NCAA Basketball Betting: Dayton Looking to Fly High in the Atlantic 10

The 2023-24 men's college basketball season is drawing near, and FanDuel Sportsbook has college basketball conference betting odds live.

Here is how they look for the Atlantic 10's regular-season winner:

Dayton Flyers (+270)

The Dayton Flyers are in a great position to win their first Atlantic 10 (A-10) regular season title since the 2019-20 season (when they touted a 29-2 record and were led by Obi Toppin).

Now, DaRon Holmes II is the star of the show as he earned A-10 First Team All-Conference honors last season while averaging 18.4 points per game (PPG), 8.1 rebounds per game (RPG), and 1.9 blocks per game (BPG).

The Flyers are replacing forward Toumani Camara, who averaged 13.9 PPG and 8.6 RPG in the 2022-23 season. They return a lot of experience in the backcourt, though, with Malachi Smith, Kobe Elvis, and Koby Brea.

Overall, Dayton is returning 55.5% of their minutes, per Bart Torvik's 2023-24 season projections. The Flyers will likely continue to rely on exceptional defense with Holmes as an anchor. They ranked eighth with 61.0 PPG allowed last season. Dayton may need to improve its offense, especially from deep as they ranked 180th in three-point percentage.

VCU Rams (+370)

Dayton's best competition will likely be the defending A-10 champs -- the VCU Rams. A repeat for VCU could be difficult as they are returning only 11.8% of their minutes.

The Rams' coach last year, Mike Rhoades, took the head gig at Penn State. Ryan Odom steps in as VCU's next head honcho; he led UMBC during their incredible 2018 win over No. 1 Virginia and coached Utah State the last two seasons.

Since Shaka Smart put the Rams on the map, we are used to seeing a scrappy, defensive team that creates havoc. The hire of Odom signals a change in direction for VCU. He is an offensive-minded coach as Utah State ranked 19th in Bart Torvik's adjusted offensive efficiency last season.

Odom will be armed with a slew of new players, including Roosevelt Wheeler from Louisville and Max Shulga and Sean Baristow from Utah State. Jason Nelson (Richmond) is yet another transfer who could start this season.

With VCU's team identity likely changing in the 2023-24 season, there will be a lot of unknowns surrounding the squad, but the talent level seems to be there. Will the Rams find a way to repeat in the A-10?

St. Bonaventure Bonnies (+600)

The Bonnies are another familiar face in the A-10. Of course, they won the regular season title in 2020-21. After suffering multiple hits courtesy of the transfer portal, the Bonnies stumbled to a 14-18 finish last season -- their worst record since the 2012-13 season.

With 86.0% of their minutes returning, St. Bonaventure should be in the thick of things in the A-10. Daryl Banks III (15.4 PPG) and Yann Farell (8.9 PPG and 6.0 RPG) are key returning starters in the backcourt. Banks earned A-10 Third Team All-Conference honors, and Farell was featured on the A-10's All-Freshmen squad.

With Chad Venning (12.7 PPG and 1.4 BPG), Kyrell Luc (11.3 PPG and 4.3 assists per game), and Moses Flowers (9.3 PPG) also back, the Bonnies have their entire starting five returning, which should be a major advantage in the conference title race.

As usual, St. Bonaventure will lean on its sound defense, which finished fifth in opponent three-point percentage in the 2022-23 season. The offense may need to improve, for it ranked 260th in adjusted offensive efficiency last season.

Others

The Duquesne Dukes have the fourth-shortest odds to win the conference (+750). Bart Torvik's preseason rankings have the Dukes as the best team in the A-10 (57th) while boasting the 27th-best projected offensive efficiency.

Bart Torvik has Loyola Chicago as the second-best A-10 team (60th) after they finished 10-21 last season.

The A-10 could yield surprising results with Bart Torvik suggesting Duquesne and Loyola Chicago could be better teams than the betting favorites, such as Dayton and VCU. Plus, there are certainly unknowns, mainly when it comes to VCU's shift in philosophy.

Buckle up -- the A-10 title race could be a wild ride.

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