March 5, 2025
What to watch for in the 2025 Atlantic 10 Tournament
Aaron Roussell: ‘Everybody's got the same dream right now’
The Atlantic 10 Tournament returns to the Henrico Sports & Event Center on March 5 for the second season in a row. This is set to be the last 15-team tournament for the foreseeable future, with UMass set to join the MAC on July 1.
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The first two rounds will be televised on ESPN+, the quarterfinals will be on Peacock, the semifinals will be on CBS Sports Network and the championship game will be broadcast on ESPN2. The full bracket and schedule can be found below:
Here are five storylines to watch.
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No. 1 seed Richmond looks to repeat
The Spiders head to Henrico looking to be the first A-10 team to win back-to-back tournament championships since George Washington did in 2015 and 2016. Richmond has already earned back-to-back A-10 regular-season championships.
The team sits at 26-5 (17-1 A-10) and is heading to the tournament with a 16-game winning streak and a 5-0 record against other top-four teams. The team’s only conference loss came to Fordham on Jan. 2.
Though the team returned four of its top six scorers from last season, two key pieces — Grace Townsend and Siobhan Ryan — transferred out. Head coach and 2024-25 Coach of the Year Aaron Roussell has emphasized that this is a new team and not a continuation of last season since A-10 media day in October.
“We are chasing the same goal that everybody else is,” Roussell said on Episode 12 of Showtime. All the Time. “So, that bracket comes out the night of March 1, and that March 3 practice for us is probably the same thing. ‘Hey, here’s the bracket, man … y’all grew up with the dream of playing [in] an NCAA Tournament and this March Madness thing. Everybody’s got the same dream right now.”
Richmond is second in the conference in scoring this season, averaging 73.1 points per game. Three players average double-digit points: junior forward and 2024-25 Player of the Year Maggie Doogan (16.8 points per game), junior guard Rachel Ullstrom (15.7 points per game) and graduate student forward Addie Budnik (10.5 points per game).
Ullstrom knocks down 41.8% of her 3-pointers, 26th in Division I, on a team that is third in Division I in team 3-point percentage (38.7%).
The Spiders are scheduled to play the winner of Fordham and Duquesne on March 7 at 11 a.m. ET on Peacock.
No. 2 seed George Mason seeks first A-10 title
After a quarterfinal loss with a controversial finish in the A-10 Tournament last year, the Patriots are still looking for their first semifinals appearance since joining the conference in 2013.
The team heads to Henrico this season with their highest seed in an A-10 tournament and a 24-5 record (14-4, A-10), matching the program record for wins in a single season. All four of Mason’s losses in conference play have come to other top-four teams, while the team recorded one win against a top-four team (Davidson, Jan. 22)
“They’re still hungry,” head coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis told reporters after the team’s March 1 win over Duquesne. “And we know how disappointing last year was. Now, if we would have gone in and not played well, that just would have been on us. But we always tell them, you just never know when something can be your last, so we have to make sure we take care of those moments.
“And I think that’s what they feel. They’re excited about the work they’ve done, what we put together. But there’s still more work to be done.”
The Patriots have three players averaging double-digit points: redshirt sophomore forward Zahirah Walton (15.0 points per game), sophomore guard Kennedy Harris — who missed six games this season with an injury (14.2 points per game), and senior guard and 2024-25 Most Improved Player Paula Suárez (11.5 points per game).
Mason commits 11.4 turnovers per game, the fewest in the A-10. The team forces 19.0 turnovers per game and has the largest turnover margin (7.6) in the conference. The Patriots rank seventh in turnovers per game and 12th in turnover margin in Division I.
Mason is scheduled to play the winner of UMass and Saint Louis/St. Bonaventure on March 7 at 5 p.m. ET on Peacock.
No. 3 seed Davidson looks to continue its historic season
Last March, the Wildcats canceled the rest of their season “due to a significant number of injuries” and did not participate in the conference tournament. This year, Davidson earned its highest seed and first double-bye since joining the A-10 in 2014 and is seeking its first semifinals appearance.
Though the Wildcats are 1-4 against other top-four teams, they head to Henrico having won eight of their last nine games, with an overall record of 18-12 (13-5, A-10).
Davidson is led by a trio of Australians in junior guard Charlise Dunn (12.0 points per game over 25 games), sophomore guard Katie Donovan (10.3 points per game) and senior guard Issy Morgan (9.5 points per game over 24 games). Eight total players average at least five points per game, including 2024-25 All-Rookie team selections freshman guard Kyra Bruyndoncx and freshman forward Candice Lienafa.
The Wildcats have made a program-record 230 3-pointers while shooting 35.2%, third in the A-10. Davidson is 12th in Division I in 3-point percentage defense, allowing opponents to make just 26.5% of their attempts.
The team is scheduled to play the winner of Dayton and VCU/La Salle on March 7 at 7:30 p.m. ET on Peacock in its first A-10 Tournament game since March 2, 2023.
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No. 4 seed Saint Joseph’s seeks first title since 2013
The Hawks enter the A-10 Tournament with a 21-8 record (12-6, A-10) and a 3-2 record against top-four teams, seeking their first semifinals appearance since 2022 when they were a No. 7 seed.
Saint Joseph’s lost four of its last five games in the regular season, with its lone win during that span coming at home against George Mason.
The team is led by junior forward Laura Ziegler, who is averaging a double-double (18.1 points and 10.8 rebounds per game). Senior guard Mackenzie Smith (14.4 points per game) and senior forward Talya Brugler (13.1 points per game) — who missed six games this season with an injury — also average double-digit points.
The team has had its eyes set on a championship since before the start of the season, focusing on the numbers 3-9-25, the date of this season’s final A-10 Tournament game.
“We just want to win that A-10 championship,” Brugler told The Next at media day. “I mean, we fell short the last three years. … We’re trying to [be] present in the moment, but every day, that’s our final goal.”
Saint Joseph’s is second in the A-10 in team field goal percentage (45.1%) and fourth in the A-10 in team 3-point percentage (35.2%), led by Smith, who is 20th in Division I in 3-point percentage (43.4%)
The Hawks are scheduled to play the winner of Rhode Island and George Washington/Loyola Chicago on March 7 at 1:30 p.m. ET on Peacock.
Will another team outside of the top four make the semifinals?
In each of the last four tournaments, at least one No. 5, No. 6 or No. 7 seed has made the semifinals, and twice during that time, one has made the championship game. This season, No. 5 seed Rhode Island, No. 6 seed Dayton and No. 7 seed UMass all have their eyes set on continuing the trend.
No. 5 seed Rhode Island
Last season, the Rams made it to the championship game for the first time under head coach Tammi Reiss and the first time since 2003. This season, the team enters the tournament with a 16-15 record — and on a two-game losing streak — looking to win a tournament game for the third year in a row.
On the March 3 edition of “The Tammi Reiss Coaches Show,” Reiss talked about giving the team Sunday and Monday off so they could regroup for two days and reset in practice on Tuesday. “It’s more mental now,” she said. “It’s getting ’em geared up, getting ’em happy, getting ’em joyous to go down and compete.”
Rhode Island has struggled to score at times this season, averaging 60.8 points per game, the fewest since Reiss took over as head coach prior to the 2019-20 season. Senior center Harsimran Kaur is the only player averaging double-digit points (12.2 points per game), though five other players average between six and 10 points per game.
The Rams are scheduled to play the winner of George Washington and Loyola Chicago on March 6 at 1:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
No. 6 seed Dayton
After winning five games in the A-10 in each of her first two seasons, head coach Tamika Williams-Jeter led the Flyers to an 11-7 record in the A-10 and 17-12 overall this season. The team heads to Henrico on a three-game winning streak and is seeking its first quarterfinals appearance under Williams-Jeter.
Dayton is led by senior guard Ivy Wolf (15.7 points per game) and senior forward Arianna Smith, who is averaging a double-double (12.3 points and 10.1 rebounds per game). Smith also leads the conference in field goal percentage at 61.0% (ninth in Division I).
The Flyers are scheduled to play the winner of VCU and La Salle on March 6 at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
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No. 7 seed UMass
The Minutewomen head to Henrico with a 16-13 record (11-7, A-10) after winning five total games and two conference games last season. The team finished the regular season with a 61-55 win over George Washington on Feb. 26, its second win in the final three games.
UMass is led by junior forward Megan Olbrys (14.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, leading the team in both categories), freshman guard and 2024-25 Rookie of the Year Yahmani McKayle (13.4 points per game) and senior guard Allie Palmieri (12.2 points per game).
The team is scheduled to play the winner of Saint Louis and St. Bonaventure on March 6 at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Written by Natalie Heavren
Natalie Heavren has been a contributor to The Next since February 2019 and currently writes about the Atlantic 10 conference, the WNBA and the WBL.
