; however, everyone’s favorite dark horse escaped with a victory in the final minute. Ronald Polite III had the go-ahead three-pointer with 47 seconds remaining to lift Mason over the Spiders.

The stage is set for the Quarterfinals, with just eight teams remaining. Let’s revisit each game from the first two rounds as we prepare for the Thursday slate ahead.