Dayton returns all five starters from a team that finished tied for second in the A-10 in 2021-22 and earned an NIT bid.
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Dayton has been selected as the Atlantic 10 Conference men’s basketball favorite in the league’s annual preseason poll. The conference announced the poll and preseason all-conference awards Thursday in conjunction with its annual Media Day, held at Barclays Center. The awards and poll were chosen by the league’s head coaches and select media members.
The Flyers return all five starters from a team that finished tied for second in the A-10 in 2021-22 and earned an NIT bid. Dayton earned 428 poll points and garnered 22 first-place votes. Led by Preseason All-Conference selections DaRon Holmes II, Toumani Camera and Malachi Smith, the Flyers finished 24-11 overall last year, and 14-4 in the A-10.
Saint Louis returns four starters and was picked second in the 2022-23 preseason poll. The Billikens totaled 411 points and picked up seven first-place votes. Javonte Perkins returns to SLU after missing all of last season with an injury, and joins Yuri Collins, Gibson Jimerson and Francis Okoro as Preseason All-Conference selections. Collins led the NCAA in total assists and assists per game last season, helping the Billikens to a 12-6 finish in league play and 23-12 mark overall in 2021-22, securing an NIT bid.
VCU placed third in the Preseason Poll with 370 points. The Rams return Preseason All-Conference selections Ace Baldwin and Jayden Nunn following the 2021-22 campaign in which VCU tied for second in the league with a 14-4 record and was 22-10 overall. The Rams reached the second round of the NIT last March.
Atlantic 10 newcomer Loyola Chicago, an NCAA Tournament team in 2021-22, was chosen fourth in the poll with 315 points. The Ramblers’ Braden Norris was a Preseason All-Conference selection for a team that went 25-8 last season, reaching the NCAA Tournament as an automatic qualifier. The Ramblers were 13-5 in their final season in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Led by Preseason All-Conference First Team selection Josh Oduro, George Mason garnered 300 poll points to rank fifth. Davidson’s Foster Loyer, a Preseason First Team pick, headlines the Wildcats, last year’s regular season champion which placed sixth in the poll with 294 points. Defending A-10 champion Richmond was chosen seventh in the poll with 276 points, behind All-Conference First Team selection Tyler Burton.
Massachusetts was picked eighth with 228 points and Rhode Island was ninth with 203 points. St. Bonaventure (194 points), Fordham (119 points) and George Washington (110 points) placed 10th, 11th and 12th respectively. Saint Joseph’s, La Salle, and Duquesne rounded out the poll in order.
Loyer, Holmes, Oduro, Burton, Collins and Baldwin made up the Preseason All-Conference First Team. George Washington’s James Bishop, and Massachusetts’ Noah Fernandes join Camara, Smith, Jimerson and Perkins on the All-Conference Second Team.
Norris, Okoro and Nunn were all named to the Preseason All-Conference Third Team along with Fordham’s Darius Quisenberry, Rhode Island’s Brayon Freeman, and Saint Joseph’s Erik Reynolds II. Holmes, Smith, Collins, Okoro and Baldwin were all chosen for the Preseason All-Defensive Team.
The 2022-23 men’s basketball season tips off on Monday, Nov. 7 while Conference play begins on Wednesday, Dec. 28. The season will culminate with the Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Championship, which will return to Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. The league’s premier event will begin March 7, and the league will crown its 2022-23 champion on March 12, Selection Sunday on CBS.
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