Atlantic 10 Power Rankings

[glabedz]

We're about 2 weeks in, and the A-10 had dished out quite a few surprises. I wanted to open this thread and see where people would rank the A-10 teams based on what they've seen so far? It's tough to rank teams like Massachusetts and George Mason that have yet to see a really difficult opponent, so a lot could change. I'll take a shot at it, but I want to hear where people agree / disagree heading into week 3.

1. VCU Rams
2. Dayton Flyers
3. Rhode Island Rams
4. Davidson Wildcats
5. Saint Louis Billikens
6. Duquesne Dukes
7. St. Bonaventure Bonnies
8. Richmond Spiders
9. Massachusetts Minutemen
10. George Mason Patriots
11. Saint Joseph's Hawks
12. La Salle Explorers
13. Fordham Rams
14. George Washington Colonials

5 through 11 is kind of a crap shoot. I think Saint Joseph's has the ability to finish in the top half, but their defense has been a major concern; hence me having them at 11th. George Mason is another team that hasn't slipped up in the W/L column but hasn't passed the eye test for me yet.

 

[GoUMass93]

1. VCU
2. Dayton
3. Davidson
4. Rhode Island
5. Duquesne
6. Richmond
7. Saint Louis
8. Saint Bonaventure
9. George Mason
10. UMass
11. Saint Joe's
12. Fordham
13. La Salle
14. George Washington

The biggest factor for UMass getting out of the bottom four for me was whether or not they'd have a good point guard, and Sean East has been an absolute stud so far. I don't want to get too excited since, as you said, they haven't played anyone, but I feel good for now about having them at least outside the bottom four. If they can beat Rider and then any two of their next six (Saint John's/ASU, Virginia, South Carolina, Rutgers, Harvard, Yale) then they'd be 9-4 heading into A10 play having gained some extremely valuable experience. I think that's a highly possible outcome and I'd move them up to somewhere between 7th and 9th if they did, but I don't want to jump too early on doing that.

As far as other teams go, the group that I had the most trouble ordering was Duquesne, Richmond, and SLU. They seem extremely close to me so far, but I think gun to my head I'd take Duquesne because of Dambrot.

 

[JRevo]

1. VCU
2. Dayton
3. Rhode Island
4. Davidson
5. Duquesne
6. Saint Louis
7. St. Bonaventure
8. Richmond
9. Umass
10. St. Joseph's
11. George Mason
12. UMass
13. George Washington
14. La Salle


Not too much movement from my original rankings. The Bonnies moved down two spots (mostly due to losing Osun) and Umass is up a few. Duquesne will have to wait for the conference season and win a few important games before they move any higher.

 

[glabedz]

1. VCU
2. Dayton
3. Davidson
4. Rhode Island
5. Duquesne
6. Richmond
7. Saint Louis
8. Saint Bonaventure
9. George Mason
10. UMass
11. Saint Joe's
12. Fordham
13. La Salle
14. George Washington

The biggest factor for UMass getting out of the bottom four for me was whether or not they'd have a good point guard, and Sean East has been an absolute stud so far. I don't want to get too excited since, as you said, they haven't played anyone, but I feel good for now about having them at least outside the bottom four. If they can beat Rider and then any two of their next six (Saint John's/ASU, Virginia, South Carolina, Rutgers, Harvard, Yale) then they'd be 9-4 heading into A10 play having gained some extremely valuable experience. I think that's a highly possible outcome and I'd move them up to somewhere between 7th and 9th if they did, but I don't want to jump too early on doing that.

As far as other teams go, the group that I had the most trouble ordering was Duquesne, Richmond, and SLU. They seem extremely close to me so far, but I think gun to my head I'd take Duquesne because of Dambrot.

Fair points on UMass. Sean East has been one of the best surprises in the league when it comes to freshmen. He's top 50 nationally in Kenpom offensive rating, so he's extremely efficient with the basketball. If not this year, Massachusetts is going to be very successful moving forward as these freshmen gain experience. Non-con slate is about to get interesting... South Carolina at home and Harvard on the road are 2 winnable games. Virginia obviously a crap shoot. Agreed that 9-4 heading into league play would be pretty ideal.

 

[glabedz]

1. VCU
2. Dayton
3. Rhode Island
4. Davidson
5. Duquesne
6. Saint Louis
7. St. Bonaventure
8. Richmond
9. Umass
10. St. Joseph's
11. George Mason
12. UMass
13. George Washington
14. La Salle


Not too much movement from my original rankings. The Bonnies moved down two spots (mostly due to losing Osun) and Umass is up a few. Duquesne will have to wait for the conference season and win a few important games before they move any higher.

Ah you got UMass on their twice, lol. Assuming you meant Fordham in the 12 spot, these rankings seem pretty spot on. George Washington has been egregiously bad already, so I think they're the worst team in the league; La Salle played alright down the stretch vs. Temple. Bonnies should have an asterisk next to their name without Osun Osunniyi, but that Rutgers win was one of the best of the young season for the Atlantic 10.

 

[adaisey]

1. VCU Rams
2. Dayton Flyers
3. Rhode Island Rams
4. Saint Louis Billikens
5. Richmond Spiders
6. Davidson Wildcats
7. Duquesne Dukes
8. St. Bonaventure Bonnies
9. Massachusetts Minutemen
10. Saint Joseph's Hawks
11. George Mason Patriots
12. La Salle Explorers
13. Fordham Rams
14. George Washington Colonials