The Atlantic 10 Conference didn’t receive a lot of respect from the selection committee after a fantastic season. Temple, Xavier and Richmond will look to prove that they are better teams than their seeds would indicate. But a couple of them have tough match ups. Here is a preview of the Atlantic 10 teams in the Big Dance.
Temple Owls (Overall: 29-5, A-10: 14-2)
No. 5 seed, East Region
The Owls have to be wondering what more they need to do to earn a top four seed. The selection committee gave Temple a No. 5 seed in the East Region after the Owls finished 29-5, won both the regular-season and tournament titles, and knocked off Villanova in non-conferece action. But Temple won’t whine about positioning — this team is too mentally tough for that. And that toughness has the Owls poised for a potentially shocking tournament run — if they can past pesky No. 12-seed Cornell first.
Temple is heavily imbalanced toward defense. But that defense is impeccable. The Owls are No. 1 in the country in effective field goal percentage, according to Ken Pomeroy’s efficiency statistics. Temple shuts down opposing team’s perimeter players, allowing them to shoot only 28.1 percent from three-point range. But it’s not any easier to score inside the arc against Temple. The Owls’ opponents shoot only 42.5 percent from there.
On offense, Temple is not exactly a juggernaut. The Owls don’t shoot particularly well from anywhere. But they don’t commit many turnovers or beat themselves. Guards Ryan Brooks and Juan Fernandez lead the offense with 14.3 points per game and 12.6 points per game, respectively. Fernandez is the perfect foil for opponents’ three-point shooters because he makes 46.1 percent of this long-range shots. It won’t be easy for opponents to make deep shots, but when they do, Fernandez will be ready to answer.
And he might need to do so often in the first round if Temple’s vaunted defense falters against Cornell, the best three-point shooting team in the nation. The Big Red hit 43.8 percent of their shots from the perimeter. But Cornell doesn’t play great defense, which should aid Temple’s plodding offense. The Owls should get past Cornell in a low-scoring, ugly match up. No. 4-seed Wisconsin will likely await. Like Cornell, the Badgers rely heavily on three-pointers. Temple and Wisconsin are nearly mirror images of each other, except Wisconsin’s offense is far more efficient while Temple’s defense is tougher.
In the end, Wisconsin’s better balance will deliver the win, but either team figures to match up well against No. 1-seed Kentucky in the Sweet 16. If Temple can find a way out of Jacksonville, Fla., with two wins, the Owls could easily be playing for a Final Four berth in Syracuse March 27.
Xavier Musketeers (Overall: 24-8, A-10: 14-2)
No. 6 seed, West Region
Unlike Richmond and Temple, Xavier can’t complain much about its seeding. The Musketeers might be worthy of a No. 5 seed, but there’s nothing wrong with No. 6 in the West, especially with Minnesota on the slate in the first round. Minnesota played four games in four days during the Big Ten tournament and a total of five games in eight days.
Xavier relies on a balanced offense led by sophomore Jordan Crawford, famous for dunking on LeBron James last summer. The Musketeers will need Crawford to become famous for big-time performances in the tournament if Xavier plans to advance past one round. Crawford averages 19.7 points per game and shoots 39 percent from three-point range. Minnesota is vulnerable to teams that shoot well from long range, allowing opponents to shoot 34.0 percent from behind the arc. That might make Dante Jackson and Brad Redford, both of whom shoot about 40 percent from three-point land, more critical in the first round than Xavier fans might expect.
In a tight one, the Musketeers will advance to face No. 3-seed Pittsburgh, which eliminated the Musketeers in the Sweet 16 last season. But Xavier will once again fall short against the Panthers in another tight game. Pitt’s slow pace, orchestrated by junior Brad Wanamaker and senior Jermaine Dixon, will frustrate the up-tempo Musketeers. With only one senior starter, Xavier figures to be back next season when the Musketeers will be better equipped to make another deep run in the turnament.
Richmond Spiders (Overall: 26-8, A-10: 13-3)
No. 7 seed, South Region
The Spiders entered Selection Sunday figuring that five wins against the RPI top 50, including wins against conference heavyweights Temple and Xavier, would deliver a No. 5 or 6 seed. But Richmond slipped to No. 7 in the South Region and gets a tough first-round game against No. 10-seed Saint Mary’s.
Richmond is a defensive-minded team that runs coach Chris Mooey’s version of the Princeton offense. The result is a slow-paced, perimeter-oriented attack. The backcourt duo of Kevin Anderson and David Gonzalvez pace Richmond’s offense by probing the opponents’ defense for easy layups. If the close-in shot isn’t available, they look outside, where Justin Harper and Ryan Butler are also legitimate long-range threats. Each of the Spiders’ top four scorers has made at least 37 three-pointers this season and attempted more than 100.
Although Richmond is great at avoiding turnovers and plays stifling defense, the Spiders might just be facing their worst possible first-round match up. Saint Mary’s has plenty of long players who can bother the Spiders’ three-point threats. And senior Omar Samhan is a game-changing defensive stalwart who hoovers up all rebounds. The Gaels have the fourth-best three-point defense in the country. Saint Mary’s will likely shut down the perimeter game, and Samhan can single-handedly erase the Spiders’ cuts to the basket.
A one-and-done performance will overshadow a fantastic season for the Spiders, who fortunately will return all but two of their major contributors next season.
