Atlantic 10 Power Rankings

I'm structuring my power rankings slightly differently. I am going to put teams into tiers based on how they have played thus far.

Tier 1: Dayton, VCU

Dayton:
After a strong showing in Maui, my Flyers are rolling and are hoping to catch a resume building victory this weekend over SMC.

VCU: Started the season looking like the team we all thought they would be but hit two road bumps against a very talented Purdue squad and 17th ranked Tennessee. The rest of the non-conference should be dominant for VCU barring a winnable game against a solid Wichita State squad.

Tier 2: Rhode Island, Richmond, Duquesne, SLU, George Mason

Rhody:
Won the games they should have, competed in the games they could have.

Duquesne: Smooth play from the Dukes could have them 12-0 heading into league play if it keeps up.

Tier 3: Davidson, La Salle, UMass

Davidson:
The experts called the A10 a “3 bid league” largely because of the expectations of Davidson and Dayton this season. The difference now? Dayton has played to its potential and Davidson has not. The Wildcats are 0-5 when shooting 35.7% or worse from 3 point land, and 3-0 when shooting 37.5% or better from 3. In short, the scouting report is not too difficult.

Tier 4: St. Bonaventure, Fordham, George Washington, St Joe’s

St. Joe’s:
Yikes.

The race to the top of the A10 appears to be dominated by VCU and Dayton thus far but the 3-8 slots are still very wide open. I am not ready to count Davidson out of a top 3 finish just yet, as the sheer talent alone could carry them through league play. I would expect some surprises from the teams in my 2nd & 3rd tiers. In all, the league is strides better than the painful past 2 seasons and I can’t wait for league play to get started.
 
I think Rhode Island and Richmond are duking it out for that 3rd spot right now. Unfortunately Providence has looked really bad this year, so I'm afraid beating the Friars won't be a win the Selection Committee considers to be "quality." URI looking great top-to-bottom though, so keep winning the games you should win (beating Western Kentucky certainly wouldn't hurt either).
 
Im starting to notice these power rankings are becoming a little more set in stone.

You have Dayton and VCU. And then Richmond SLU and Rhode island(and maybe the dukes). With SLU winning the way they did sunday, I think they're starting to prove that they can fight for 3rd as well. Auburn will be tough, but kstate is looking more and more winnable by the day.
 
Im starting to notice these power rankings are becoming a little more set in stone.

You have Dayton and VCU. And then Richmond SLU and Rhode island(and maybe the dukes). With SLU winning the way they did sunday, I think they're starting to prove that they can fight for 3rd as well. Auburn will be tough, but kstate is looking more and more winnable by the day.

A lot of people saying Saint Louis can hang with Auburn, and I think they have a point. The 2 A-10 teams Auburn has played (Davidson and Richmond) are arguably the 2 least physical teams in the conference, and the Tigers just bullied them, especially on the offensive boards. Try 10 offensive rebounds against Davidson and 18 against Richmond. That's not going to happen against Saint Louis -- French and Goodwin grab everything. Auburn is also a pretty poor free throw shooting team, and the Billikens have actually been better from long range. Obviously this game comes down to SLU's defense and stopping some of these bigger guys in the post and in the lane. I think French and Goodwin and others are up to the challenge. Obviously an uphill battle, but I think SLU is one of the best matchups in the A-10 for a team like Auburn.
 
Curious why you have Mason over Richmond, even as a Spiders fan? Arguably, wins over Vanderbilt and Wisconsin outweigh anything Mason has done this season, granted, the Patriots are moving up the A-10 Power Rankings for sure.
Probably just a rational fear of Mason based on results last 5 years. My New power rankings:

1. Dayton
2. Richmond
3. Rhode Island
4. VCU
5. DUQ
6. SLU
7. Mason
.
.
.
13. Fordham
14. Umass
 
Here is what I have now:
1. Dayton
2. VCU
3. Richmond
4. Rhode Island
5. Saint Louis
6. George Mason
7. Duquesne
8. Davidson
9. La Salle
10. Umass
11. Fordham
12. St. Bonaventure
13. George Washington
14. St. Joe's
VCU still ahead of Richmond?
 
VCU still ahead of Richmond?

I don't think that's too unrealistic. VCU still holds a win over the highest rated team in Kenpom (#28 LSU) compared to any other A-10 team, and the Rams lost to Tennessee and Purdue by a combined 6 points (one of which was a ridiculous buzzer beater). As good as Richmond has been, their SOS hasn't been too strong, and VCU has done nothing in the W/L column to make me think they're worse than 2nd in the league right now. I think most are starting to agree UR is in the 3 spot (thought arguing URI is still a fair point), but until the Spiders get a few more wins over top 100 Kenpom opponents, I think VCU holds the 2 spot pretty comfortably.
 
1. Dayton
2. VCU
3. Richmond
4. Rhode Island
5. Saint Louis
6. Duquesne
7. George Mason
8. St. Bonaventure
9. Davidson
10. La Salle
11. George Washington
12. Massachusetts
13. Saint Joseph's
14. Fordham
 
My A10 Power Rankings:
1. Duquesne
2. Duquesne
3. Duquesne
4. Duquesne
5. Duquesne
6. Duquesne
7. Duquesne
8. Duquesne
9. Duquesne
10. Duquesne
11. Duquesne
12. Duquesne
13. Duquesne
14. Duquesne

1,000 layers of fecal matter

1,015: St. Joe's Hawk
1,016: St. Joe's MBB
 
Here's my update after Saturday:

1. Dayton
2. VCU
3. Richmond
4. Rhode Island
5. Duquesne
6. Saint Louis
7. Davidson
8. George Mason
9. St. Bonaventure
10. La Salle
11. Massachusetts
12. George Washington
13. Fordham
14. Saint Joseph's
 
Here's my update after Saturday:

1. Dayton
2. VCU
3. Richmond
4. Rhode Island
5. Duquesne
6. Saint Louis
7. Davidson
8. George Mason
9. St. Bonaventure
10. La Salle
11. Massachusetts
12. George Washington
13. Fordham
14. Saint Joseph's
I would flip Duquesne and Rhode Island but other than that I'd have the exact same thing.
 
Here’s my updates. Kind of hard to rank them with teams like Duquesne & Richmond falling and teams like Davidson & Saint Louis rising.

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

Maybe it’s more fair to go with tiers since the middle of the pack is now a crap shoot:

Tier 1: Dayton
Tier 2: VCU, Saint Louis, Rhode Island
Tier 3: Duquesne, Richmond, George Mason, Davidson, St. Bonaventure
Tier 4: La Salle, Massachusetts
Tier 5: Saint Joseph’s, George Washington, Fordham
 
Here’s my updates. Kind of hard to rank them with teams like Duquesne & Richmond falling and teams like Davidson & Saint Louis rising.

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

Maybe it’s more fair to go with tiers since the middle of the pack is now a crap shoot:

Tier 1: Dayton
Tier 2: VCU, Saint Louis, Rhode Island
Tier 3: Duquesne, Richmond, George Mason, Davidson, St. Bonaventure
Tier 4: La Salle, Massachusetts
Tier 5: Saint Joseph’s, George Washington, Fordham
 
1. Dayton
2. VCU
3. Rhode Island
4. Saint Louis
5. George Mason
6. Richmond
7. Duquesne
8. Davidson
9. St. Bonaventure
10. La Salle
11. Massachusetts
12. George Washington
13. Saint Joseph’s
14. Fordham

Only difference I has is SLU/RH

I agree with the tiers as well. I think the gap between VCU, Rhody, and SLU is very close. And the 3rd tier is whats going to cause chaos in the league.

Tier 1: Dayton
Tier 2: VCU, Saint Louis, Rhode Island
Tier 3: Duquesne, Richmond, George Mason, Davidson, St. Bonaventure
Tier 4: La Salle, Massachusetts
Tier 5: Saint Joseph’s, George Washington, Fordham
 
1. Dayton
2. VCU
3. Rhode Island
4. Saint Louis
5. George Mason
6. Richmond
7. Duquesne
8. Davidson
9. St. Bonaventure
10. La Salle
11. Massachusetts
12. George Washington
13. Saint Joseph’s
14. Fordham

Only difference I has is SLU/RH

I agree with the tiers as well. I think the gap between VCU, Rhody, and SLU is very close. And the 3rd tier is whats going to cause chaos in the league.

Tier 1: Dayton
Tier 2: VCU, Saint Louis, Rhode Island
Tier 3: Duquesne, Richmond, George Mason, Davidson, St. Bonaventure
Tier 4: La Salle, Massachusetts
Tier 5: Saint Joseph’s, George Washington, Fordham

Makes a lot of sense. It felt like Duquesne and Richmond were both hanging on by a string. Some disappointing starts were remedied by strong second halves throughout non-conference play, but it eventually caught up to both teams on the same day. Not sure I see an at-large team outside of VCU and Dayton. Beat chance might be Saint Louis or Rhode Island if their P5 wins improve.
 
Makes a lot of sense. It felt like Duquesne and Richmond were both hanging on by a string. Some disappointing starts were remedied by strong second halves throughout non-conference play, but it eventually caught up to both teams on the same day. Not sure I see an at-large team outside of VCU and Dayton. Beat chance might be Saint Louis or Rhode Island if their P5 wins improve.

kstate wont, SH may have too many injuries, auburn should continue. The SH loss will really start to hurt. Sucks we had to play them at their best. I think theres still a decent chance SLU or Rhody gets the 3rd bid, but it wont be easy.

Also, VCU isnt as clear as it seemed, the LSU win and Tennessee loss (with turner injured)wont carry as we thought.
 
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kstate wont, SH may have too many injuries, auburn should continue. The SH loss will really start to hurt. Sucks we had to play them at their best. I think theres still a decent chance SLU or Rhody gets the 3rd bid, but it wont be easy.

Also, VCU isnt as clear as it seemed, the LSU and Tennesee win(with turner injured)wont carry as we thought.

Yeah, agreed. The silver lining with VCU is that the Rams are kind of getting the preseason benefit of the doubt as a team that could still be in the NCAA Tournament. Teams like Saint Louis and Rhode Island aren't getting that same benefit of the doubt. VCU did flop on a lot of its non-conference opportunities, especially down in Florida. Didn't expect to beat Wichita St. on the road, but that one could've helped too. I think Seton Hall could get better (what's the timeline on Powell's injury?) considering they just beat Maryland, but that could slip down to a Q2 loss (maybe already is).
 
Yeah, agreed. The silver lining with VCU is that the Rams are kind of getting the preseason benefit of the doubt as a team that could still be in the NCAA Tournament. Teams like Saint Louis and Rhode Island aren't getting that same benefit of the doubt. VCU did flop on a lot of its non-conference opportunities, especially down in Florida. Didn't expect to beat Wichita St. on the road, but that one could've helped too. I think Seton Hall could get better (what's the timeline on Powell's injury?) considering they just beat Maryland, but that could slip down to a Q2 loss (maybe already is).
Powell isn't expected to be back for a while, and their #2 player broke his wrist.
 
Ya, VCU right now is a 12 seed according to Lunardi (I know he isn't the end all be all) but still.....Their projected final NET is 45. That's a number that could swing you either way on in or out. There is really no margin for error from VCU from here on out and they probably have to take at least 1 of the 2 from Dayton.
 
I agree with the tiers as well. I think the gap between VCU, Rhody, and SLU is very close. And the 3rd tier is whats going to cause chaos in the league.

Tier 1: Dayton
Tier 2: VCU, Saint Louis, Rhode Island
Tier 3: Duquesne, Richmond, George Mason, Davidson, St. Bonaventure
Tier 4: La Salle, Massachusetts
Tier 5: Saint Joseph’s, George Washington, Fordham
This makes a lot of sense. BUT, watch out, LaSalle will ruin the season for one or more of the top Tier schools with an upset win at Gola. Coach Howard has quietly and quickly turned the sinking ship around. Life preservers have been put back into storage.
 
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