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Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament Opening Odds List Dayton as Heavy -160 Favorite

John Perrotto

by John Perrotto in College Basketball

Updated Mar 30, 2021 · 8:15 AM PDT

Kyle Lofton, Guard, St. Bonaventure
St. Bonaventure's Kyle Lofton (0) drives past Rhode Island's Fatts Russell during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in semifinal round of the Atlantic 10 men's tournament Saturday, March 16, 2019, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
  • The Atlantic 10 Tournament will be held from March 11-15 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY
  • After going unbeaten in the conference during the regular season, Dayton is unsurprisingly the overwhelming favorite
  • See the full field odds and the best bet to earn the automatic NCAA Tournament bid below

Dayton dominated the Atlantic 10 in the regular season and the oddsmakers fully expect it to do the same in the conference tournament.

The Flyers went 18-0 inside the conference, finishing off their perfect run with a 76-51 dismantling of George Washington on Saturday (March 7). They are heavy figures to continue winning right through A-10 Tournament.

2020 Atlantic 10 Conference Odds

Team Odds
Dayton -160
Richmond +450
Saint Louis +675
Richmond +800
Davidson +1300
VCU +1700
Duquesne +2400
St. Bonaventure +2600
George Mason +8000
La Salle +9000
UMass +9000
George Washington +9500
Fordham +10000
Saint Joseph’s +10000

Odds taken March 8

Atlantic 10 Tournament Bracket

A-10 Tournament bracket features double byes for top teams

Dayton Has Been Unstoppable

Overall, Dayton has ran off 20 straight wins. In fact, it hasn’t lost a game since four days before Christmas, falling to Colorado on Dec. 21 on a neutral floor in Chicago.

Forward and dunk machine Obi Tobbin is a strong National Player of the Year candidate. He is averaging 20.0 points and 7.5 rebounds a game and no player in the A-10 can take over a game quite like the 6-foot-9 sophomore.

Toppin is third in the nation in true shooting percentage (68.4) and fourth in effective field goal percentage (67.4).

YouTube video

Junior guard Jalen Crutcher is the perfect complement to Toppin on the perimeter. Crutcher is scoring 15.1 points and handing out 4.9 assists per game while senior guard Trey Landers (10.5) and junior guard Ibi Watson (10.1) also have double-figure scoring averages.

Dayton can score points in bunches as their adjusted offensive efficiency of 119.2 points per 100 possessions is second in the nation to Gonzaga’s 120.5. The Flyers’ 94.1 adjusted defensive efficiency also tops the conference.

Richmond Hot, URI Not

Richmond enters the tourney on a four-game winning streak and has won nine of its last 10.

The Spiders also have four players scoring in double digits, led by junior guard Blake Francis with a 17.7 point a game average. Junior forward Grant Golden is second at 13.4 while also pulling down a team-leading 6.9 rebounds a game.

Another double-bye team is Rhode Island. The Rams, though, struggled down the stretch by going 3-4 in their last seven games.

Junior guard Fatts Russell not only has a great name but is stat-sheet stuffer with averages of 18.8 points, 4.6 assists and 2.9 steals. Backcourt mate Jeff Dowtin, a senior, is scoring 13.9 points a game.

[crosspsot]

Billikens, Dukes Dangerous

Riding a five-game win streak into Brooklyn, Saint Louis might have the best chance of beating Dayton. The Billikens took the Flyers to overtime on Jan. 17 at home before losing 78-76 then lost by just six points, 71-65, in the rematch Feb. 8 at Dayton.

A strong junior backcourt tandem leads the way for Saint Louis.  Jordan Goodwin is scoring 15.5 points a game and Javonte Perkins is right behind at 15.

Duquesne hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 1977. However, Keith Dambrot has the Dukes headed in the right direction in his third season as coach.

They represent intriguing value at +2400, though they need to win four games to capture the tournament. The Dukes have four players scoring in double figures, led by junior forward Marcus Weathers (14.3 PPG, 8.1 RPG) and sophomore guard Sincere Carry (12.2 PPG, 5.3 APG).

Dayton had trouble shaking Duquesne in both regular-season matchups, winning 73-69 on the road Jan. 29 and 80-70 at home Feb. 22.

The A-10 Tournament is usually difficult to handicap. The regular-season champion has won just twice in the last 14 years.

Furthermore, eight different school have won the last 10 tourneys, though Dayton isn’t one of them.

However, the Flyers are going to reverse that history this week. Nobody in the A-10 has shown it can beat Dayton and it is hard to see that changing now.

The pick: Dayton -160

SBD’s NCAA conference tournament coverage:

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