2018–19 Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball season

The 2018–19 Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball season was the 43rd season of Atlantic 10 Conference basketball. The season began with practices in October 2018, followed by the start of the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. League play began in late December and ended in March.

The 2019 Atlantic 10 tournament was held from March 13–17, 2019 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Rhode Island was the defending regular season champion, while Davidson was the defending Tournament champions.

Head coaches

Coaching changes On March 22, 2018, Rhode Island announced that head coach Dan Hurley had accepted the head coaching job at Connecticut. On April 4, assistant coach David Cox was promoted to head coach.

On March 23, 2018, La Salle head coach John Giannini and the school mutually agreed to part ways after 14 seasons. Giannini left with a 212–226 record at La Salle. On April 8, the school hired Villanova assistant Ashley Howard as head coach.

Coaches Team Head coach Previous job Seasons at school Overall record A-10 record A-10 Championships NCAA Tournaments NCAA Final Fours NCAA ChampionshipsDavidson Bob McKillop Long Island Lutheran High School29 1 9 0 0DaytonAnthony GrantOklahoma City Thunder (asst.)1 00 0 0DuquesneKeith DambrotAkron1 03 0 0Fordham Jeff Neubauer Eastern Kentucky3 0 0 0 0George Mason Dave Paulsen Bucknell3 0 0 0 0George Washington Maurice Joseph George Washington (asst.)2 0 0 0 0La SalleAshley HowardVillanova (asst.)1 0 0 0 0UMassMatt McCallChattanooga1 0 1 0 0Rhode IslandDavid Cox Rhode Island (asst.)10 0 0 0Richmond Chris Mooney Air Force13 0 2 0 0Saint Joseph's Phil Martelli Saint Joseph's (asst.)23 6 7 0 0Saint Louis Travis Ford Oklahoma State2 00 0 0St. Bonaventure Mark Schmidt Robert Morris11 1 2 0 0VCUMike RhoadesRice1 00 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 through the end of the 2017–18 season.

Conference matrix This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. Each team will play 18 conference games: one game vs. eight opponents and two games against five opponents.   DavidsonDaytonDuquesneFordhamGMGWLa SalleUMassRhode IslandRichmondSt. Joseph'sSaint LouisSt. BonaventureVCUvs. Davidson–1–00–10–20–10–11–01–00–20–21–10–10–20–1vs. Dayton0–1–0–20–11–00–10–10–21–10–10–11–10–12–0vs. Duquesne1–02–0–0–20–10–21–00–10–10–10–11–12–01–0vs. Fordham2–01–02–0–1–01–12–00–10–12–01–01–02–01–0vs. George Mason1–00–11–00–1–0–20–10–20–10–10–11–01–12–0vs. George Washington1–01–02–01–12–0–0–10–11–02–00–11–01–02–0vs. La Salle0–11–00–10–21–01–0–0–21–01–11–12–01–01–0vs. UMass0–12–01–01–02–01–02–0–1–10–11–11–01–01–0vs. Rhode Island2–01–11–01–01–00–10–11–1–0–10–11–10–11–1vs. Richmond2–01–01–00–11–10–21–11–01–0–1–00–11–02–0vs. Saint Joseph's1–11–01–00–11–01–01–11–11–00–1–1–12–01–0vs. Saint Louis1–01–11–10–10–10–10–20–11–11–01–1–1–01–0vs. St. Bonaventure2–01–00–20–21–10–10–10–11–00–10–20–1–1–0vs. VCU1–00–20–10–10–20–20–10–11–10–20–10–10–1–Total14–413–510–83–1511–74–148–104–149–96–126–1210–812–616–2

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. RankTeam1Saint Louis (15)2Saint Joseph's (4)3Davidson (6)4George Mason (1)5Rhode Island 6Dayton7VCU8Massachusetts 9St. Bonaventure 10Richmond11Duquesne 12La Salle13George Washington14Fordham(first place votes)

Preseason All-Conference Teams Award Recipients Preseason All-Atlantic 10 First Team Kellan Grady, Davidson Otis Livingston, George Mason Josh Cunningham, Dayton Luwane Pipkins, Massachusetts Grant Golden, Richmond Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team Eric Williams Jr., Duquesne Pookie Powell, La Salle Jeff Dowtin, Rhode Island Courtney Stockard, St. Bonaventure Javon Bess, Saint Louis Jordan Goodwin, Saint Louis Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Third Team Jón Axel Guðmundsson, Davidson Lamarr Kimble, Saint Joseph's Charlie Brown Jr., Saint Joseph's Hasahn French, Saint Louis De'Riante Jenkins, VCU

Regular season

Early season tournaments Team Tournament Finish Davidson Charleston Classic 3rd Dayton Battle 4 Atlantis 4th Fordham John Bach Classic 1st George Mason Emerald Coast Classic 4th George Washington Hall of Fame Tip Off 4th La Salle Battle at the Boardwalk 1st Wooden Legacy 8th Massachusetts Las Vegas Holiday Invitational 2nd Rhode Island Diamond Head Classic6th Richmond Fort Myers Tip-Off4th Saint Joseph's Myrtle Beach Invitational 4th Saint Louis Barclays Center Classic 1–1 St. Bonaventure Cayman Islands Classic 8th VCU Legends Classic 2nd

Postseason

2019 A-10 Tournament

2019 NCAA Tournament

Two teams from the Atlantic 10 qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Tournament champions Saint Louis qualified through the conference's automatic bid, and regular season champions, VCU, qualified through an at-large bid. It was the 14th straight season in which the conference earned an at-large bid.

Seed Region School 1st Round 2nd Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four Championship 8 East VCU eliminated by (9) UCF, 58-73 13 East Saint Louis eliminated by (4) Virginia Tech, 52-66

2019 NIT

Two teams from the Atlantic 10 earned at-large bids into the NIT.

Seed School First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship 4 Davidson eliminated by (5) Lipscomb, 81-89 5 Dayton eliminated by (4) Colorado, 73-78

References