2016–17 Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball season explained

2016–17 Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball season
Caption:	193980
Color:	193980
Color Text:	FFFFFF
League:	NCAA Division I
Sport:	Basketball
Pixels:	175px
No Of Teams:	14
Tv:	CBSSN, NBCSN, CBS
Season:	Regular Season
Season Champs:	Dayton
Second Place:	VCU
Mvp:	T. J. Cline (Richmond)
Mvp Link:	Atlantic 10 Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year
Top Scorer:	Jack Gibbs (Davidson) 22.1
Finals:	Tournament
Finals Link:	2017 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament
Finals Champ:	Rhode Island
Finals Runner-Up:	VCU
Finals Mvp:	E. C. Matthews (Rhode Island)
Finals Mvp Link:	2017 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament
Seasonslist:	List of Atlantic 10 men's basketball seasons
Seasonslistnames:	Atlantic 10 men's basketball
Prevseason Year:	2015–16
Nextseason Year:	2017–18

The 2016–17 Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball season was the 41st season of Atlantic 10 Conference basketball. The 2017 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament was held at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from March 8–12, 2017. Dayton won the regular season championship. Rhode Island won the A-10 Tournament by beating VCU in the tournament championship. As a result, Rhode Island received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Three A-10 teams received bids to the NCAA Tournament: Dayton, VCU, and Rhode Island. Both Dayton and VCU lost in the first round while Rhode Island lost in the second round. Richmond received the conference's sole bid to the National Invitation Tournament while George Mason and George Washington received bids to the College Basketball Invitational.

Head coaches

Coaching changes

On March 10, 2016, Saint Louis head coach Jim Crews was released from his coaching duties by the school.^[1] On March 30, the school hired Travis Ford as head coach.^[2]

Coaches

Team	Head coach	Previous job	Seasons at school	Overall record	A-10 record	NCAA Tournaments	NCAA Final Fours	NCAA Championships
style=	Davidson	Bob McKillop	Long Island Lutheran High School	28	516–315	24–12	8	0	0
Dayton	Archie Miller	Arizona (asst.)	6	130–59	59–32	3	0	0
style=	Duquesne	Jim Ferry	LIU Brooklyn	5	50–75	18–50	0	0	0
Fordham	Jeff Neubauer	Eastern Kentucky	2	17–14	8–10	0	0	0
style=	George Mason	Dave Paulsen	Bucknell	2	11–21	5–13	0	0	0
style=	George Washington	Maurice Joseph	George Washington (asst.)	1	0–0	0–0	0	0	0
style=	La Salle	John Giannini	Maine	13	184–193	84–112	1	0	0
style=	UMass	Derek Kellogg	Memphis (asst.)	9	152–128	65–75	1	0	0
style=	Rhode Island	Dan Hurley	Wagner	5	62–64	30–38	0	0	0
style=	Richmond	Chris Mooney	Air Force	12	203–162	96–84	2	0	0
style=	Saint Joseph's	Phil Martelli	Saint Joseph's (asst.)	22	403–273	200–146	7	0	0
style=	Saint Louis	Travis Ford	Oklahoma State	1	0–0	0–0	0	0	0
style=	St. Bonaventure	Mark Schmidt	Robert Morris	10	146–131	70–78	1	0	0
style=	VCU	Will Wade	Chattanooga	2	25–11	14–4	1	0	0

Notes:

• All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only.
• Overall and A-10 records are from time at current school and are before the beginning of the season.

Preseason

Preseason poll

Prior to the season at the conference's annual media day, awards and a poll were chosen by a panel of the league’s head coaches and select media members.^[3]

Rank	Team
1	Dayton (16)
2	Rhode Island (12)
3	VCU
4	Davidson
5	St. Bonaventure
6	Richmond
7	La Salle
8	George Washington
9	Saint Joseph's
10	Massachusetts
11	Fordham
12	George Mason
13	Duquesne
14	Saint Louis
(first place votes)

Preseason All-Conference Teams

Award	Recipients
Preseason All-Atlantic 10 First Team	Jack Gibbs, Davidson
Charles Cooke, Dayton
Tyler Cavanaugh, George Washington
T. J. Cline, Richmond
Jaylen Adams, St. Bonaventure
Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team	Scoochie Smith, Dayton
Jordan Price, La Salle
Hassan Martin, Rhode Island
E. C. Matthews, Rhode Island
Mo Alie-Cox, VCU
Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Third Team	Peyton Aldridge, Davidson
Joseph Chartouney, Fordham
Dante Clark, UMass
ShawnDre' Jones, Richmond
JeQuan Lewis, VCU

Regular season

Early season tournaments

Team	Tournament	Finish
Davidson	Puerto Rico Tip-Off	5th Place
Dayton	Wooden Legacy	5th Place
Duquesne	Bluegrass Showcase	7th Place
Fordham	Johnny Bach Classic	Champions
George Mason	Gulf Coast Showcase	5th Place
George Washington	CBE Hall of Fame Classic	3rd Place
La Salle	none
UMass	Gotham Classic	Champions
Rhode Island	Hall of Fame Tip Off	2nd Place
Richmond	Barclays Center Classic	3rd Place
Saint Joseph's	Paradise Jam	4th Place
Saint Louis	Men Who Speak Up Main Event	4th Place
St. Bonaventure	Lone Star Showcase	Runners-up
VCU	Battle 4 Atlantis	5th Place

Conference matrix

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. Each team played 18 conference games: 1 game vs. 8 opponents (4 home, 4 away) and 2 games against 5 opponents (home and away).

	style= width=75	Davidson	Dayton	style= width=75	Duquesne	style= width=75	Fordham	style= width=75	GM	style= width=75	GW	style= width=75	La Salle	style= width=75	UMass	style= width=75	Rhode Island	style= width=75	Richmond	style= width=75	St. Joseph's	style= width=75	St. Louis	style= width=75	St. Bonaventure	style= width=75	VCU
DAY	DUQ	FOR	GM	GW	LAS	MASS	RI	RICH	SJ	SL	SB	VCU -->	vs. Davidson	–	1–0	0–1	1–1	1–0	1–0	1–1	0–1	2–0	2–0	0–1	0–1	0–1	1–1
vs. Dayton	0–1	–	0–2	0–1	0–1	1–0	0–1	1–0	0–2	0–1	0–1	0–2	0–2	1–1
vs. Duquesne	1–0	2–0	–	1–1	1–0	2–0	1–0	0–1	1–0	1–0	1–0	1–1	2–0	1–0
vs. Fordham	1–1	1–0	1–1	–	1–0	1–0	2–0	0–1	0–1	2–0	1–1	0–1	1–0	0–1
vs. George Mason	0–1	1–0	0–1	0–1	–	2–0	0–1	0–2	1–0	0–2	0–1	2–0	1–0	2–0
vs. George Washington	1–1	0–1	0–2	0–1	0–2	–	1–0	0–1	1–0	2–0	1–0	0–1	0–1	2–0
vs. La Salle	0–1	1–0	0–1	0–2	1–0	0–1	–	1–1	1–1	1–0	1–1	1–1	1–0	1–0
vs. UMass	1–0	0–1	1–0	1–0	2–0	1–0	1–1	–	2–0	1–0	0–2	1–0	2–0	1–0
vs. Rhode Island	0–2	2–0	0–1	1–0	0–1	0–1	1–1	0–2	–	1–0	0–2	0–1	0–1	0–1
vs. Richmond	0–2	1–0	0–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–1	0–1	0–1	–	0–1	0–1	0–1	2–0
vs. Saint Joseph's	1–0	1–0	0–1	1–1	1–0	0–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–0	–	1–0	2–0	1–0
vs. Saint Louis	1–0	2–0	1–1	1–0	0–2	1–0	1–1	0–1	1–0	1–0	0–1	–	2–0	1–0
vs. St. Bonaventure	1–0	2–0	0–2	0–1	0–1	1–0	0–1	0–2	1–0	1–0	0–2	0–2	–	1–0
vs. VCU	1–1	1–1	0–1	1–0	0–2	0–2	0–1	0–1	1–0	0–2	0–1	0–1	0–1	–	DAY	DUQ	FOR	GM	GW	LAS	MASS	RI	RICH	SJ	SL	SB	VCU -->
Total	8–10	15–3	3–15	7–11	9–9	10–8	9–9	4–14	13–5	13–5	4–14	6–12	11–7	14–4

Weekly honors

Throughout the conference regular season, the Atlantic 10 offices name a player of the week and rookie of the week each Monday.

Week	Player of the week	Rookie of the week
November 14, 2016^[4]	ShawnDre' Jones, Richmond Shavar Newkirk, Saint Joseph's	Mike Lewis II, Duquesne
November 21, 2016^[5]	Jack Gibbs, Davidson	DeJon Jarreau, UMass
November 28, 2016^[6]	T. J. Cline, Richmond JeQuan Lewis, VCU	Mike Lewis II, Duquesne
December 5, 2016^[7]	B. J. Johnson, La Salle Jaylen Adams, St. Bonaventure	Mike Lewis II, Duquesne
December 12, 2016^[8]	Marquise Moore, George Mason	Isiaha Mike, Duquesne
December 19, 2016^[9]	B. J. Johnson, La Salle	Luwane Pipkins, UMass
December 26, 2016^[10]	Peyton Aldridge, Davidson Marquise Moore, George Mason	Jon Axel Gudmundsson, Davidson Isiaha Mike, Duquesne
January 2, 2017^[11]	T. J. Cline, Richmond	Jeff Dowtin, Rhode Island Charlie Brown, Saint Joseph's
January 9, 2017^[12]	Scoochie Smith, Dayton	De'Monte Buckingham, Richmond
January 16, 2017^[13]	Peyton Aldridge, Davidson T. J. Cline, Richmond	De'Monte Buckingham, Richmond
January 23, 2017^[14]	Javontae Hawkins, Fordham Marquise Moore, George Mason	Charlie Brown Jr., Saint Joseph's
January 30, 2017^[15]	T. J. Cline, Richmond	Isiaha Mike, Duquesne
February 6, 2017^[16]	Otis Livingston, George Mason Matt Mobley, St. Bonaventure	Jeff Dowtin, Rhode Island
February 13, 2017^[17]	Tyler Cavanaugh, George Washington Donte Clark, UMass	Charlie Brown, Saint Joseph's
February 20, 2017^[18]	Jack Gibbs, Davidson JeQuan Lewis, VCU	Mike Lewis II, Duquesne
February 27, 2017^[19]	Jared Terrell, Rhode Island Matt Mobley, St. Bonaventure	Jalen Johnson, Saint Louis
March 6, 2017^[20]	Tyler Cavanaugh, George Washington	De'Monte Buckingham, Richmond

Conference Awards

Award	Recipients^[21]
Coach of the Year	Archie Miller (Dayton)
Player of the Year	T. J. Cline (Richmond)
Defensive Player of the Year	Hassan Martin (Rhode Island)
Rookie of the Year	De'Monte Buckingham (Richmond)
Sixth Man of the Year	Kyle Davis (Dayton)
Chris Daniels Most Improved Player of the Year	Marquise Moore (George Mason)
First Team	Jack Gibbs (Davidson) Scoochie Smith (Dayton) T. J. Cline (Richmond) Jaylen Adams (St. Bonaventure) JeQuan Lewis (VCU)
Second Team	Peyton Aldridge (Davidson) Charles Cooke (Dayton) Marquise Moore (George Mason) Tyler Cavanaugh (George Washington) Hassan Martin (Rhode Island)
Third Team	Kendall Pollard (Dayton) ShawnDre' Jones (Richmond) E. C. Matthews (Rhode Island) Matt Mobley (St. Bonaventure) Justin Tillman (VCU)
All-Academic Team	Joseph Chartouny (Fordham) Christian Sengfelder (Fordham) Tyler Cavanaugh (George Washington) Patrick Steeves (George Washington) Mike Crawford (Saint Louis)
All-Defensive Team	Charles Cooke (Dayton) Kyle Davis (Dayton) Yuta Watanabe (George Washington) Hassan Martin (Rhode Island) Mo Alie-Cox (VCU)
All-Rookie Team	Mike Lewis II (Duquesne) Isiaha Mike (Duquesne) Jeff Dowtin (Rhode Island) De'Monte Buckingham (Richmond) Charlie Brown Jr. (Saint Joseph's)

Rankings

Legend

		Increase in ranking
		Decrease in ranking
		Not ranked previous week

See main article: article and 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings.

	Pre	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Wk 15	Wk 16	Wk 17	Wk 18	Wk 19	Final
Davidson	AP	RV
C
Dayton	AP	RV	RV	RV							RV		RV			RV	RV	RV	RV
C	RV	RV	RV							RV				RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV
Duquesne	AP
C
Fordham	AP
C
George Mason	AP
C
George Washington	AP
C
La Salle	AP
C
UMass	AP
C
Rhode Island	AP	23	21	23	21
C	24	22	25	25	RV
Richmond	AP
C
Saint Joseph's	AP
C
Saint Louis	AP
C
St. Bonaventure	AP
C
VCU	AP				RV					RV	RV			RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV
C	RV	RV	RV	RV												RV	RV

Postseason

2017 A-10 tournament

See main article: 2017 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament.

Session	Game	Time*	Matchup	Score	Television	Attendance
First round – Wednesday, March 8
1	1	6:00 pm	No. 13 Saint Joseph's vs. No. 12 Massachusetts	63–70	ASN	5,517
	2	8:30 pm	No. 14 Duquesne vs. No. 11 Saint Louis	71–72
Second round – Thursday, March 9
2	3	Noon	No. 9 Davidson vs. No. 8 La Salle	82–73	NBCSN	7,509
	4	2:30 pm	No. 12 Massachusetts vs. No. 5 St. Bonaventure	60–73
3	5	6:00 pm	No. 10 Fordham vs. No. 7 George Mason	71–82 ^OT		5,442
	6	8:30 pm	No. 11 Saint Louis vs. No. 6 George Washington	46–63
Quarterfinals – Friday, March 10
4	7	Noon	No. 9 Davidson vs. No. 1 Dayton	73–67	NBCSN	6,641
	8	2:30 pm	No. 5 St. Bonaventure vs. No. 4 Rhode Island	63–74
5	9	6:00 pm	No. 7 George Mason vs. No. 2 VCU	60–71		6,647
	10	8:30 pm	No. 6 George Washington vs. No. 3 Richmond	67–70
Semifinals – Saturday, March 11
6	11	1:00 pm	No. 9 Davidson vs. No. 4 Rhode Island	60–84	CBSSN	6,886
	12	3:30 pm	No. 3 Richmond vs. No. 2 VCU	77–87 ^OT
Championship – Sunday, March 12
7	13	12:30 pm	No. 4 Rhode Island vs. No. 2 VCU	70–63	CBS	7,025
Game times in Eastern Time. Rankings denote tournament seed

NCAA tournament

See main article: 2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

The Atlantic 10 Conference received three bids to the 2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

Seed	Region	School	First Four	First Round	Second Round	Sweet Sixteen	Elite Eight	Final Four	Championship
7	South	Dayton	N/A	eliminated by (10) Wichita State, 58–64
10	West	VCU	N/A	eliminated by (7) Saint Mary's, 77–85
11	Midwest	Rhode Island	N/A	defeated (6) Creighton, 84–72	eliminated by (3) Oregon, 72–75
		W–L (%):	0–0	1–2	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0 Total: 1–3

National Invitation tournament

See main article: 2017 National Invitation Tournament. Richmond received the sole NIT bid for the conference.

College Basketball Invitational

See main article: 2017 College Basketball Invitational. George Mason and George Washington received bids to the CBI.

School	First round	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Finals (Best of Three)
George Mason	eliminated by Loyola (MD), 58–73
George Washington	defeated Toledo, 73–69	eliminated by UIC, 71–80
W–L (%):	1–1	0–1	0–0	0–0 Total: 1–2

Notes and References

1. Web site: Saint Louis University Announces Men’s Basketball Coaching Change. Saint Louis University.
2. News: Saint Louis hires Travis Ford as men's basketball coach. 2017-02-15. en. USA TODAY.
3. Web site: Flyers Picked to Win 2016-17 Men's Basketball. Atlantic 10 Conference. Atlantic10.com. January 1, 2017. October 18, 2016.
4. News: Jones, Newkirk Share First Men's Basketball Player of the Week Honors . 5 February 2017 . 14 November 2016 . Atlantic 10 Conference.
5. News: Gibbs Named Men's Basketball Player of the Week . 5 February 2017 . 21 November 2016 . Atlantic 10 Conference.
6. News: Cline, Lewis Share A-10 Men's Basketball Player of the Week Honors . 5 February 2017 . 28 November 2016 . Atlantic 10 Conference.
7. News: Johnson of La Salle, Bona's Adams Named A-10 Co-Players of the Week . 5 February 2017 . 5 December 2016 . Atlantic 10 Conference.
8. News: Moore Named Men's Basketball Player of the Week After Triple Double . 5 February 2017 . 12 December 2016 . Atlantic 10 Conference.
9. News: Johnson Claims A-10 Player of the Week Honors . 5 February 2016. 19 December 2016. Atlantic 10 Conference.
10. News: Aldridge, Moore Share Men's Basketball Player of the Week Honors . 5 February 2017. 26 December 2016. Atlantic 10 Conference.
11. News: Richmond's Cline Named Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Player of the Week . 5 February 2017 . 2 January 2017 . Atlantic 10 Conference.
12. News: Dayton's Smith Named A-10 Player of the Week . 5 February 2017. 9 January 2017. Atlantic 10 Conference.
13. News: Aldridge, Cline Share Men's Basketball Player of the Week Honors . 5 February 2017. 16 January 2017. Atlantic 10 Conference.
14. News: Hawkins, Moore Named Atlantic 10 Co-Players of the Week . 5 February 2017. 23 January 2017. Atlantic 10 Conference.
15. News: Triple-Double Earns Cline Men's Basketball Player of the Week . 5 February 2017 . 30 January 2017 . Atlantic 10 Conference.
16. News: Livingston, Mobley Earn Co-Players of the Week . 6 February 2017 . 6 February 2017 . Atlantic 10 Conference.
17. News: Cavanaugh, Clark Share Men's Basketball Player of the Week Honors . 15 February 2017 . 13 February 2017 . Atlantic 10 Conference.
18. News: Davidson's Gibbs, VCU's Lewis Share A-10 Player of the Week Honors . 20 February 2017 . 20 February 2017 . Atlantic 10 Conference.
19. News: Terrell, Mobley Named Co-Players of the Week . 27 February 2017 . 27 February 2017 . Atlantic 10 Conference.
20. News: Cavanaugh Earns Final A-10 Men’s Basketball Player of the Week. Atlantic10.com. 2017-03-13.
21. News: Cline Named Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, Miller Voted as Coach of the Year . 7 March 2017 . 7 March 2017 . Atlantic 10 Conference.