The 2012–13 Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball season marked the 37th season of Atlantic 10 Conference basketball. The season marked the first for new members Butler and VCU, and the last for departing members Temple and Charlotte. The 2013 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament was held for the first time at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Preseason Prior to the season, the Atlantic 10 welcomed new members, Butler and VCU. The two schools joined the conference immediately, rather than waiting a season as Butler initially intended, because they "weren't going to be allowed to play in the respective conference tournaments." With the addition of these programs, the conference sits at 16 teams for one year, yet the conference slate stayed at 16 games. "The league had to be creative with its schedule knowing that it would be for only one season. Every team will play each team once with one rivalry game twice."
The conference moved the conference tournament to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, after six seasons in Atlantic City. Analysts predict "the league's Big Apple debut might result in a record number of bids for this stacked conference." The contract lasts for five years. "I just think it's going to be a rebirth of college basketball in New York," said Fordham coach Tom Pecora, who was born in the borough.
For the 2012–13 season, Butler lost Ronald Nored to graduation and Chrishawn Hopkins to a violation of team rules, but returned nearly every other significant player and added key players in transfer Rotnei Clarke and freshman Kellen Dunham.
Charlotte's Chris Braswell "might be the best big man in the league, and the 49ers have a good recruiting class entering the fold." Dayton's frontcourt garnered press for its depth, with Kevin Dillard returning as point guard, along with transfers Vee Sanford and Matt Derenbecker.
"Va. Tech transfer Tyrone Garland joins a loaded perimeter group" at La Salle, and Massachusetts "could be a title threat" with point guard Chaz Williams, who returned along with three other starters following a run to the NIT semifinals.
2012 A10 tournament champion Saint Bonaventure faced potential struggle after the loss of Andrew Nicholson, who "was a dominant force throughout his career." However, the Bonnies returned Marquise Simmons and Michael Davenport from injuries. Saint Joseph's returned everyone "from a team that was in the mix for an NCAA bid until late."
Saint Louis was the favorite among many analysts because, although it lost Brian Conklin, the team returned Kwamain Mitchell and "locks down on D." The Billikens are without coach Rick Majerus, who "is taking a leave of absence for health reasons." Majerus died on December 1, 2012, prompting Commissioner Bernadette McGlade's statement, "The entire Atlantic 10 family is grieving tonight over the loss of coach Majerus. His undeniable knowledge and love of the game was known to all, and he was an excellent teacher committed to the student-athlete. This passion made his impact on A-10 basketball over the past five years immeasurable. He will be missed at Saint Louis, within the A-10 and nationally; our prayers and condolences are with coach Majerus’ family and the Saint Louis University community."
Perpetual favorites Temple and Xavier both lost "key weapons" but neither were expected to have a "huge drop" as Temple's "Scootie Randall will be healthy [and] Khalif Wyatt is back" and Xavier adds Semaj Christon and Isaiah Philmore. However, Xavier lost all of its starters and half of its "highly regarded recruiting class (Myles Davis and Jalen Reynolds) to academic issues."
CBS analyst Jeff Borzello noted that "It will be interesting to see how VCU adjusts in its first year. With that said, the Rams return many of their weapons from last season." However, the rams do not have freshmen recruits Mo Alie-Cox and Jordan Burgess, who "is considered a top 100 recruit," as the school announced they were only partial qualifiers by the NCAA and thus were not eligible to compete until at least the 2013–14 season.
Atlantic 10 preseason poll RankTeamVotes (First place)1 Saint Joseph's 434 (11)2 Saint Louis 432 (10)3 VCU 410 (3)4 Temple 394 (2)5 Massachusetts 389 (2)6 Butler 347 (2)7 La Salle 2818 Dayton 2649 Xavier 23910 Richmond 23511 St. Bonaventure 17012 Charlotte 14513 Geo. Washington 11214 Fordham 8415 Rhode Island 7616 Duquesne 68 Source
Atlantic 10 preseason teams Award Recipients First Team Kevin Dillard (Dayton)Chris Gaston (Fordham)Chaz Williams (Massachusetts)Kwamain Mitchell (Saint Louis)Khalif Wyatt (Temple) Second TeamRotnei Clarke (Butler)Chris Braswell (Charlotte)Ramon Galloway (La Salle)Langston Galloway (Saint Joseh's)Carl Jones (Saint Joseph's) Third Team Darien Brothers (Richmond)C. J. Aiken (Saint Joseph's)Halil Kanačević (Saint Joseph's)Scootie Randall (Temple)Juvonte Reddic (VCU) Defensive Team Roosevelt Jones (Butler)Pierriá Henry (Charlotte)C. J. Aiken (Saint Joseph's)Jordair Jett (Saint Louis)Brianté Weber (VCU) Rookie Team Kellen Dunham (Butler)Jordan Hare (Rhode Island)Daniel Dingle (Temple)Melvin Johnson (VCU)Semaj Christon (Xavier) Source
Conference Previews Several media outlets projected the final Atlantic 10 Conference standings for the 2012–13 season: Rank CBS Sports Rivals Blue Ribbon Sporting News Lindy's Athlon College Hoops Insider ESPN The Magazine College Sports Madness 1. Saint Louis Saint Louis VCU Saint Louis Saint Louis 2. VCU Butler Saint Louis Butler VCU 3. St. Joseph's Temple Temple St. Joseph's Xavier 4. Temple VCU Massachusetts Temple St. Joseph's 5. Massachusetts St. Joseph's Butler VCU Massachusetts 6. Butler Xavier St. Joseph's Massachusetts Butler 7. Dayton Massachusetts St. Bonaventure Richmond Temple 8. La Salle Richmond Xavier Dayton La Salle 9. Richmond Dayton La Salle Xavier Dayton 10. Xavier La Salle Dayton La Salle St. Bonaventure 11. St. Bonaventure Geo. Washington Richmond St. Bonaventure Geo. Washington 12. Charlotte St. Bonaventure Charlotte George Washington - 13. Rhode Island Charlotte Fordham Duquesne - 14. Geo. Washington Rhode Island Geo. Washington Fordham - 15. Fordham Fordham Rhode Island Charlotte - 16. Duquesne Duquesne Duquesne Rhode Island -
Preseason watchlists Wooden Naismith Rotnei Clarke (Butler)
Regular season
Rankings
+ Legend Improvement in ranking Drop in ranking No change in ranking RV Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll
Pre Wk1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Wk15 Wk16 Wk17 Wk18 FinalButler AP RV RV RV RV RV 19 18 17 14 13 9 9 14 11 11 15 20 C RV RV RV RV 25 21 20 17 13 9 10 14 10 10 15 21 Charlotte AP C Dayton AP C Duquesne AP C Fordham AP C George Washington AP C La Salle AP RV C RV Massachusetts AP C Rhode Island AP C Richmond AP C St. Bonaventure AP C Saint Joseph's AP RV RV RV RV C RV RV RV RV Saint Louis AP RV RV RV RV RV 18 C RV RV RV RV RV 19 Temple AP RV RV RV RV RV RV C RV RV RV VCU AP RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV 22 19 RV RV RV RV 24 RV C RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV 24 19 16 RV RV RV RV 24 25 Xavier AP RV C
A-10 vs. other conferences
Conference Wins Losses % Am. East 4 1 - ACC 3 5 - A-Sun 3 0 - Big 12 0 1 - Big East 4 4 - Big Sky 0 1 - Big South 3 0 - Big Ten 1 3 - Big West 0 1 - Colonial 8 1 - C-USA 3 0 - Great West 0 0 - Horizon League 3 1 - Independents 0 0 - Ivy League 5 1 - MAAC 5 4 - MAC 5 2 - MEAC 3 0 - MVC 2 2 - MWC 0 0 - NEC 3 3 - OVC 1 0 - Pac-12 0 1 - Patriot 1 0 - SEC 3 2 - SoCon 4 0 - Southland 1 0 - SWAC 0 0 - Summit 0 1 - Sun Belt 1 0 - WCC 0 1 - WAC 1 1 -Total 67 36 .651 As of 12/3/2012
Weekly honors Throughout the conference regular season, the Atlantic 10 offices name a player of the week and rookie of the week each Monday.
Week Player of the week Rookie of the week November 12, 2012 Dee Davis, Xavier Kellen Dunham, Butler November 19, 2012 Ronald Roberts, Saint Joseph's Dyshawn Pierre, DaytonJoe McDonald, George Washington November 26, 2012 Rotnei Clarke, Butler Semaj Christon, Xavier December 3, 2012 Derrick Williams, Richmond Semaj Christon, Xavier (2) December 10, 2012 Kevin Dillard, DaytonTyreek Duren, La Salle Kellen Dunham, Butler (2) December 17, 2012 Roosevelt Jones, Butler Derrick Colter, Duquesne December 24, 2012 Khalif Wyatt, Temple Derrick Colter, Duquesne (2) December 31, 2012 Carl Jones, Saint Joseph's Kellen Dunham, Butler (3)Quevyn Winters, Duquesne January 7, 2013 Troy Daniels, VCU Willie Clayton, Charlotte January 14, 2013 Andrew Smith, Butler Semaj Christon, Xavier (3) January 21, 2013 Roosevelt Jones, Butler (2) Treveon Graham, VCU Semaj Christon, Xavier (4) January 28, 2013 Ramon Galloway, La Salle Kellen Dunham, Butler (4) February 4, 2013 Khalif Wyatt, Temple (2)Juvonte Reddic, VCU Mandell Thomas, Fordham February 11, 2013 Khalif Wyatt, Temple (3) Semaj Christon, Xavier (5) February 18, 2013 February 25, 2013 March 3, 2013
Butler's Roosevelt Jones was named the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week on January 21, 2013.
Postseason
Atlantic 10 All-Conference teams Award Recipients Coach of the Year Jim Crews (St. Louis) Player of the Year Khalif Wyatt (Temple) Defensive Player of the Year Brianté Weber (VCU) Rookie of the Year Semaj Christon (Xavier) Sixth Man of the Year Cody Ellis (St. Louis) Chris Daniels Most Improved Player of the Year Travis Taylor (Xavier) All-Academic Team Andrew Smith (Butler) Dwayne Evans (St. Louis) Nemanja Mikic (George Washington) T. J. DiLeo (Temple) Nikola Malesevic (Rhode Island) First Team Khalif Wyatt (Temple) Ramon Galloway (La Salle) Rotnei Clarke (Butler) Dwayne Evans (St. Louis) Chaz Williams (Massachusetts) Second Team Juvonte Reddic (VCU) Treveon Graham (VCU) Semaj Christon (Xavier) Tyreek Duren (La Salle) Kevin Dillard (Dayton) Third Team Darien Brothers (Richmond) Ronald Roberts (St. Joseph's) Kwamain Mitchell (St. Louis) Jordair Jett (St. Louis) Travis Taylor (Xavier) Honorable Mention All-Defensive Team Brianté Weber (VCU) Jordair Jett (St. Louis) Pierriá Henry (Charlotte) Roosevelt Jones (Butler) Darius Theus (VCU) All-Rookie Team Semaj Christon (Xavier) Kellen Dunham (Butler) Derrick Colter (Duquesne) Willie Clayton (Charlotte) Melvin Johnson (VCU)
References