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

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. On March 30, the school hired Travis Ford as head coach.

### Coaches

| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Seasons at school | Overall record | A-10 record | NCAA Tournaments | NCAA Final Fours | NCAA Championships |
| Davidson | Bob McKillop | Long Island Lutheran High School | 28 | 516–315 (.621) | 24–12 (.667) | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Dayton | Archie Miller | Arizona (asst.) | 6 | 130–59 (.688) | 59–32 (.648) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Duquesne | Jim Ferry | LIU Brooklyn | 5 | 50–75 (.400) | 18–50 (.265) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fordham | Jeff Neubauer | Eastern Kentucky | 2 | 17–14 (.548) | 8–10 (.444) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| George Mason | Dave Paulsen | Bucknell | 2 | 11–21 (.344) | 5–13 (.278) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| George Washington | Maurice Joseph | George Washington (asst.) | 1 | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| La Salle | John Giannini | Maine | 13 | 184–193 (.488) | 84–112 (.429) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| UMass | Derek Kellogg | Memphis (asst.) | 9 | 152–128 (.543) | 65–75 (.464) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Rhode Island | Dan Hurley | Wagner | 5 | 62–64 (.492) | 30–38 (.441) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Richmond | Chris Mooney | Air Force | 12 | 203–162 (.556) | 96–84 (.533) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Saint Joseph's | Phil Martelli | Saint Joseph's (asst.) | 22 | 403–273 (.596) | 200–146 (.578) | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Saint Louis | Travis Ford | Oklahoma State | 1 | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| St. Bonaventure | Mark Schmidt | Robert Morris | 10 | 146–131 (.527) | 70–78 (.542) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| VCU | Will Wade | Chattanooga | 2 | 25–11 (.694) | 14–4 (.778) | 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.
| 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 |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 First Team | Charles Cooke, Dayton |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 First Team | Tyler Cavanaugh, George Washington |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 First Team | T. J. Cline, Richmond |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 First Team | Jaylen Adams, St. Bonaventure |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team | Scoochie Smith, Dayton |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team | Jordan Price, La Salle |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team | Hassan Martin, Rhode Island |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team | E. C. Matthews, Rhode Island |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team | Mo Alie-Cox, VCU |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Third Team | Peyton Aldridge, Davidson |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Third Team | Joseph Chartouney, Fordham |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Third Team | Dante Clark, UMass |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Third Team | ShawnDre' Jones, Richmond |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Third Team | 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).
| | Davidson | Dayton | Duquesne | Fordham | GM | GW | La Salle | UMass | Rhode Island | Richmond | St. Joseph's | St. Louis | St. Bonaventure | 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 | – |
| 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 | ShawnDre' Jones, Richmond Shavar Newkirk, Saint Joseph's | Mike Lewis II, Duquesne |
| November 21, 2016 | Jack Gibbs, Davidson | DeJon Jarreau, UMass |
| November 28, 2016 | T. J. Cline, Richmond JeQuan Lewis, VCU | Mike Lewis II, Duquesne |
| December 5, 2016 | B. J. Johnson, La Salle Jaylen Adams, St. Bonaventure | Mike Lewis II, Duquesne |
| December 12, 2016 | Marquise Moore, George Mason | Isiaha Mike, Duquesne |
| December 19, 2016 | B. J. Johnson, La Salle | Luwane Pipkins, UMass |
| December 26, 2016 | Peyton Aldridge, Davidson Marquise Moore, George Mason | Jon Axel Gudmundsson, Davidson Isiaha Mike, Duquesne |
| January 2, 2017 | T. J. Cline, Richmond | Jeff Dowtin, Rhode Island Charlie Brown, Saint Joseph's |
| January 9, 2017 | Scoochie Smith, Dayton | De'Monte Buckingham, Richmond |
| January 16, 2017 | Peyton Aldridge, Davidson T. J. Cline, Richmond | De'Monte Buckingham, Richmond |
| January 23, 2017 | Javontae Hawkins, Fordham Marquise Moore, George Mason | Charlie Brown Jr., Saint Joseph's |
| January 30, 2017 | T. J. Cline, Richmond | Isiaha Mike, Duquesne |
| February 6, 2017 | Otis Livingston, George Mason Matt Mobley, St. Bonaventure | Jeff Dowtin, Rhode Island |
| February 13, 2017 | Tyler Cavanaugh, George Washington Donte Clark, UMass | Charlie Brown, Saint Joseph's |
| February 20, 2017 | Jack Gibbs, Davidson JeQuan Lewis, VCU | Mike Lewis II, Duquesne |
| February 27, 2017 | Jared Terrell, Rhode Island Matt Mobley, St. Bonaventure | Jalen Johnson, Saint Louis |
| March 6, 2017 | Tyler Cavanaugh, George Washington | De'Monte Buckingham, Richmond |

## Conference Awards

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

## Postseason
### 2017 A-10 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 |
| 1 | 2 | 8:30 pm | No. 14 Duquesne vs. No. 11 Saint Louis | 71–72 | ASN | 5,517 |
| Second round – Thursday, March 9 |||||||
| 2 | 3 | Noon | No. 9 Davidson vs. No. 8 La Salle | 82–73 | NBCSN | 7,509 |
| 2 | 4 | 2:30 pm | No. 12 Massachusetts vs. No. 5 St. Bonaventure | 60–73 | NBCSN | 7,509 |
| 3 | 5 | 6:00 pm | No. 10 Fordham vs. No. 7 George Mason | 71–82 $^{OT}$ | NBCSN | 5,442 |
| 3 | 6 | 8:30 pm | No. 11 Saint Louis vs. No. 6 George Washington | 46–63 | NBCSN | 5,442 |
| Quarterfinals – Friday, March 10 |||||||
| 4 | 7 | Noon | No. 9 Davidson vs. No. 1 Dayton | 73–67 | NBCSN | 6,641 |
| 4 | 8 | 2:30 pm | No. 5 St. Bonaventure vs. No. 4 Rhode Island | 63–74 | NBCSN | 6,641 |
| 5 | 9 | 6:00 pm | No. 7 George Mason vs. No. 2 VCU | 60–71 | NBCSN | 6,647 |
| 5 | 10 | 8:30 pm | No. 6 George Washington vs. No. 3 Richmond | 67–70 | NBCSN | 6,647 |
| Semifinals – Saturday, March 11 |||||||
| 6 | 11 | 1:00 pm | No. 9 Davidson vs. No. 4 Rhode Island | 60–84 | CBSSN | 6,886 |
| 6 | 12 | 3:30 pm | No. 3 Richmond vs. No. 2 VCU | 77–87 $^{OT}$ | CBSSN | 6,886 |
| 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 |||||||
* ↑ The United States begins Daylight saving time at 2:00 am on Sunday, March 12. As a result, times through the semifinal games are in Eastern Standard Time while the Championship game time is in Eastern Daylight Time.

### NCAA 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 (.333) | 0–1 (.000) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) Total: 1–3 (.250) |

### National Invitation tournament

Richmond received the sole NIT bid for the conference.
| Seed | Bracket | School | First round | Second round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals |
| 6 | Iowa | Richmond | defeated No. 3 Alabama, 71–64 | defeated No. 7 Oakland, 87–83 | eliminated by No. 4 TCU, 68–86 | | |
| | | W–L (%): | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) | 0–1 (.000) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) Total: 2–1 (.667) |

### 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 (.500) | 0–1 (.000) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) Total: 1–2 (.333) |