# 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 Championships |
| Davidson | Bob McKillop | Long Island Lutheran High School | 29 | 554–330 (.627) | 45–27 (.625) | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Dayton | Anthony Grant | Oklahoma City Thunder (asst.) | 1 | 14–17 (.452) | 8–10 (.444) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Duquesne | Keith Dambrot | Akron | 1 | 16–16 (.500) | 7–11 (.389) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Fordham | Jeff Neubauer | Eastern Kentucky | 3 | 39–55 (.415) | 19–33 (.365) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| George Mason | Dave Paulsen | Bucknell | 3 | 47–52 (.475) | 23–30 (.434) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| George Washington | Maurice Joseph | George Washington (asst.) | 2 | 35–33 (.515) | 17–19 (.472) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| La Salle | Ashley Howard | Villanova (asst.) | 1 | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UMass | Matt McCall | Chattanooga | 1 | 13–20 (.394) | 5–13 (.278) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Rhode Island | David Cox | Rhode Island (asst.) | 1 | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Richmond | Chris Mooney | Air Force | 13 | 237–195 (.549) | 118–97 (.549) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Saint Joseph's | Phil Martelli | Saint Joseph's (asst.) | 23 | 430–309 (.582) | 212–164 (.564) | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Saint Louis | Travis Ford | Oklahoma State | 2 | 29–37 (.439) | 15–21 (.417) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| St. Bonaventure | Mark Schmidt | Robert Morris | 11 | 192–152 (.558) | 95–89 (.516) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| VCU | Mike Rhoades | Rice | 1 | 18–15 (.545) | 9–9 (.500) | 0 | 0 | 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.
| | Davidson | Dayton | Duquesne | Fordham | GM | GW | La Salle | UMass | Rhode Island | Richmond | St. Joseph's | Saint Louis | St. Bonaventure | VCU |
| vs. Davidson | – | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 |
| vs. Dayton | 0–1 | – | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 |
| vs. Duquesne | 1–0 | 2–0 | – | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| vs. Fordham | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | – | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| vs. George Mason | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | – | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| vs. George Washington | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | – | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. La Salle | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | – | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| vs. UMass | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | – | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| vs. Rhode Island | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | – | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. Richmond | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | – | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Saint Joseph's | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| vs. Saint Louis | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | – | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| vs. St. Bonaventure | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | – | 1–0 |
| vs. VCU | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | – |
| Total | 14–4 | 13–5 | 10–8 | 3–15 | 11–7 | 4–14 | 8–10 | 4–14 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 6–12 | 10–8 | 12–6 | 16–2 |

## 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.
| Rank | Team |
| 1 | Saint Louis (15) |
| 2 | Saint Joseph's (4) |
| 3 | Davidson (6) |
| 4 | George Mason (1) |
| 5 | Rhode Island |
| 6 | Dayton |
| 7 | VCU |
| 8 | Massachusetts |
| 9 | St. Bonaventure |
| 10 | Richmond |
| 11 | Duquesne |
| 12 | La Salle |
| 13 | George Washington |
| 14 | Fordham |
| (first place votes) ||

### Preseason All-Conference Teams

| Award | Recipients |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 First Team | Kellan Grady, Davidson |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 First Team | Otis Livingston, George Mason |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 First Team | Josh Cunningham, Dayton |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 First Team | Luwane Pipkins, Massachusetts |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 First Team | Grant Golden, Richmond |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team | Eric Williams Jr., Duquesne |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team | Pookie Powell, La Salle |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team | Jeff Dowtin, Rhode Island |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team | Courtney Stockard, St. Bonaventure |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team | Javon Bess, Saint Louis |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team | Jordan Goodwin, Saint Louis |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Third Team | Jón Axel Guðmundsson, Davidson |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Third Team | Lamarr Kimble, Saint Joseph's |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Third Team | Charlie Brown Jr., Saint Joseph's |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Third Team | Hasahn French, Saint Louis |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Third Team | 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 |
| La Salle | Wooden Legacy | 8th |
| Massachusetts | Las Vegas Holiday Invitational | 2nd |
| Rhode Island | Diamond Head Classic | 6th |
| Richmond | Fort Myers Tip-Off | 4th |
| 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

| Semifinals Saturday, March 16 CBSSN | Semifinals Saturday, March 16 CBSSN | Semifinals Saturday, March 16 CBSSN | Championship Sunday, March 17 CBS | Championship Sunday, March 17 CBS | Championship Sunday, March 17 CBS |
| 8 | Rhode Island | 51 | | | |
| 4 | St. Bonaventure | 68 | | | |
| 4 | St. Bonaventure | 68 | 4 | St. Bonaventure | 53 |
| | | | 6 | Saint Louis | 55 |
| 2 | Davidson | 44 | 6 | Saint Louis | 55 |
| 6 | Saint Louis | 67 | | | |

### 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 | | | | |