predictions

The Atlantic 10 postseason is less than two weeks away and with that, a chance to partake in the NCAA tournament. But before conference members make the trip down to Atlantic City there is still work that needs to be finished, and that work picks up this weekend with seven league battles Saturday. Here is a preview of the weekend's action:

Atlantic 10's Premiere Weekend Matchup: Xavier @ Dayton, 6:00 Saturday. It was a big week for the Xavier Muskateers, who moved into a first place tie with Massachusetts after knocking off first place Rhode Island. The Muskateers attempt to continue their torrid pace in Dayton which is never an easy task. Xavier features one of the most balanced squads in the country and are led by Senior Justin Doellman who dumped in 29 points Wednesday against the Rams. Dayton is led by guard Brian Roberts and is just one week removed from suffering its first home setback of the season, a 77-69 loss to UMass. Expect Xavier's size and athleticism to cancel out the Atlantic 10's top homecourt advantage in a 80-75 win against the Flyers.

In the past decade and a half, the Atlantic 10 has gone from clear mid-major to the brink of being competitive with many of the power conferences and now back to clear mid-major, and that may even be a stretch. For some reason it seems like they just couldn't get over the hump and just rolled right back down the hill and even surpassing where they were before. Barring some kind of miracle and everything breaking just right, the conference will only be sending one team to the big dance, with Xavier being the team with the best chance of receiving an at large bid.
There is without a doubt parity within the conference, it would not be a stretch to think at least 8 teams can leave Atlantic City with an automatic bid and date with a Duke or Texas. The front-runners for this, shall we call it honor will be Xavier, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, St. Joe's, and George Washington. But there are no teams such as the Jameer Nelson led St. Joe's and Marcus Camby, Final 4 bound UMass clubs of past seasons challenging for a seed on the top line, once again leaving it open for anyone willing to show.