In 2013-14, Saint Louis won the Atlantic 10 regular-season title and Saint Joseph's punched its ticket to the NCAA tourney by claiming the A-10 tournament crown. In all, there were six teams from the league that received NCAA tourney bids.
There will be depth and balance in the league again this season. However, one school was the unanimous choice to win the A-10 after polling the league's coaches.
Which team is the preseason favorite to win the A-10 in 2014-15? And how will the rest of the league stack up? We polled a number of coaches in the league to get their take on the conference this season. Note that we've kept the quotes anonymous to get the most honest answers:
Atlantic 10 preseason coaches poll
Total votes next to teams; number of first-place votes in parentheses
1.
vcu Rams (28) - 392
2.
Dayton Flyers - 344
3.
George Washington Colonials - 338
T4.
Massachusetts Minutemen - 278
T4.
Richmond Spiders - 278
6.
Rhode Island Rams - 268
7.
La Salle Explorers - 212
8.
Saint Joseph's Hawks - 210
9.
Saint Louis Billikens - 160
10.
St. Bonaventure Bonnies - 112
11.
Duquesne Dukes - 108
12.
Davidson Wildcats - 98
13.
George Mason Patriots - 94
14.
Fordham Rams - 48
In addition to casting their votes on the league order, a number of Atlantic 10 coaches weighed in on key topics heading into the season, including Player of the Year, surprise team and more. Here's a roundup of their thoughts:
On the league favorite: "vcu is the favorite, but people have to remember that Shaka Smart has still never won his league. I do think this will be this year, but they lost their inside presence in Juvonte Reddic."
On the rest of the league: "Archie Miller and Dayton are the darlings, but people have to remember that they wouldn't have even made the NCAA tourney last season if they didn't go on a run the last few weeks of the season. I'm not so sure they can duplicate the success they had last season."
On the mystery team: "UMass. Without Chaz Williams and some of their veterans that really bought in, it'll be interesting to see if Derek Kellogg can keep that program where it can compete for one of the top spots in the league. Chaz was so tough, and looked like a great leader. I'm not sure they will be able to find someone who can do what he did."
Another take on the mystery team: "Davidson. They are new to the league, and it's tough making a jump -- just look at Butler. I know Bob McKillop has done a tremendous job with that program, but the SoCon isn't the A-10."
On the surprise team: "Rhode Island. Expectations were way too high last season, but I think they are ready now.
E.C. Matthews may be the best player in the league, but the key for them is whether their big kid [
Jordan Hare] can live up to his potential. I think they have a shot to be a tourney team and finish in the top three of our league."
On the Player of the Year: "I'd say the front-runner has to be
Treveon Graham. He's a senior and is on the team that will be favored to win the league. He's a tough matchup."
