Atlantic 10 Power Rankings: Butler is top ‘dawg’
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
A few weeks ago in this space, the point was made that the A-10 probably would see a team rise into the national rankings at some point because of the overall strength of the conference.
Butler is that team. The Bulldogs debuted Monday at No. 19 in the AP Top 25. And now, Brad Stevens and company easily slide from second to first in the conference rankings. Butler is 2-0 against other AP Top 25 teams, while Virginia Commonwealth is 1-2 and Temple is 0-1. The Bulldogs beat previously top-ranked Indiana because they deserved to do so.
It’s Friday, so here’s the weekly edition of IndySportsLegends.com’s A-10 Power Rankings.
1. Butler (8-2)
We’ve expounded enough already on what Butler’s huge win meant, so we’ll keep this brief. To date, Butler’s offense has been the best in the conference, scoring 1.13 points per possession, 17th in Division I. What a difference a year makes. Last season, Butler was 237th.
2. Virginia Commonwealth (8-3)
VCU’s defense is sick. The Rams rank 31st in Division I in allowing a stingy 0.88 points per possession. Not even former coach Anthony Grant is immune, as he brought his Alabama Crimson Tide into Richmond and got swamped. Shaka Smart’s group feels similar to Butler in that at any given time or place they can beat any team in the country. VCU is 10th in the KenPom ratings, so a case can be made for the Rams to be first in these rankings.
3. Temple (8-2)
After the Owls’ uninspiring performance in a win over hapless Alcorn State, beat writer Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer went so far as to entertain the notion of whether Temple was the worst 8-1 team in the nation. And that was before a 72-62 home loss to Canisius. Uh-oh. No. 3 Syracuse is licking its chops for a nationally televised game Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden. If Temple’s poor week revealed anything, it’s that 3-point shooting is a major deficiency.
4. Saint Joseph’s (5-3)
The Hawks had the whole week off to recover from the bad loss to Villanova, so without any new results to examine, the big picture beckons. Nationally, St. Joe’s ranks 95th in points per possession, 147th in points allowed per possession, 120th in turnover percentage, 106th in assists per game, 200th in scoring and 143rd in defensive rebounding. They only hit 64 percent from the line. As strange as it is to ask this question of a preseason conference favorite, is there anything the Hawks do really well?
5. Saint Louis (7-3)
In the midst of a nine-game homestand, the Billikens have done exactly what was expected since the last rankings. By easily dismissing Eastern Illinois and Tennessee-Martin, one can only say, Move along, nothing to see here.
6. Xavier (7-3)
The loss to Cincinnati in the Crosstown Classic doesn’t move the needle much on how Xavier should be viewed. Xavier led at halftime against one of the best teams in the nation, if the polling is true. The Musketeers are a threat, as always.
7. La Salle (7-2)
It’s not hard to forgive a road loss (La Salle’s first in four away games) at Bucknell, who may well show up on your March Madness bracket. Virginia Tech transfer Tyrone Garland made his debut with nine points in that game and then led the Explorers with a career-high 26 in an 88-74 win over Iona. La Salle, discernible by now as a favorite around these parts, is actually the fifth-best team in the A-10, according to the KenPom ratings.
8. Charlotte (11-1)
A home win over Radford is only a slight feather in the cap, and when the 49ers struggle at 1-8 Kennesaw State, you take notice. Yet the attention naturally flows toward last Friday’s litmus test at Miami. Charlotte never led and lost by 31. The game went about as poorly as possible. The 49ers turned the ball over, couldn’t buy a shot, couldn’t rebound, couldn’t make a free throw and couldn’t get stops. Their record is the best in the A-10, but whether the 49ers are for real is an open and fair question.
9. Massachusetts (6-3)
The arrow is trending up as the Minutemen ride a three-game winning streak. Jesse Morgan busted loose for 35 points to beat Ohio 85-76. UMass needed that one badly in order to salvage a quality victory from a somewhat pedestrian nonconference slate. This still feels like an NIT outfit at best, but let’s see what happens in conference play before we say for sure.
10. Dayton (8-3)
To be fair, Wednesday night’s one-point loss to Illinois State likely never happens without Kevin Dillard getting hurt in the final five minutes. The game was in Dayton, though it’s not as if falling to the Redbirds is a red flag. Illinois State is a decent team. Devin Oliver, who had a double-double in each game of Dayton’s four-game winning streak, only contributed four points against Illinois State.
11. St. Bonaventure (7-3)
The Bonnies pulverized Cleveland State and followed that up by blowing The Citadel off the floor. One victory is better than the other, of course, but the margins were so wide – 34 points and 40, respectively – that St. Bonaventure now has the second best scoring margin in the A-10 (+ 10) behind VCU. The toughest nonconference test looms Saturday at No. 25 North Carolina State.
12. Richmond (9-3)
We’ve been critical of the Spiders’ schedule, but few opponents are tougher than Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse, and Richmond was eaten alive there. Defenders were frequently out of position, inattentive and a step slow. The Spiders are a very good 3-point shooting team with unanswered questions about their ability to rebound and defend.
13. Duquesne (7-5)
A ˜meh’ week for a ˜meh’ team. Getting blown out on the road by Robert Morris and beating Western Michigan at home don’t cause any drastic re-evaluation. Six of the Dukes’ seven victories have come at home.
14. George Washington (4-6)
The Colonials haven’t played since last Friday, so we take a moment to recognize Isaiah Armwood, who leads the conference in rebounding (8.9 per game) and blocks (3.4). Despite a losing record, George Washington has a positive scoring margin.
15. Rhode Island (3-7)
Because the Rams are last in the A-10 in 2-point shooting (42.4 percent), coach Dan Hurley might be wise to try for more nights like Saturday’s 72-50 rout of SMU. Rhode Island shot 10 for 23 on 3-pointers in the win over a team that entered the game with an 8-1 record.
16. Fordham (2-8)
Chris Gaston returned after a knee injury kept him out six games, during which the Rams went 1-5. Gaston jumped right back into form with 16 points in a win over Princeton. Ryan Canty had 12 points and 15 rebounds and made the winning shot with 8 seconds left. Fordham so far has played just once in its home arena.
Also: Butler knocks off Evansville
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