After a week off from the FridA10 Notebook for the holiday season, we are back with conference play underway, and like clock work, the Atlantic 10 is cannibalizing itself. I guess having a #ZeroBidLeague was the only way we could truly honor the 50th anniversary of our beloved A10?
Our resident A10 reporter, Riley Frain, is bringing you a weekly notebook this season to recap all the latest news from his coverage around the league.
Davidson falls short against Duquesne in front of Steph Curry
One of the early major surprises of the A10’s non-conference slate was Davidson with an 8-4 record that included wins over Washington State, Boston College, Bowling Green and Charlotte. It helped the Wildcats climb the early A10 power rankings after being selected to finish 11th out of 14 in the conference’s preseason men’s basketball poll back in September.
Despite such a strong start, Davidson closed out the non-conference with a pair of losses to Temple and 17th ranked Kansas. Ultimately, it gave way to a double-OT upset loss against Duquesne on opening night of A10 play, as the Wildcats fell 89-83 despite leading for the majority of regulation.
In attendance for the double-OT bout was legendary Davidson star and current program general manager, Steph Curry, who witnessed five lead changes and nine different ties in Tuesday’s contest. It’s a tough opening to the A10 campaign for a program that had shown so much growth, promise and potential early in 2025-26.
George Mason prevails in last minute escape from Philadelphia
Yes, George Mason might only rank 347th in Strength of Schedule by KenPom’s metrics. Sure, the Patriots haven’t beaten a program ranked higher than Florida Atlantic at 104th in the national rankings, but Tony Skinn has this team tied for the A10’s best record at 13-1.
Many will argue George Mason breezed through the non-conference because of that easy schedule, and those claims were almost proven true on Wednesday in Philadelphia. A slow start practically doomed the Patriots against La Salle, but Ryan Allenspach kept things in range early, and Kory Mincy carried the load late to complete an 80-75 comeback win.
A huge sigh of relief for George Mason, but there are much tougher tests ahead for Skinn and Co.
Is Loyola Chicago back on track just in time to cause chaos?
Loyola Chicago, selected fifth in the A10’s preseason poll, has easily been the conference’s biggest disappointment. The Ramblers at one point battled a seven-game losing streak in the non-conference, finally bounced back with wins over meager Central Michigan and Princeton, before capping it all off with a loss to Chicago State.
However, Drew Valentine and Co. showed some signs of life with a win over Santa Clara (KenPom’s 58th-ranked program) last weekend. And later, the Ramblers followed it up by opening A10 play with a 61-57 win over Rhode Island on the road just to set the conference a blaze from week one.
Loyola Chicago will host Dayton this weekend but is already looking like a landmine in conference for any program realistically trying to build a resume. (#ZeroBidLeague Intensifies)
What on earth is happening over on Hawk Hill?
Will the drama ever end on Hawk Hill? After losing its head coach just weeks before the start of the 2025-26 season, thrusting Steve Donahue into the role at the last minute and struggling through the non-conference, it was announced that leading scorer Deuce Jones II departed Saint Joseph’s.
The Hawks followed with a 68-62 loss at home to Coastal Carolina, KenPom’s 234th-ranked program, before opening conference play with a 102-79 beatdown from Saint Louis. Not a lot of answers at Hagan Arena right now with Jones gone, Jaiden Glover-Toscano and others battling injuries and the once historic program overall struggling as a whole in recent memory.
Dayton, Saint Louis and VCU smoothing sailing into the weekend
No major surprises here but the A10’s early favorites in Dayton, Saint Louis and VCU all picked up early wins in the conference slate to start a perfect 1-0, but each won in a different way.
As mentioned, Saint Louis thwarted St. Joe’s on home soil in a dominant victory with five double-digit scorers but led by Robbie Avila’s 20 points.
Dayton prevailed in a low-scoring but physically battle as it was dragged into the mud by Fordham. Despite a late second-half run by the Rams, the Flyers ultimately won out 63-56. Though Anthony Grant’s offense struggled from three, Jordan Derkack carried the load with a double-double of 15 points, 14 rebounds and three assists.
Meanwhile, VCU picked up its fifth straight victory in a back-and-forth bout with St. Bonaventure that saw the Rams pull away late in for an 89-82 win. Though Frank Mitchell and Buddy Simmons II combined for 46 points to lift the Bonnies, it wasn’t enough to outdo the trio of Lazar Djokovic, Brandon Jennings and Terrence Hill Jr.
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