Atlantic 10 Conference Rundown: Logjam at Top

Davidson has even odds to win the Atlantic 10 championship. Virginia Commonwealth (+350) and St. Bonaventure (+500) are the closest competitors.

Game of the Week

Dayton Flyers at Saint Louis Billikens

• Date, time, TV: Saturday, 2 p.m. ET

A pretty key game in the Atlantic 10 Conference will feature two teams putting pressure on first-place Davidson.

Visiting Dayton (14-7, 6-2 A-10) is just a game out of first place while Saint Louis (14-6, 5-2) is 1.5 games out of the top spot. The Billikens lead all Atlantic 10 teams with 10 home wins.

Dayton has won its last two games and Saint Louis will take a three-game winning streak into this week’s action.

While their records are almost identical, their respective style are anything but similar. Saint Louis averages 11 more points per game than Dayton while the Flyers have the better defensive numbers.

Dayton freshman Malachi Smith is coming off a tough outing in a win over Rhode Island on Friday, when he missed all eight of his field goal attempts, but he does have two double-digit assists games. Saint Louis freshman Gibson Jimerson had his stretch of 20-point games snapped with 12 in the last contest, but he has scored in double figures in 11 consecutive games.

Six of the last seven games between the teams have been decided by less than 10 points

Here is a team-by-team breakdown for those who bet online.

Davidson Wildcats

Davidson (17-3, 7-1) had won four in a row against St. Bonaventure and covered against the college basketball spreads in each of those contents before the Bonnies swept the season series in 2020-21. The Wildcats topped 90 points in two of the last four games played at St. Bonaventure heading into Tuesday’s 7 p.m. game, which will air on CBS Sports Network.

Davidson, the Atlantic 10 leaders, lost a wild affair the last time the Wildcats played at George Washington, coming out on the wrong end of a 107-104 score back in 2020. Davidson had won the previous four meetings.

Davidson’s Luka Brajkovic has shot at least 60 percent in six of his last seven games and is averaging 22 points over his last three contests.

Dayton Flyers

Dayton (14-7, 6-2) was a three-point road favorite the last time it defeated Virginia Commonwealth. That was two years ago and the Flyers will look to come out on top once again on Wednesday. Ten of the last 13 games between Dayton and VCU have gone over the total.

Toumani Camara had 16 points and five rebounds in his previous game against VCU on Jan. 5, but the Rams won 53-52 on an Adrian Baldwin’s 3-pointer with 6.6 seconds left to play. Now they are ready for the rematch,

VCU (13-6) and Dayton (14-7) meet again, now both at 6-2 in league play, on Wednesday at 9 p.m. at the Siegel Center. The Rams won 53-52 at Dayton on Jan. 5 in the teams’ A-10 opener.

Heading in, here’s a few notes from Mike Rhoades’ press conference this morning:

— Wayne Epps Jr. (@wayneeppsjr) January 31, 2022

Five of Dayton’s last six games finished under the total.

Duquesne Dukes

Duquesne (6-12, 1-5) has split the last four meetings with Richmond after the Spiders had won the previous eight matchups. Three of the last four games between the teams have been determined by seven points or less while three of the last four games in the series have finished under the total.

Duquesne wraps up the week against Virginia Commonwealth on Saturday. The Dukes won 80-77 as the 5½-point underdogs back on March 3, 2020, snapping a seven-game losing streak in the series

Kevin Easley has made 50 percent of his 3-pointers in each of his last four games.

Fordham Rams

Fordham (9-10, 2-5) has taken three of four against Rhode Island before URI turned the tables by winning three of the last four meetings. The teams will meet again on Wednesday with Fordham hoping home-court advantage will provide an edge.

The Rams will play at Saint Joseph’s on Saturday. Three of the last four games between the teams went under the total.

Darius Quisenberry is 19 for 19 from the foul line in his last three contests.

George Mason Patriots

Three of the last four games between George Mason and Saint Louis have gone over the total. The Patriots defeated Saint Louis at home in the 2018 meeting as a 1½-point underdog.

George Mason (11-7, 4-1) has covered against the Las Vegas odds in its last six meetings with La Salle going into Saturday’s contest. The Patriots won the las for meetings, including a win at La Salle in 2020.

D’Shawn Schwartz has scored in double figures in each of his last eight games.

The Patriots are 7-2 against the spread in their last nine contests.

George Washington Colonials

George Washington (7-12, 3-4) has split the last four meetings with La Salle going into Wednesday night’s showdown, with the visiting squad winning the last two meetings.

The Colonials have covered against the spread in their last two meetings with Davidson. They have been the underdogs in the last seven meetings with Davidson and that will be the case again in Saturday’s showdown.

James Bishop has scored 55 points while shooting 50 percent from 3-point range and 86 percent from the foul line in his last two games.

La Salle Explorers

La Salle is looking to win back-to-back games in the series against George Washington since wins in 2013 and 2014. The winner of the last 14 games in the series has also covered against the spread each time.

La Salle (6-12, 1-7) lost by 35 and 33 points in two meetings with George Mason in 2021 and will be looking to put up more of a fight when the teams play for the first time this season on Saturday.

Six of the last eight games between La Salle and George Mason have gone over the total.

Clifton Moore has eight straight double-digit scoring games, including four double-doubles during that stretch.

Rhode Island Rams

Rhode Island is looking for its third win a row against Fordham, although the Rams failed to cover as double-digit favorites in 2020 and 2021. Four of the last six games in the series have gone under the total.

The Rams (12-7, 3-4) will play host to UMass on Saturday as Rhode Island will look for its ninth win in the last 12 meetings against the Minutemen.

Three of Rhode Island’s last four games have been decided by two points.

Richmond Spiders

The visiting team has won four of the last meetings in the Richmond-Duquesne series, which is a trend that the Spiders would love to see continue.

Richmond (13-8, 4-4) is also looking to reserve some tough results against St. Bonaventure as the Spiders have lost five in a row in the series, although they did cover in the first two of those losses.

Grant Golden is averaging 15.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.0 blocked shots in road games.

Saint Joseph’s Hawks

Saint Joseph’s (9-11, 3-6) will play host to Fordham looking for its fifth straight win over the Rams. The last time the teams met in 2020, the Hawks held on for a four-point win but failed to cover as 4½-point favorites.

Jordan Hall has 35 assists in his last five games.

Five of the last seven games have gone under the total for the Hawks.

Saint Louis Billikens

Saint Louis (14-6, 5-2) has won six of the last seven games against George Mason and covered in all six of those wins leading into Wednesday’s road game.

Yuri Collins has 32 assists and eight turnovers in his last three games and he is averaging 8.4 assists.

The Billikens are just 2-3 on the road.

Four of Saint Louis’ last six games have finished under the total.

St. Bonaventure Bonnies

St. Bonaventure (12-5, 4-2) won both meetings against Davidson in 2021, which were played in a span of three days. The Bonnies go after a third win in a row on Tuesday.

Three of the last four games between Davidson and St. Bonaventure have gone under the total.

When the Bonnies travel to Richmond on Friday, they will be looking for their sixth win in a row. Neither team has won more than three straight in this series dating back to 2002.

Jalen Adaway is averaging 18.6 points over his last five games.

UMass Minutemen

UMass (9-11, 2-6) will be looking to even the season series with Rhode Island after losing at home by 13 points on Jan. 15 to snap a two-game winning streak against URI. The visiting team has won three of the last four games.

Noah Fernandes had scored in double digits in nine straight games before being held to three is a loss to Saint Louis on Sunday. He does have 26 assists and eight steals in his last five contests.

Virginia Commonwealth Rams

Virginia Commonwealth has won the last four games in the series against Dayton and covered in each of them, including a 53-52 road win on Jan. 5.

VCU (13-6, 6-2) will look to get back its winning ways against Duquesne on Saturday. The Rams won seven of the last eight games in the series, including four wins by more than 10 points.

VCU was 3-1 in games decided by two points or less in January.

Adrian Baldwin has 20 steals over his last four games.