# 2020–21 Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball season

The 2020–21 Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball season is the 45th season of Atlantic 10 Conference basketball. The season began with practices in November 2020, followed by the start of the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in late November, delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. League play will begin in early January and end in early March.
The 2021 Atlantic 10 tournament was originally scheduled to be held from March 10–14, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, but due to ongoing impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was moved to campus locations. The tournament was first scheduled to be played on the same dates but split between the Robins Center at the University of Richmond and the Siegel Center at VCU, but the schedule was later adjusted so that the first four rounds will be played from March 3 to March 6 at those arenas with the championship game to be held March 14 at UD Arena at the University of Dayton.
Dayton were the defending regular season champion. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no defending Atlantic 10 Tournament champion.

## 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 | Richmond (19) |
| 2 | Saint Louis (7) |
| 3 | Dayton (2) |
| 4 | St. Bonaventure |
| 5 | Duquesne |
| 6 | Rhode Island |
| 7 | Davidson |
| 8 | UMass |
| 9 | VCU |
| 10 | George Mason |
| 11 | George Washington |
| 12 | Saint Joseph's |
| 13 | La Salle |
| 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 | Jalen Crutcher, Dayton |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 First Team | Tre Mitchell, UMass |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 First Team | Fatts Russell, Rhode Island |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 First Team | Jacob Gilyard, Richmond |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 First Team | Jordan Goodwin, Saint Louis |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team | Marcus Weathers, Duquesne |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team | Blake Francis, Richmond |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team | Grant Golden, Richmond |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team | Kyle Lofton, St. Bonaventure |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team | Ryan Daly, Saint Joseph's |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team | Hasahn French, Saint Louis |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Third Team | Sincere Carry, Duquesne |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Third Team | Javon Greene, George Mason |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Third Team | AJ Wilson, George Mason |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Third Team | Osun Osunniyi, St. Bonaventure |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Third Team | Javonte Perkins, Saint Louis |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Third Team | Bones Hyland, VCU |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Defensive Team | AJ Wilson, George Mason |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Defensive Team | Jacob Gilyard, Richmond |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Defensive Team | Osun Osunniyi, St. Bonaventure |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Defensive Team | Hasahn French, Saint Louis |
| Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Defensive Team | Jordan Goodwin, Saint Louis |

## Regular season
### Early season tournaments

| Team | Tournament | Finish |
| Davidson | Maui Invitational | 7th |
| Dayton | — | — |
| Duquesne | Wade Houseton Tipoff Classic | |
| Fordham | — | — |
| George Mason | DC Paradise Jam | 2nd |
| George Washington | Veterans Classic | 2nd |
| La Salle | — | — |
| Massachusetts | — | — |
| Rhode Island | 2K Empire Classic | 4th |
| Rhode Island | Hall of Fame Tip-Off | 1st |
| Richmond | Bluegrass Showcase | 1st |
| Saint Joseph's | Fort Myers Tip Off | 4th |
| Saint Louis | Billiken Classic | 1st |
| St. Bonaventure | — | — |
| VCU | Crossover Classic | 3rd |
* ↑ Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Maui Invitational Tournament was played at Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina instead of the Lahaina Civic Center in Lahaina, Hawaii.
* ↑ Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Paradise Jam tournament was played at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. instead of the Sports and Fitness Center in Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands.
* Source:

### Rankings

Legend :
* Increase in ranking
* Decrease in ranking
* Not ranked previous week
* First Place votes shown in
| | | Pre | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 |
| Davidson | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Davidson | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Dayton | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Dayton | C | 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 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Rhode Island | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Richmond | AP | RV | 19 | 19 | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | |
| Richmond | C | RV | RV* | 19 | 25 | 23 | RV | | RV | RV | | | | | | | |
| Saint Joseph's | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Saint Joseph's | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Saint Louis | AP | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 23 | 24 | 25 | 22 | RV | RV | RV | | | |
| Saint Louis | C | RV | RV* | RV | RV | RV | RV | 23 | 24 | RV | 24 | RV | RV | RV | | | |
| St. Bonaventure | AP | | | | | | | | | | RV | RV | | | RV | RV | RV |
| St. Bonaventure | C | | | | | | | | | | RV | RV | | | RV | RV | RV |
| VCU | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | RV | RV | | RV | |
| VCU | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
*USA TODAY did not release a Coaches Poll for Week 2. AP does not release a final poll.

### 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.
| | DAV | DAY | DUQ | FOR | GMU | GWU | LAS | UMA | URI | RIC | STJ | STL | SBA | VCU |
| vs. Davidson | – | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 |
| vs. Dayton | 0–1 | – | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 |
| vs. Duquesne | 1–0 | 1–1 | – | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. Fordham | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | – | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. George Mason | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | – | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| vs. George Washington | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| vs. La Salle | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | – | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| vs. UMass | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | – | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. Rhode Island | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | – | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. Richmond | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | – | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| vs. Saint Joseph's | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | – | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| vs. Saint Louis | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | – | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| vs. St. Bonaventure | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | – | 1–1 |
| vs. VCU | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | – |
| Total | 7–4 | 9–7 | 7–7 | 2–11 | 8–6 | 3–5 | 6–11 | 6–4 | 7–10 | 6–5 | 3–9 | 6–4 | 11–4 | 10–4 |

### Records against other conferences

2020–21 records against non-conference foes as of February 19, 2021. Records shown for regular season only.
| Power Conferences | Record |
| American | 2–1 |
| ACC | 1–1 |
| Big East | 1–3 |
| Big Ten | 0–4 |
| Big 12 | 0–4 |
| Pac-12 | 0–1 |
| SEC | 6–2 |
| Power Total | 10–16 |
| Other NCAA Division I Conferences | Record |
| America East | 1–1 |
| ASUN | 0–0 |
| Big Sky | 0–0 |
| Big South | 1–1 |
| Big West | 0–0 |
| CAA | 6–5 |
| C-USA | 1–3 |
| Horizon | 1–0 |
| Ivy | 0–0 |
| MAAC | 0–1 |
| MAC | 1–0 |
| MEAC | 3–1 |
| MVC | 3–0 |
| Mountain West | 2–0 |
| NEC | 1–1 |
| OVC | 3–1 |
| Patriot | 0–2 |
| Pacific West | 0–0 |
| SoCon | 4–0 |
| Southland | 1–0 |
| SWAC | 1–0 |
| Summit | 1–0 |
| Sun Belt | 1–1 |
| WAC | 0–0 |
| WCC | 1–0 |
| Other Division I Total | 32–17 |
| NCAA Division I Total | 42–33 |
| NCAA Division II Conferences | Record |
| CIAA | 1–0 |
| South Atlantic | 1–0 |
| NCAA Division II Total | 2–0 |
| NCAA Division III Conferences | Record |
| Coast to Coast | 2–0 |
| NCAA Division III Total | 2–0 |
| Overall | 46–33 |

## Conference awards

On March 10, 2021, the Atlantic 10 announced its conference awards.
| Award | Recipients |
| Coach of the Year | Mark Schmidt, St. Bonaventure |
| Player of the Year | Bones Hyland, VCU |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Osun Osunniyi, St. Bonaventure |
| Rookie of the Year | Tyler Kolek, George Mason |
| Chris Daniels Most Improved Player of the Year | Tyler Burton, Richmond |
| Sixth Man of the Year | Sherif Kenney, La Salle |
| First Team | Kellan Grady, Davidson Jalen Crutcher, Dayton Tre Mitchell, Massachusetts Kyle Lofton, St. Bonaventure Jordan Goodwin, Saint Louis Bones Hyland, VCU |
| Second Team | Marcus Weathers, Duquesne Blake Francis, Richmond Jacob Gilyard, Richmond Jaren Holmes, St. Bonaventure Osun Osunniyi, St. Bonaventure Javonte Perkins, Saint Louis |
| Third Team | Ibi Watson, Dayton Jordan Miller, George Mason Jamison Battle, George Washington Fatts Russell, Rhode Island Grant Golden, Richmond Vince Williams Jr., VCU |
| All-Academic Team | Jordy Tshimanga, Dayton Christian Ray, La Salle Tre Mitchell, Massachusetts Jaren Holmes, St. Bonaventure Gibson Jimerson, Saint Louis |
| All-Defensive Team | AJ Wilson, George Mason Jacob Gilyard, Richmond Osun Osunniyi, St. Bonaventure Jordan Goodwin, Saint Louis Hason Ward, VCU |
| All-Rookie Team | Mustapha Amzil, Dayton Tyler Kolek, George Mason Jhamir Brickus, La Salle Jordan Hall, Saint Joseph's Adrian Baldwin Jr., VCU |

## Postseason
### 2021 A-10 Tournament

| Semifinals Saturday, March 6 CBSSN | Semifinals Saturday, March 6 CBSSN | Semifinals Saturday, March 6 CBSSN | Championship Sunday, March 14 CBS | Championship Sunday, March 14 CBS | Championship Sunday, March 14 CBS |
| 1 | St. Bonaventure | 71 | | | |
| 4 | Saint Louis | 53 | | | |
| 4 | Saint Louis | 53 | 1 | St. Bonaventure | 74 |
| | | | 2 | VCU | 65 |
| 2 | VCU | 64 | 2 | VCU | 65 |
| 3 | Davidson | 52 | | | |

### 2021 NCAA Tournament

Two teams from the Atlantic 10 qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Tournament and regular-season champion St. Bonaventure qualified through the conference's automatic bid, while tournament and regular-season runner-up VCU qualified through an at-large bid.
| Seed | Region | School | 1st Round | 2nd Round | Sweet Sixteen | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
| 9 | East | St. Bonaventure | eliminated by (8) LSU, 61–76 | | | | | |
| 10 | West | VCU | (7) Oregon advanced due to COVID-19 no-contest declaration | | | | | |

### 2021 NIT

Four teams from the Atlantic 10 earned at-large bids into the NIT.
| Seed | School | First round | Quarterfinals |
| 1 | Saint Louis | eliminated by (4) Mississippi State, 68–74 | |
| 2 | Davidson | eliminated by (3) NC State, 61–75 | |
| 2 | Richmond | defeated (3) Toledo, 76–66 | eliminated by (4) Mississippi State, 67–68 |
| 4 | Dayton | eliminated by (1) Memphis, 60–71 | |