A10 Tournament opening day vs. Day 2 slate: what the comparison reveals
The a10 tournament began Wednesday at PPG Paints Arena with two first-round games and a crowd of more than 4, 600, even as a tornado warning briefly jolted a packed postgame media room. Thursday’s Day 2 schedule expands into four second-round matchups, anchored by host Duquesne at 5 p. m. ET. The comparison answers a simple question: how quickly does the event’s rhythm shift once the bracket fills out?
St. Bonaventure and Loyola Chicago set the opening-day tone at PPG Paints Arena
Wednesday’s first day delivered a tight, two-game structure: one opener, one follow-up, and a clear sense of who advanced. No. 12 seed St. Bonaventure extended coach Mark Schmidt’s career for at least another day with a 99-80 win over No. 13 La Salle. No. 14 Loyola Chicago then upset No. 11 Richmond 75-67, sending both winners into Thursday’s second round of the 14-team event.
Yet the most vivid snapshot of the day came off the court. Cellphones blared during a postgame interview session, disrupting Schmidt mid-sentence as he referenced Jack Nicklaus to make a point after the win. The buzz was traced to a National Weather Service tornado warning for the area, briefly pulling attention away from basketball before the room settled back into game talk. Schmidt, retiring at season’s end after 25 years as a head coach, joked, “Is that Jack?” as he broke some of the tension.
A10 Tournament Day 2 puts Duquesne, Rhode Island, and four games on the board
Thursday changes the cadence immediately: instead of two first-round games, the second round features four games spread across the day. The slate begins at 11: 30 a. m. ET with No. 8 Fordham against No. 9 George Washington. St. Bonaventure, coming off its 99-80 win, meets No. 5 George Mason at 2 p. m. ET. Host Duquesne, the No. 7 seed, faces No. 10 Rhode Island at 5 p. m. ET. The nightcap follows at 7: 30 p. m. ET when Loyola Chicago, fresh off a 75-67 upset, takes on No. 5 Davidson.
Wednesday’s crowd of more than 4, 600 got the tournament rolling, but attendance was expected to pick up with Thursday’s expanded slate. The tournament is back in Pittsburgh for the first time in seven years and runs through Sunday’s championship game. As the rounds progress, the stakes become higher, and Thursday’s fuller schedule is positioned as an early test of how the event scales from opener energy into all-day bracket pressure.
Duquesne’s 5 p. m. ET spotlight vs. Wednesday’s openers: where the tournament shifts
Set side by side, Wednesday and Thursday show two different versions of the same event: an opening day built around entry points, and a second day designed to stack decisions. Wednesday’s structure was simple—two first-round games determined who would keep playing. Thursday’s structure is denser and more varied, with four games that pull in a wider set of seeds and teams, including a host program stepping into the tournament.
| Comparison point | Wednesday (First round) | Thursday (Second round) |
|---|---|---|
| Number of games | 2 | 4 |
| Notable results | St. Bonaventure 99-80 La Salle; Loyola Chicago 75-67 Richmond | St. Bonaventure vs George Mason; Loyola Chicago vs Davidson; Duquesne vs Rhode Island; Fordham vs George Washington |
| Schedule footprint | Opening-day window | 11: 30 a. m. ET through 7: 30 p. m. ET |
| Attendance signal | More than 4, 600 fans | Attendance expected to pick up |
| Setting and stakes | Tournament begins in Pittsburgh for first time in seven years | Expanded slate as stakes rise toward Sunday’s championship |
Analysis: The most consequential difference is not just volume; it is visibility. Wednesday introduced the bracket with lower seeds fighting for survival, while Thursday adds the host element with Duquesne’s 5 p. m. ET game and increases the number of fan entry points across the day. That combination makes Day 2 feel less like an opening ceremony and more like a full tournament day, with multiple windows for momentum to swing.
Fans in town underscored that shift. P. J. Boggs and Brian Shevitz, two friends from Mercer, said they would likely be around for Friday’s quarterfinals, specifically noting plans to return when Saint Louis and VCU begin play. Ron Jordan, a VCU fan from Richmond, arrived with his wife Dianne and daughter Merrill intending to attend all five sessions, framing the week as a five-day commitment rather than a single-night event.
The comparison establishes a clear finding: the a10 tournament is built to escalate quickly, moving from two first-round results into an all-day second round that spotlights the host team and broadens the schedule for fans and teams alike. The next confirmed test arrives Friday, when high-seeded teams who enjoyed a double bye begin play in the quarterfinals. If Thursday’s expanded slate brings the attendance lift that was expected, the comparison suggests Friday’s entry of double-bye teams will amplify the tournament’s atmosphere even further.
