The powerhouse Dayton team from a season ago is not showing up in the A10 this season. Even without a top 10 team I think the conference will be better in 2020-21. the A10 was a 1 bid league in 2019-20 but I think that the league could get 3 teams in (4 teams if there is a upset in Brooklyn).
- Richmond (7 Seed)
- Saint Louis (10 Seed)
- Dayton (Next 4 Out)
- St Bonaventure
- Duquesne
- Davidson
- Rhode Island
- UMass
- George Mason
- VCU
- La Salle
- George Washington
- Fordham
- Saint Joseph’s
- Richmond- The Spiders have a starting lineup of 5 seniors who all started last season and if it wasn’t for Dayton having a historic season would have been right in the mix for the A10 title. Richmond will be floating around the bottom of the top 25 and other receiving votes all season. They are my A10 champions and will be comfortable in the tourney if they are upset in the conference tournament
- Saint Louis- The 2nd team that would be a part of the potential 3 bid A10 in 2020-21. The Billikens brings back the whole roster back from the 4th place team last season. I think they will need someone to step up and be the playmaker for the team to compete with Richmond. But they should be safe from the bubble, but a couple bad losses and they will be in danger.
- Dayton- One of the most disappointing storylines of March Madness getting canceled was missing out on the Flyers being a 2 seed (maybe even a 1) and how far they went into the tourney. Obi Toppin is gone but they return 3 key contributors from that team, Dayton is not going anywhere. They will be in the bubble conversation and if they get some newcomers to step up, the A10 title is still in sight.
- St Bonaventure- The Bonnies will be the top of the 2nd tier of the A10 after the obvious top 3 this season in my eyes. They have a very experienced team coming back and I think the only thing that can hurt them is that some of their senior leaders are injury prone. I think they will win the race for the last bye in Brooklyn. A couple wins against the top 3 and they will be in the bubble talks in March.
- Duquesne- New gym and the whole roster coming back from a 5th place finish in the A10 makes for people in Pittsburgh to be excited about the Dukes. Coach Dambrot needs to find some offense in this roster which was a struggle at times last season. A successful season for the Dukes would be being in the top 4 of the A10 and getting that bye to the quarterfinals at Barclays.
- Davidson- Coming off a 10-8 record in conference, The Wildcats are returning most of their production from last season. They get back Kellan Grady who will be the key to a successful season. He is injury prone but if he is healthy, Davidson will be towards the top of the 2nd tier of the conference and a threat in Brooklyn.
- Rhode Island- URI brings back Fatts Russell who will be in the running for the All-American team and is the frontrunner for the A10 player of the year race. The Rams have a lot of young guys who will need to be an amount part of the team if its going to get above this 7th place prediction. URI will have a tough start but watch out for them in March once their depth gets some experience.
- UMass- The Minuteman have a monster as their starting enter. Sophomore Tre Mitchell will be the best big man in the A10 and probably in the top 10 in the country. The problem with UMass is that the depth is not there to be in the top part of the league. If the Minutemen can get some surprised production, then they can fight for a top 4 spot
- George Mason- Senior Leaders Javone Greene and AJ Wilson will lead this George Mason team to their best season in the last couple of seasons. They will be a middle of the pack A10 team. The Patriots will be a tough team to beat especially at home event for the top teams in the conference.
- VCU- Bones Hyland had a great freshmen season and he is the leader of this team now only in his 2nd year. The Rams do not have the depth to be in the middle of the pack in the A10 but Hyland will keep them from being bottom feeders as well.
- La Salle- the Explorers only have one senior on the roster right now. La Salle is a tough place to win especially when you are recruiting in the same city as Villanova, Temple and in the same state as Penn State, Pitt, etc. I don’t think them moving up the league anytime soon.
- George Washington- Coach Jamion Christian is starting to build something at GW. The results will be a couple years down the road, but the Colonels have good building blocks in Sophomores Jameer Nelson Jr. I think this will be the last season before GW makes the jump to the middle of the A10
- Fordham- This is the first offseason in recent memory that the Rams did not lose a player to the Transfer Portal. A lot of people assumed Jeff Neubauer was going to be fired in a news dump while corona virus was spiking. I don’t think this team will be saving his job as Rose Hill will be home to a team fighting to not come in last.
- Saint Joseph’s- A lot of new players coming aboard for the Hawks. It will be interesting to see how they mesh together. The bottom 4 in the A10 is always a crapshoot but I think the Hawks will have a disappointing season
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