A-10 Tournament: Saint Louis Punches Ticket to Big Dance

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Saint Louis punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, beating St. Bonaventure 55-53 in the championship game of the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

At the start of the event, the Billikens weren’t a likely pick to win; they were the No. 6 seed that needed to win four games in four days to raise the trophy. With solid defense and a group of talented transfers from Power-5 conferences, they did just that, beating Richmond on Thursday, Dayton on Friday, Davidson on Saturday, and the Bonnies on Sunday.

Dayton and Davidson were both ranked in KenPom’s Top 100, giving them six wins this season against KenPom Top 100 teams.

Had the Billikens not won the conference tournament, they had no chance for an at-large bid. That said, them winning is good for the conference because now the A-10 should receive multiple bids.

Right now, VCU has a 99-percent chance to earn an at-large bid, per Team Rankings, while Davidson has a 50-percent shot.

Sophomore Jordan Goodwin led Saint Louis with 16 points and 14 rebounds, while Michigan State transfer Javon Bess added 11 points. Other notable contributors were Tramaine Isabell, a Mizzou transfer, who notched nine points and five assists, Maryland transfer Dion Wiley (six points) and Rutgers transfer DJ Foreman (four points).

Only seven players hit the court for Saint Louis in the title game; they have a tight group that really feeds off one another on both ends of the floor.

Senior Courtney Stockard led the Bonnies with 20 points.