2025 Atlantic 10 Conference Basketball Tournament

The 2025 Atlantic 10 tournament is back at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. after being in Brooklyn, NY the past two seasons. This might be the most talked about tournament outside the power conference ranks because of what upstart Virginia Commonwealth could possibly do against the marquee programs in the NCAA Tournament. In order for the Rams to pull off the upset(s) some have predicted for them in the Field of 68, they first need to earn the automatic berth from what feels like a one-bid league. 

While the Rams got the bulk of the national attention this year, they finished sharing the conference title with George Mason. VCU won the only matchup between the two 15-3 squads to land the No.1 seed.

 

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How to Watch the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament

When: March 12-16

Where: Capital One Arena in Washington D.C.

Format: Bottom six seeds play in opening round; Seeds 5-9 play in second round; top four seeds get byes to Quarterfinals

Watch: USA Network, CBS Sports, CBS; Championship Game on CBS on Mar. 16 at 1:00 p.m. ET 

College Basketball Odds | College Basketball Betting Splits | Greg Peterson’s Daily Lines | Steve Makinen’s Power Ratings

Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament Bracket

Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament Seeds, Teams and Odds

1. VCU (-120)

2. George Mason (+450)

3. Dayton (+500)

4. Saint Joseph’s (+800) 

5. Loyola-Chicago (+1400)

6. Saint Bonaventure (+1800)

7. Saint Louis (+2100)

8. George Washington (+2200)

9.  Duquesne (+6000)

10. Davidson (+7000)

11. Rhode Island (+11000)

12. Massachusetts (+25000

13. Richmond (+30000)

14. La Salle (+30000)

15. Fordham (+30000)

(odds from DraftKings Sportsbook accurate at time of publish)

Favorite To Win Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament

VCU is the clear favorite because of an elite defense that grades out to be one of the best in the country. KenPom’s 28th overall power-rated club gives up only 62.7 points per game. Their opponents shoot just 30.7% from behind the arc – a key factor in a conference filled with scorers. Bart Torvik has VCU power rated (29) above the likes of Mississippi, Baylor and Creighton. Torvik’s next highest A10 teams clock in much later at 76 (George Mason), 80 (Saint Joseph’s) and 81 (Dayton).

The Rams had a nine-game winning streak snapped with a loss to Dayton in their final regular season game. That prevented them from earning an outright title and decreased the possibility of an at-large bid if needed. Ryan Odom’s club played that game without starting guard Philip Russell who sat out with an ankle injury but should be ready for the tournament. 

Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament Darkhorse

With the expectations for VCU so high, every other A-10 school falls into the darkhorse category.  Even the co-champion Patriots who match up well defensively with the Rams.

To beat VCU, it will take a team that can create enough pace to counterattack the Rams’ trapping style. That’s not what GMU does best. Saint Joseph’s and Dayton are both good candidates here because of their scoring abilities. 

The Flyers dropped 79 points on VCU in their upset win, the most the Rams gave up all season. The Hawks, who score just shy of 76 per contest, come into the tournament as one of the hottest teams winning seven of their last 9 games. 

All those darkhorses, including GMU, are clustered in the bottom half of the bracket.

Players to Watch in Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament

The Rams’ lean heavily on the impressive offensive work by both Max Shulga (15.5 PPG & 3.8 APG) and Joe Bamisile (15.3 PPG & 5.3RPG), who make up the A10’s best backcourt. Even though Shulga finished 11th in the A10 scoring race, he is the most valuable offensive weapon in the conference. The 6-5 combo-guard possesses the ability to score from behind the arc (43.2%) and drive the lane. Also making significant contributions on both ends of the court are Philip Russell (10.9 PPG) and Zeb Jackson (10.6 PPG).

Scoring wise, George Mason has the inside-outside pairing of forward Jalen Haynes (13.5 PPG & 7.1 RPG) and guard Darius Maddox (13.6 PPG).

The Hawks rely on the trio of Xzayvier Brown (17.0 PPG), Erik Reynolds II (16.6 PPG) and big man Rasheer Fleming (15.6 PPG & 8.6 RPG) to carry the load. 

The Billikens and Flyers spread the scoring around as well. For Saint Louis, it’s Gibson Jimerson (17.7 PPG), Isaiah Swope (16.3 PPG) and America’s favorite bespectacled big buddy Robbie Avalia (17.3 PPG) continually sharing the role of leading scorer.  

Dayton gets the most out of the high energy forward Nate Santos (14.2 PPG & 5.3 RPG) and the backout tandem of Enoch Cheeks (13.4 PPG & 6.4 RPG) and Malachi Smith (10.3 PPG & 5.2 APG).

Not coincidentally, the other teams further down the seeding lines are basically one man shows. They include Davidson’s Reed Bailey (league leading 19.1 PPG),  Jackie Johnson III (18.6 PPG) of Fordham and Rhode Island’s Sebastian Thomas (17.4PPG). 

Betting Pick to Win The Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament

It’s hard to make any other preflop wager here other than VCU, even at minus odds. The Rams are advantageously playing close to campus and will have a quasi-home court advantage. 

VCU presumably getting the winner of the Saint Louis – Loyola-Chicago game in the semifinals should move them towards a berth in the finals. So that -120 looks like a discount on the money line for the championship game. 

Pick: VCU -120

Makinen Power Ratings for Atlantic 10

  • The first round of the A-10 tournament is the only one in which underdogs have fared well historically, going 11-11 SU and 15-6-1 ATS (71.4%) since 2015. Under the total is also 12-4 (75%) in the last 16 games of the round.
  • The Atlantic 10 is one of just a few conferences that host a “second round” in its tournament. Favorites have been nearly automatic in this round since 2014, going 34-5 SU. Those laying 5.5 points or less are on an incredible 18-2 SU and 16-4 ATS (80%) surge.
  • Atlantic 10 favorites are on a run of 20-4 SU and 17-7 ATS (70.8%) in the quarterfinal round. However, these teams were 1-3 SU and ATS last year in what proved to be a very strange tournament overall. In fact, team off of bye’s were just 1-6 ATS, a complete anomaly historically.
  • Favorites have also thrived in the semifinals of the A-10 tourney, 13-5 SU and 12-6 ATS (66.7%) in the last nine brackets.
  • A-10 totals of 144 or higher have been predictably high scoring, going 18-10 Over the total (64.3%) since 2014.

More Steve Makinen Conference Tournament Betting Trends.

Check out the other previews in our 2025 College Basketball Conference Tournament Betting Guide.

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