Atlantic 10 Conference tournament preview: What to watch for

Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament

Wednesday through Sunday, Capital One Arena, Washington

Schedule (seeding in parenthesis)

Wednesday, opening round on Stadium

Game 1: (12) La Salle ((13-18, 7-11 in A-10) vs. Massachusetts (12-19, 5-13), 6 p.m.

Game 2: (11) George Washington (4-17, 7-11) vs. (14) Fordham (9-21, 4-14), 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, first round on NBCSN

Game 3: (8) Richmond (11-19, 9-9) vs. (9) Dayton (14-16, 8-10), noon.

Game 4: (5) VCU (17-14, 9-9) vs. La Salle/Massachusetts winner, 2:30 p.m.

Game 5: (7) George Mason (15-16, 9-9) vs. (10) Duquesne (16-15, 7-11), 6 p.m.

Game 6: (6) St. Louis (16-15, 9-9) vs. George Washington/Fordham winner, 8:30 p.m.

Friday quarterfinals on NBCSN

Game  7: (1) Rhode Island (23-6, 15-3) vs. Winner of Game 3, noon.

Game  8: (4) St. Joseph's (15-15, 10-8) vs. Winner of Game 4, 2:30 p.m.

Game  9: (2) St. Bonaventure (24-6, 14-4) vs. Winner of Game 5, 6 p.m.

Game 10: (3) Davidson (18-11, 13-5) vs. Winner of Game 6, 8:30 p.m.

Saturday semifinals on CBS Sports Network

Game 11: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner, 1:00 p.m.

Game 12: Game 9 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner, 3:30 p.m.

Sunday Final on CBS Sports Network

Game 13: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner

Players to watch

Jaylen Adams, St. Bonaventure, G, Sr., 20.5 ppg., 5.3 apg.  47.7 3-pt pct.

Peyton Aldridge, Davidson, F, Sr, 21.3 ppg., 7.8 rpg.

Jared Terrell, Rhode Island, G, Sr, 17.8 ppg. 2.4 rpg.

B.J. Johnson, La Salle, F/G, Sr., 20.9 ppg., 8.9 rpg.

Shavar Newkirk, St. Joseph's, G, Sr, 17.6 ppg., 4.2 rpg, 3.8 apg.

Justin Tillman, VCU, F, Sr, 18.9 ppg., 9.7 rpg., 56.1 FG pct.

Luwane Pipkins, Massachusetts, G, So., 21.1 ppg., 4.1 apg.

Insights

Rhode Island beat Virginia Commonwealth, 70-63, last season for its second title. … Rhode Island is looking to be the first No. 1 seed to win the tournament since St. Louis in 2013. … After winning 16 straight, the Rams limped to the finish by losing three of five and the last two, including a 30-point home loss to St. Joseph's. … Rhode Island is trying to become the first repeat champion since Temple won three straight from 2008-2010. … St. Bonaventure has won 12 straight. The Bonnies' last loss was at Davidson on Jan. 19. The Bonnies' Adams ranks 14th in the nation in three-point percentage. (47.7). … Rhode Island's E.C. Matthews is the only returning player from the 2017 all-Championship team. Matthews was named most outstanding player after averaging 19.3 points and 5.7 rebounds. … Davidson's Aldridge is ranked 22nd in the nation in scoring (21.3 ppg.) His 45-point effort against St. Bonaventure was the highest in the A-10. .. La Salle's Johnson may be 6-foot-7, but his 23-rebound game against Rhode Island was the high for the conference and second-highest in Division I. … Duquesne, George Washington and Massachusetts are the A-10 founding teams remaining. … Duquesne beat Villanova to win the first tournament in 1977 but has not lifted the trophy again. … UMass as not won since 1996, but the Minutemen still lead the current lineup with five titles. … With nine titles between, UMass and St. Joe's have just one fewer titles than the rest of the conference combined (10). … With 31 games, La Salle has played the most tournament games without ever reaching the finals. … After a two-year hiatus, the Atlantic 10 Tournament is back in Brooklyn for the next three years.