The A-10's Post-Season Prospects

As February winds down, we know the chatter about the NCAA men's basketball tournament will get steadily louder. Which Division I conferences are up this season? Which are down? Based on their records, which teams truly deserve an at-large berth? And, of course, if they fail to win their conference tournaments, which teams stand no chance of receiving an invitation to the Big Dance? 

But before Selection Sunday (Mar. 13), regular seasons must be finished and all those conference tournaments must be played. After all, the first 32 bids will be awarded to the winners of those post-regular season league tournaments. After those tournaments are done and the nets cut down, 36 at-large invitations will be announced on the NCAA's Selection Sunday to fill out the field of 68.

Those invitations will be said to be going to the most deserving schools' teams. And, as always, the best way to determine "most deserving" will be hotly debated. Meanwhile, to get us ready for March Madness, this time of year the "bracketologists" study numbers aplenty in order to make their fearless predictions. 

So, here in Richmond with two teams in the 14-team Atlantic 10 Conference, let's take a peek at the numbers for the top six teams in that conference, which (supposedly) matter the most: won-loss records in and out of conferences; NET rankings; and maybe some bracket-watching experts are still keeping one eye on the somewhat outmoded RPI rankings. 

Note: With both the NET and the RPI ranking systems, strength of schedule is important and the lower your number, the better.   

1. Davidson 22-4 overall record, 12-2 in A-10; NET No. 50; RPI No. 30

2. VCU 18-7 overall record, 11-3 in A-10; NET No. 58; RPI No. 29

3. Dayton 19-8 overall record, 11-3 in A-10; NET No. 52; RPI No. 62

4. St. Bonaventure 17-7 overall record, 9-4 in A-10; NET No. 85; RPI No. 53

5. St. Louis 18-5 overall record, 9-5 in A-10; NET No. 59; RPI No. 60

6. Richmond 17-10 overall record, 8-6 in A-10; NET No. 90; RPI No. 86

Note: For Davidson, VCU and St. Bonaventure, why there's such a big difference in the rankings of the NET and the RPI, I can't say. 

However, if RPI still counts for anything, it would seem both the Davidson Wildcats and the VCU Rams should have some chance of getting one of those coveted at-large bids. That's providing they finish their regular season schedules without another loss. Both teams now have four games remaining on the regular season schedules.