Thursday night, we published our too-early rankings, but why should the fun stop there? The offseason is also a great time to divide the A10 into tiers. So without further ado, here are the too-early tiers. (Please note we did this in order of size and nothing else. All A10 schools are great and we love you all, except for the team you personally root for, which we hate with the fiery passion of 10,000 burning suns)
Tier I: The Catholic Schools
Dayton
Duquesne
Fordham
La Salle
St. Bonaventure
St. Joe’s
Saint Louis
The Catholic schools are the largest tier in the A10, boasting 7 different schools. There is a natural tension between these schools and the conference, due to their rejection of the authority of Commissioner Bernadette McGlade, and their assertion that the only true authority of the Atlantic 10 Conference is Pope Francis. However, the A10’s fear of Jesuit priest-assassins ensures that these schools will never be ousted from the conference.
Pope Francis has described basketball as “a sport that lifts you up to the heavens” during an audience with members of the Italian Basketball Federation. https://t.co/MRGi5O5AYj
— Catholic News Agency (@cnalive) May 31, 2021
Tier II: The Public Schools
George Mason
Rhody
UMass
VCU
While only 4 strong, each school boasts a mighty alumni base that would make this tier a tough customer in an Anchorman-style parking lot fight among the tiers. 75% of these schools have been to a Final Four, and the other is the flagship school of a state that, while named after an island, mostly isn’t an island.
Tier III: The non-Catholic Private Schools
Davidson
George Washington
Richmond
With only 3 schools, the non-Catholic private schools make up our last tier. ‘Sup guys
what do you think they’re talking about pic.twitter.com/RQHtXFAHbE
— josh denson (@notjoshdenson) May 15, 2021
