Atlantic 10 men’s basketball tournament preview

Favorite

Davidson: Regular-season champion Wildcats have won nine straight, lead league in scoring (80.6 ppg) and have three players who shoot better than 40 percent from 3-point range.

Contenders

Dayton: Flyers are seeded second, despite having no starter taller than 6-foot-6 and using a seven-player rotation.

Virginia Commonwealth: Preseason favorite hasn’t been the same since losing point guard Briante Weber to a season-ending knee injury, but still dangerous.

Richmond: After Davidson, the Spiders are the conference’s hottest team, winners of six straight.

Players to watch

Tyler Kalinoski, Davidson, G, 6-4, Sr.: League’s player of the year near or at the top of several statistical categories, including first in 3-point FGs made per game (2.9) and assist-turnover ratio (2.9).

DeAndre Bembry, Saint Joseph’s, F, 6-6, Soph.: Former Hough High player leads Atlantic 10 in scoring (17.9 ppg). Also averages 7.9 rebounds.

Treveon Graham, Virginia Commonwealth, G, 6-3, Jr.: Has had to help make up for absence of Weber, averages 16.2 points, 6.6 rebounds.

Hasaan Martin, Rhode Island, F, 6-7, Soph.: Physical player who averages 11.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and leads A-10 in blocks (3.0 per game). Had 16 points, 17 rebounds in loss against Davidson.

Shevon Thompson, George Mason, C, 6-11, Jr.: Top rebounder in the league (11.5 per game), who is equally effective at either end (6.8 defensive, 4.8 defensive).

By the numbers

12.3 Davidson’s scoring margin, tops in the league.

.500 VCU’s winning percentage (5-5) since losing Weber to season-ending injury.

6 Number of A-10 teams in last season’s NCAA tournament. That will probably shrink to three this season.

Schedule

This story was originally published March 10, 2015 at 9:29 PM with the headline "Atlantic 10 men’s basketball tournament preview."