The 2017–18 Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball season was the 42nd season of Atlantic 10 Conference basketball. The season began with practices in October 2017, followed by the start of the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. League play began in late December and ended on March 3, 2018.

With a win over La Salle on February 20, 2018, Rhode Island clinched at least a share of the A-10 regular season championship, their first title since 1981. Three days later, the Rams clinched an outright A-10 title for the first time in school history.

The Atlantic-10 tournament was held at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. from March 7 through 11, 2018. Davidson defeated Rhode Island in the championship game to win the tournament and, as a result, received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Rhode Island and St. Bonaventure received at large bids to the NCAA tournament. The schools went a combined 2–3 in the tournament.

Head coaches

Coaching changes George Washington head coach Mike Lonergan was fired on September 17, 2016, after the school concluded a two-month investigation into alleged emotional abuse against his players. Maurice Joseph was named interim head coach on September 27. On March 27, 2017, the school removed the interim tag and named Maurice Joseph full-time head coach.

On March 9, 2017, UMass fired head coach Derek Kellogg after nine years and a 155–137 record. On March 31, the school announced they had hired Chattanooga head coach Matt McCall.

Will Wade left VCU to take the head coaching position at LSU following the firing of Johnny Jones. On March 21, 2017 the school hired Rice head coach Mike Rhoades, who had served as associate head coach under Shaka Smart from 2009–2014.

Duquesne fired head coach Jim Ferry on March 13, 2017 after five seasons. The school then hired Akron head coach Keith Dambrot on March 28. Dambrot had a 305-139 record in his 13 years as the Akron head coach.

On March 25, 2017, Dayton head coach Archie Miller left the school to accept the head coaching position at Indiana. The school hired Dayton alum Anthony Grant as the new head coach on March 30.

Coaches Team Head coach Previous job Seasons at school Overall record A-10 record A-10 Championships NCAA tournaments NCAA Final Fours NCAA ChampionshipsDavidson Bob McKillop Long Island Lutheran High School29 1 9 0 0DaytonAnthony GrantOklahoma City Thunder (asst.)1 00 0 0DuquesneKeith DambrotAkron1 03 0 0Fordham Jeff Neubauer Eastern Kentucky3 0 0 0 0George Mason Dave Paulsen Bucknell3 0 0 0 0George Washington Maurice Joseph George Washington (asst.)2 0 0 0 0La Salle John Giannini Maine14 0 1 0 0UMassMatt McCallChattanooga1 0 1 0 0Rhode Island Dan Hurley Wagner6 1 2 0 0Richmond Chris Mooney Air Force13 0 2 0 0Saint Joseph's Phil Martelli Saint Joseph's (asst.)23 6 7 0 0Saint Louis Travis Ford Oklahoma State2 00 0 0St. Bonaventure Mark Schmidt Robert Morris11 1 2 0 0VCUMike RhoadesRice1 00 0 0 Notes: All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only. Overall and A-10 records are from time at current school and include the 2017–18 season.

Preseason

Preseason poll Prior to the season at the conference's annual media day, awards and a poll were chosen by a panel of the league's head coaches and select media members. RankTeam1Rhode Island (27)2St. Bonaventure (1)3Saint Joseph's4VCU5Dayton6Davidson7Saint Louis8Richmond9La Salle10George Mason11George Washington12Massachusetts13Fordham14Duquesne(first place votes)

Preseason All-Conference Teams Award Recipients Preseason All-Atlantic 10 First Team Peyton Aldridge, Davidson E. C. Matthews, Rhode Island Jaylen Adams, St. Bonaventure Matt Mobley, St. Bonaventure Justin Tillman, VCU Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team Yuta Watanabe, George Washington B. J. Johnson, La Salle Jared Terrell, Rhode Island De'Monte Buckingham, Richmond Shavar Newkirk, Saint Joseph's Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Third Team Mike Lewis II, Duquesne Joseph Chartouny, Fordham Otis Livingston II, George Mason Charlie Brown, Jr., Saint Joseph's Lamarr Kimble, Saint Joseph's

Regular season

Early season tournaments Team Tournament Finish DavidsonDiamond Head Classic7th DaytonCharleston Classic6th George MasonCancun Challenge4th George WashingtonLas Vegas Invitational4th La SalleHall of Fame Tip Off4th UMassBarclays Center Classic0–2 Rhode IslandNIT Season Tip-Off2nd RichmondCayman Islands Classic4th Saint Joseph'sWooden Legacy7th Saint Louis2K Sports Classic2nd St. BonaventureEmerald Coast Classic2nd VCUMaui Invitational6th

Conference matrix This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. Each team played 18 conference games: one game vs. eight opponents and two games against five opponents.   DavidsonDaytonDuquesneFordhamGMGWLa SalleUMassRhode IslandRichmondSt. Joseph'sSt. LouisSt. BonaventureVCUvs. Davidson–1–00–10–20–10–20–10–11–12–00–10–11–10–1vs. Dayton0–1–1–10–11–00–11–02–02–00–11–01–10–11–1vs. Duquesne1–01–1–1–10–10–20–11–01–01–01–01–12–01–0vs. Fordham2–01–01–1–0–11–02–00–11–00–12–01–01–02–0vs. George Mason1–00–11–01–0–1–11–00–21–01–10–20–11–01–1vs. George Washington2–01–02–00–11–1–0–10–11–01–10–11–01–01–1vs. La Salle1–00–11–00–20–11–0–1–12–01–01–11–11–01–0vs. UMass1–00–20–11–02–01–01–1–2–01–01–11–01–01–0vs. Rhode Island1–10–20–10–10–10–10–20–2–0–11–00–11–10–1vs. Richmond0–21–00–11–01–11–10–10–11–0–1–02–01–00–2vs. Saint Joseph's1–00–10–10–22–01–01–11–10–10–1–1–01–10–1vs. Saint Louis1–01–11–10–11–00–11–10–11–00–20–1–2–01–0vs. St. Bonaventure1–11–00–20–10–10–10–10–11–10–11–10–2–0–1vs. VCU1–01–10–10–21–11–10–10–11–02–01–00–11–0–Total13–58–107–114–149–96–107–117–1115–39–910–89–914–49–9

Conference Awards On March 6, 2018, the Atlantic 10 announced its conference awards. Award Recipients Coach of the YearDan Hurley, Rhode Island Player of the YearPeyton Aldridge, Davidson

Jaylen Adams, St. Bonaventure Defensive Player of the YearYuta Watanabe, George Washington Rookie of the YearKellan Grady, Davidson Chris Daniels Most Improved Player of the YearLuwane Pipkins, Massachusetts

LaDarien Griffin, St. BonaventureSixth Man of the YearTarin Smith, Duquesne First TeamPeyton Aldridge, Davidson

Jared Terrell, Rhode Island

Jaylen Adams, St. Bonaventure

Matt Mobley, St. Bonaventure

Justin Tillman, VCU Second TeamKellan Grady, Davidson

Otis Livingston II, George Mason

B. J. Johnson, La Salle

Luwane Pipkins, Massachusetts

Shavar Newkirk, Saint Joseph's Third TeamJosh Cunningham, Dayton

Yuta Watanabe, George Washington

E. C. Matthews, Rhode Island

Grant Golden, Richmond

James Demery, Saint Joseph's All-Academic TeamJoseph Chartouny, Fordham

Prokop Slanina, Fordham

Patrick Steeves, George Washington

B. J. Johnson, La Salle

Jeff Dowtin, Rhode Island All-Defensive TeamJoseph Chartouny, Fordham

Yuta Watanabe, George Washington

Stanford Robinson, Rhode Island

Javon Bess, Saint Louis

Justin Tillman, VCUAll-Rookie TeamKellan Grady, Davidson

Jalen Crutcher, Dayton

Eric Williams, Jr., Duquesne

Grant Golden, Richmond

Hasahn French, Saint Louis

Postseason

2018 A-10 tournament

* denotes overtime period

NCAA tournament

The winner of the Atlantic 10 tournament, Davidson, received the conference's automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. Two other conference school received at-large bids to the Tournament: Rhode Island and St. Bonaventure. Seed Region School First Four First round Second round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four Championship7 MidwestRhode IslandN/Adefeated (10) Oklahoma 83–78OTeliminated by (2) Duke 62–8711 SouthSt. Bonaventuredefeated (11) UCLA 65–58eliminated by (6) Florida 62–7712 SouthDavidsonN/Aeliminated by (5) Kentucky 73–78W–L (%): Total:

References