It’s a season of new horizons for the Atlantic-10. This summer, the conference celebrated the addition of two strong programs, Butler and VCU, to their already touted mix of teams. Both of these schools have made noise in the NCAA tournament in recent years.
Pitt fans still may have a sour taste in their mouths from their 71-70 loss to Butler in the third round of the 2011 NCAA tournament. Butler would then storm on to their 2nd Final Four appearance in two seasons. VCU had a Cinderella run of their own in 2011, when they made it to the Elite Eight against all odds.
Along with these two new teams, the Atlantic-10’s five-year partnership with the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn will take effect this year. For the next five years, the top 12 teams in the conference will compete at the Barclays Center for a chance to receive a coveted automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
The implications of the Barclays partnership can be huge. Brooklyn is the basketball capital of the world, and playing in New York City means Atlantic-10 teams will be playing in the light of the nation’s leading media market. The 18,000 seat state-of-the-art arena is sure to turn the Atlantic-10 tournament into a better spectator event. This is a major leap forward for the conference.
So in this year of new horizons, how are things shaping up thus far?
Both of the new teams, Butler and VCU, already have one loss each. After beating Elon in their home opener, the Bulldogs were embarrassed by conference powerhouse Xavier 62-47 three days later. VCU also won their home opener against Florida Gulf Coast, but got beat by Wichita State at home in a nail-biter that was decided by two points.
UNC-Charlotte is sitting pretty at 2-0 after a pair of wins against mediocre Charleston Southern and Georgia Southern. The margins of victory were large in both games, but at this point in the season, it is too early to tell if UNC-Charlotte is for real.
Among the other unbeaten teams (this includes Massachusetts, Dayton, Saint Joseph’s, St. Bonaventure, LaSalle, Richmond, Xavier, and Temple), I think Saint Joseph’s is the one to keep an eye on. St. Joe’s was picked to finish atop the A-10 in the 2012 Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Their only game thus far, a one-sided 61-35 defeat of Yale, showed people why they may have got such a favorable rating in the polls. But keep an eye on the Hawks, as they have a major test coming up this Friday when they play Notre Dame at the Barclays Center. This will give fans a better idea of what Saint Joe’s is really made of. The Irish are currently ranked 20th in the AP poll.
Of the teams that have losses thus far, it would pay to keep a closer eye on the Saint Louis Billikens. Here’s a team that was picked to finish 2nd in the conference by the Coaches Poll, but suffered a tough home loss to Santa Clara yesterday. It will be interesting to see how the Billikens bounce back when they play Texas A&M next Monday.
With the two new additions to the conference and the deal with the Barclays Center, this could be one of the best and most competitive years ever in the Atlantic-10 conference.
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