A-10 Power Rankings: Charlotte impresses; Temple, La Salle falter
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
Enthusiasm about the Atlantic 10 is merited. The fun is only getting started. With expanded team blurbs this week, let’s not tarry on the opening comment.
Here is IndySportsLegends.com’s Friday serving of A-10 Power Rankings.
1. Butler (13-2)
Butler has aced a season many analysts felt would be a bit of a wild card. Instead of inking a sponsorship with Wrigley to endure life on the bubble, the Bulldogs are very likely to return to the NCAA tournament, and it’s apparent in early January. The only losses are to Illinois and Xavier. Even those look good. It’s tough to find many weaknesses without sounding like an extreme pessimist, but Butler could stand to get to the line more often. Otherwise, the Bulldogs are incredible.
2. Virginia Commonwealth (13-3)
Remember three years ago when Butler put together a superhuman 25-game winning streak? VCU’s current 10-game run should be viewed as a tropical storm with the potential to grow into a hurricane. A glance at the schedule reveals a plausible scenario in which the Rams do not lose a game before their Feb. 19 showdown at Saint Louis. That’d be a 20-game streak. Suffocating defense is a staple. The Rams are a fairly potent offensive team, too.
3. Saint Louis (12-3)
A nine-game winning streak and the return of top player Kwamain Mitchell have the Billikens back in the conference title discussion. Saint Louis is well above average defensively and wore down UMass at the end of a solid victory in Thursday’s conference opener. Mitchell averaged 15.9 points as a sophomore, but his senior season is more about orchestrating an offense by committee. Six different players have led the team in scoring.
4. Temple (10-4)
Oh, did the Owls put on a show Sunday, nearly winning in Allen Fieldhouse, of all places. Kansas coach Bill Self afterward referred to Temple as an NCAA tournament team. But then the Owls went out and extinguished all the momentum of a moral victory with a very real defeat at not-so-great Xavier. An improvement on offense is needed. That has to come from the shooters. The team 3-point percentage (.298) underscores how ineffective the guards have been in creating space for Khalif Wyatt’s drives, since Wyatt is shooting 37 percent from the field, far below his norm.
5. Charlotte (13-2)
The 49ers opened league play with a bang, defeating La Salle 74-65 and perking up expectations in this space. Charlotte arguably is better than four of its next five opponents. The win over the Explorers is the most encouraging sign yet that Charlotte’s improvements on defense counter a lack of shooting. Chris Braswell has a more balanced supporting cast. Willie Clayton added size and touch around the basket. Nobody really knows where Charlotte will land in this conference, but if they win 10, it won’t be shocking.
6. Dayton (10-5)
After dispatching Alabama-Birmingham, Dayton fell on the road to VCU. Neither result moves the needle. A win over Butler Saturday certainly would. Kevin Dillard, Josh Benson and Devin Oliver make for a nice nucleus. The Flyers are a fairly strong defensive team. They posed problems for VCU on the glass. Dayton is more likely to finish near the top than sink into mediocrity, but each is possible.
7. La Salle (10-4)
No snippets of admiration populate the comment this week, as La Salle’s dud in Charlotte left us dazed and confused. The Explorers fouled like mad. Ramon Galloway shot 7 for 29. Maybe La Salle will just look inept on some nights when the jumpers aren’t falling. Or perhaps a systemic flaw is that the offense is too perimeter-based. Either way, if the Explorers don’t bounce back fast, their 2012-13 season isn’t likely to produce any more March glory than the 19 before it.
8. Massachusetts (10-4)
UMass snatched up its final seven nonconference opportunities, padding the record for at least a return bid to the NIT. Following last night’s loss at Saint Louis, the conference schedule is relatively soft for the next month. The Minutemen have capabilities on offense, but they aren’t efficient. The overall ceiling feels more good than great. Cody Lalanne played the game of his life with 18 points and 13 rebounds against the Billikens. Maybe he breaks out. UMass doesn’t seem to have obvious strengths or obvious weaknesses, but they can play a distinct style with tiny dynamo Chaz Williams running the show.
9. Saint Joseph’s (8-5)
The Hawks showed a lot of life and skill in a back-and-forth loss to Butler. Despite a rougher-than-expected start, St. Joe’s play-by-play announcer Matt Martucci told ISL that the Hawks still have the ability to win 10 or 11 league games and climb over the 20-win plateau. For that to happen, Phil Martelli needs to feed center C.J. Aiken, whose usage rate is just fifth among Hawks regulars. Aiken has the best offensive rating and easily the best true shooting percentage, so his talents are clearly being underutilized.
10. Xavier (8-6)
Xavier is a confounding team, with wins over Butler and now Temple, but losses to Pacific, Wofford and Vanderbilt. The youth of a totally new look fosters inconsistency, yet Xavier put everyone on notice last night by knocking off the Owls with suffocating defense and strong rebounding. As reputations go, few are more pristine than the Xavier brand, and this program has another star in Semaj Christon. Beware: the Musketeers don’t play fast at all, and the slow pace could test some opponents.
11. Richmond (11-5)
No one’s doing backflips over a win against Rhode Island, but by golly was it important. Four of the next six games are on the road against upper-half contenders, and the only home dates are Charlotte and VCU. Gulp. Derrick Williams, who averages 13.6 points and 6.8 rebounds and might be Richmond’s most irreplaceable player, will miss all of those games because of an ankle injury, depriving the Spiders of their best big man.
12. George Washington (7-7)
In spite of a serious deficiency in 3-point shooting and constant turnovers, the Colonials have ways of posing problems. A somewhat challenging nonconference schedule depressed their record, and with three freshmen in the starting lineup, the potential for growth is real as the season unfolds. George Washington made a major statement in its one-sided win over St. Bonaventure.
13. St. Bonaventure (7-7)
There hasn’t been much lately to feel good about. A four-game losing streak bottomed out with a hideous performance against George Washington in a game the Bonnies absolutely had to have. A defense ranked No. 264 in points per possession let the Colonials run roughshod. Now the schedule turns against St. Bonaventure with a vengeance. Six of the next seven games are against VCU, Xavier, Temple, St. Joe’s, Saint Louis and Butler. That’s brutal.
14. Fordham (5-11)
Call it a hunch, but Fordham started the season above Rhode Island, and the thought occurs again that a healthy Fordham team might have the edge. Chris Gaston and the Rams weren’t competitive at Ole Miss, but that was to be expected. Where Fordham showed progress was in the win over Duquesne. It was a true team win – eight players had at least seven points – and Branden Frazier badly outplayed Sean Johnson. Gaston, still excellent, is no longer a lone ranger.
15. Duquesne (7-8)
Stock in the Dukes is dropping after three consecutive losses to the likes of Louisiana-Lafayette, Penn State and Fordham. Nothing new about the inability to rebound, which plagued Duquesne in all three of those games, just as it did a season ago. The Dukes had been much better on the boards, but a steep three-game regression raises questions about how they’ll hold up in the Atlantic 10, which has teams with size. Unfortunately for Jim Ferry, a losing record seems preordained.
16. Rhode Island (5-9)
Credit the Rams for a respectable showing at Richmond. Last Friday, Rhode Island bagged its annual win over Brown. But no team in the league is as dependent on one player as the Rams are. One shudders to think how little they’d score without Xavier Munford, who averages 18 points per game, second in the A-10. Even with Munford, Dan Hurley’s team shoots 38.9 percent.
