Atlantic 10 preview

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By Tim Lemke

Through Saturday, Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, N.J.

PLAYER TO WATCH

Ahmad Nivins, F, Saint Joseph's

The Hawks forward won A-10 player of the year honors after averaging nearly 20 points and 12 rebounds. Throughout the season, Saint Joseph's opponents learned that a ball fed to Nivins almost always led to two points. He also played the second-most minutes in Division I.

BEST BET

Xavier

Despite enduring a few questionable losses in the last month, the Musketeers won the regular-season title and are truly the best team in the conference, as evidenced by their wins over Memphis, Missouri and Virginia Tech. This is a team without a real star but with a balanced, deep offensive attack led by forward Derrick Brown. Their path to the automatic bid is rife with potential land mines, but no one else in the A-10 has a better resume.

DARK HORSE

La Salle

There are probably eight teams in the A-10 capable of making a title run, but the Explorers (18-12, 9-7 in A-10) are playing some of their best basketball of the year, getting scoring contributions from as many as nine players on a given night. Point guard Rodney Green is a first-team all-conference player, averaging more than 17 points. This is a team that beat Temple and Saint Joseph's and lost close games to Rhode Island, Dayton and Connecticut. La Salle ended the season with a tough road win at Saint Louis. A repeat win over the Billikens would mean a second-round showdown against Xavier.