Tag Archives: A-10

Mar 5 2013

Atlantic 10 roundup, Volume 11

This is a bit of a rushed product since I didn’t have much time this week, but I’ll more than make up for it with an A-10 tournament preview next week. Stay tuned.

Countdown to the A-10 tournament at Barclays Center in Brooklyn: 9 days

Volume 1 | Volume 2 | Volume 3 | Volume 4 | Volume 5 | Volume 6 | Volume 7 | Volume 8 | Volume 9 | Volume 10

POWER RANKINGS

1. Saint Louis (23-5, 12-2 A-10)

2. Virginia Commonwealth (23-6, 11-3 A-10)

3. La Salle (20-7, 10-4 A-10)

4. Butler (22-7, 9-5 A-10)

5. Temple (21-8, 9-5 A-10)

6. UMass (18-9, 8-6 A-10)

7. Xavier (16-12, 8-6 A-10)

8. St. Bonaventure (14-13, 7-7 A-10)

9. Saint Joseph’s (16-11, 7-7 A-10)

10. Richmond (17-12, 7-7 A-10)

11. Charlotte (18-10, 6-8 A-10)

12. Dayton (16-12, 6-8 A-10)

13. George Washington (12-15, 6-8 A-10)
14. Rhode Island (8-19, 3-11 A-10)
15. Fordham (6-23, 2-12 A-10)
16. Duquesne (8-20, 1-13 A-10)

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Feb 18 2013

Atlantic 10 roundup, Volume 9

After wins over UMass and George Washington last week, Virginia Commonwealth is in sole possession of first place in the Atlantic 10. Photo courtesy MCT

After wins over UMass and George Washington last week, Virginia Commonwealth is in sole possession of first place in the Atlantic 10. Photo courtesy MCT

Crunch time. We’ve finally reached the part of the season when the top teams are beginning to separate themselves and we can make pretty accurate guesses as to who we will be seeing next month in Brooklyn for what should be one of the most exciting conference tournaments in the country. Buckle up your seat belts, folks, this is going to be an exciting few weeks of basketball.

Countdown to the A-10 tournament at Barclays Center in Brooklyn: 24 days

Volume 1 | Volume 2 | Volume 3 | Volume 4 | Volume 5 | Volume 6 | Volume 7 | Volume 8

POWER RANKINGS

In 140 characters or less, like on Twitter, I’ll explain my picks.

1. Virginia Commonwealth (20-5, 9-2 A-10): That’s right, for the first time all year, Butler is out of first here. The Rams were just way too good last week. At their peak.

2. Saint Louis (19-5, 8-2 A-10): SLU has won 7 in a row and playing as well as anyone. Wins against VCU + Butler this week will vault them to No. 1 next week, guaranteed.

3. Butler (21-5, 8-3 A-10): Did the Bulldogs hit their peak too early in the season?

4. La Salle (18-6, 8-3 A-10): The Explorers are quickly becoming a darkhorse to win the A-10 when the conference convenes on Brooklyn next month.

5. Charlotte (18-7, 6-5 A-10): I’m STILL not sold on Charlotte. After a huge win at Butler, the 49ers laid an egg at SLU. But they’ve played a brutal sched in February.

6. Temple (17-8, 6-5 A-10): The Owls saved face after giving Duquesne its first league victory with a clutch win at UMass. But the bubble is close to bursting for them.

7. UMass (16-8, 6-5 A-10): It’s danger zone for the Minutemen to make the Dance after losing to VCU and Temple. They can’t really have any more slip-ups.

8. Xavier (14-10, 7-4 A-10): The Muskies are technically 5th in the A-10 right now, which all things considered, is pretty amazing.

9. George Washington (11-12, 5-5 A-10): It’s honestly a crapshoot from 9-13. I’m not going to punish the Colonials for losing to VCU.

10. Saint Joseph’s (14-10, 5-6 A-10): No idea what happened to this team. They’re a real head-scratcher.

11. Richmond (15-11, 5-6 A-10): Despite this ranking, the Spiders have an RPI of 85. They’re capable, but they haven’t found much consistency this season.

12. Dayton (14-11, 4-7 A-10): The Flyers move up by virtue of beating Xavier and because St. Bonaventure lost twice.

13. St. Bonaventure (11-13, 4-7 A-10)
14. Rhode Island (8-16, 3-8 A-10)
15. Fordham (6-20, 2-9 A-10)
16. Duquesne (8-17, 1-10 A-10)

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Jan 22 2013

Atlantic 10 roundup, Volume 6

Virginia Commonwealth and its "Havoc" defense extended its winning streak to 13 games with two more victories this week. Photo courtesy MCT

Virginia Commonwealth and its “Havoc” defense extended its winning streak to 13 games with two more victories last week. Photo courtesy MCT

The Atlantic 10 followed up its first week of conference play with a memorable second week that included upsets, buzzer-beaters and absolute craziness. Catch up with the latest power rankings, highlights and more.

Volume 1 | Volume 2 | Volume 3 | Volume 4 | Volume 5

POWER RANKINGS

In 140 characters or less, like on Twitter, I’ll explain my picks.

1. Butler (16-2, 3-0 A-10): Whenever VCU makes a case for me to change this, the Bulldogs do something like they did Saturday – win at the buzzer against Gonzaga.

2. Virginia Commonwealth (16-3, 4-0 A-10): The Rams somehow beat Saint Joseph’s in OT, but believe this: It’s Butler and VCU and then everybody else right now.

3. Temple (12-5, 2-2 A-10): I still like the Owls this high even after losing to St. Bonaventure and barely beating GW. Their potential is through the roof. Stuff like this happens.

4. Saint Louis (12-5, 1-2 A-10): The Billikens stay here because I wasn’t impressed enough with the below teams to move them. But losing to URI at home? Yeesh.

5. UMass (12-5, 2-2 A-10): Their roof undoubtedly lowers with Jesse Morgan’s injury. Minutemen need Chaz to be Chaz and Raphiael Putney to wake up to have a shot.

6. Charlotte (15-3, 3-1 A-10): Yes, they are 15-3, but their only A-10 wins are against La Salle, URI and Fordham, and they were blown out by Richmond. Still not sold.

7. Xavier (11-6, 4-0 A-10): Whoa! The three unbeaten teams in the A-10 are Butler, VCU and … Xavier? Remember when I writing them off? Good times.

8. Saint Joseph’s (10-6, 1-2 A-10): I’m actually giving the Hawks credit for almost beating Butler and VCU. That’s very hard to start conference play with. Could have won both.

9. La Salle (12-5, 2-2 A-10): This isn’t so much an indictment on LSU as it is just a lack of quality wins, but they can change that with games vs. Butler/VCU this week.

10. Dayton (10-7, 0-3 A-10): They’re not getting blown out, but not winning either. I still think the Flyers can make noise this season though.

11. Richmond (12-7, 2-2 A-10): Nice win for the Spiders against Charlotte. Can they keep the good vibes going against VCU and UMass?

12. George Washington (8-9, 2-2 A-10): The Colonials nearly pulled off an upset against Temple, but then won a tough road game at UMass. May be better than some think.

13. St. Bonaventure (8-9, 1-3 A-10): Anyone still think the A-10 isn’t deep after the Bonnies went to Temple and upset the Owls?

14. Rhode Island (6-10, 1-2 A-10): Last week I said the Rams were better than 16th, then they went out and beat SLU on the road. It’s fun when things work out like that.

15. Fordham (5-13, 1-2 A-10): With the veterans they have, I want to like Fordham, but they need to start proving something to me.

16. Duquesne (7-11, 0-4 A-10): I’ll keep this short: It’s going to be a long year for the Dukes.

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Dec 31 2012

Atlantic 10 roundup, Volume 3

Because of the holidays, it was a rather slow week in the college basketball world, not excluding the Atlantic 10, which only had 14 games since we last convened. Not surprisingly, there was little shake-up in this week’s power rankings. Countdown is now 10 days until the conference schedule tips off on Jan. 9.

POWER RANKINGS

In 140 characters or less, like on Twitter, I’ll explain my picks.

1. Butler (10-2): A blowout win at Vandy won’t blow you away, but the Bulldogs are still the class of the conference, IMO, by a slim margin.

2. Virginia Commonwealth (10-3): Seven wins in a row and counting right now for a red-hot Rams team. This team is no joke.

3. Temple (8-2): The Owls didn’t play this week (their game vs. Detroit was postponed). A matchup at Kansas looms. Are they as good as we think?

4. Saint Louis (9-3): Kwamain Mitchell is officially back, which has made a dangerous team even more dangerous as the A-10 schedule looms.

5. La Salle (9-2): Time to start giving the Explorers credit. They’re not doing it against the best teams, but they’re winning. Galloway/Duren is a stud combo.

6. UMass (8-3): A five-point win against two-win N. Illinois won’t win you over, of course. The Minutemen are winners of 5 straight, albeit unconvincingly.

7. Dayton (9-4): An OT loss to USC isn’t awful, but in a week this slow in action, it hurts the Flyers in the power rankings.

8. Charlotte (11-2): The 49ers didn’t play this week, which means I’m still waiting for them to impress me.

9. Saint Joseph’s (6-4): The Hawks are back in the win column, but the preseason favorites to win the A-10 still have plenty to work on.

10. Xavier (7-5): Losses are suddenly starting to pile on for the Musketeers, who have now lost four of five since starting the season 6-1.

11. Richmond (9-5): The Spiders at once looked promising, but have suddenly lost three straight and have fallen back to earth.

12. St. Bonaventure (7-4): The Bonnies were off this week. Three of four losses have been by 5 points or less. They certainly could be better.

13. Duquesne (7-7): Chalk up another loss to the Dukes, the latest at Penn State. They’re off until A-10 play kicks off at Fordham on 1/9.

14. George Washington (6-6): Sure it was Sacred Heart, but the Colonials only gave up 38 points to them. Thirty-eight. Hmm…

15. Rhode Island (4-8): The Rams started the season 0-5 but are 4-3 since. Optimism!

16. Fordham (3-10): The Rams are the first in the conference to 10 losses and on the fast track to be the first to 20. What, too harsh?

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Dec 17 2012

Atlantic 10 roundup, Volume 1

It’s a little over a month into the college basketball season, which means conference play is right around the corner. For the Atlantic 10, conference play starts in three weeks on Jan. 9, but it’s never too early to take an in-depth look at the league.

For this blog, I’ll take a weekly look – from now until the end of the season – at the A-10 and include my own power rankings, player of the week and so forth. Feel free to leave your input and suggestions in the comments section below. Let’s get started.

POWER RANKINGS

In 140 characters or less, like on Twitter, I’ll explain my picks.

1. Butler (8-2): Early-seasons wins against Marquette, No. 9 UNC and, as of Saturday, No. 1 Indiana. The Bulldogs are rolling and are rightfully so a Top 25 team.

2. Virginia Commonwealth (7-3): Not the most impressive résumé so far, but neither does any other team at this point. All of the Rams’ losses are good losses.

3. Temple (7-1): The Owls have just one loss so far and it was to Duke. I was high on them before the season started and that hasn’t changed yet.

4. Xavier (7-2): Most expected a down year for the Muskies, but they’re right here. Both losses have been close and they have an impressive W over Butler.

5. Saint Louis (6-3): I definitely expected more out of SLU, but until Kwamain Mitchell comes back, I can’t judge them too harshly. They’ll get much better.

6. Saint Joseph’s (5-3): The preseason conference favorites have had a tough OOC schedule, but a recent loss to Villanova doesn’t help matters.

7. Dayton (8-2): Like other teams, they’ve benefited from a weak OOC, but a road win at Alabama is nothing to ignore and they’re winners of four straight.

8. UMass (5-3): The best is clearly still to come from the Minutemen, but right now they’re a middle of the pack squad with plenty of upside and potential.

galloway

La Salle senior guard Ramon Galloway is an early candidate for Atlantic 10 Player of the Year. (Photo courtesy MCT)

9. Charlotte (10-1): The 10-1 record is very deceiving. A blowout loss to Miami (Fla.) confirmed that they aren’t as good as some thought.

10. Richmond (9-2): Despite a 5-game win streak, not sold on the Spiders quite yet, but a win in Lawrence on Tuesday could change things.

11. La Salle (6-2): The Explorers squeaked past Northeastern before losing close to Patriot League leader Bucknell. Hard to judge at the moment.

12. Duquesne (6-5): A blowout road loss to Robert Morris isn’t as catastrophic as some might think, but the Dukes still have plenty of work to do.

13. St. Bonaventure (6-3): SBU responded well from a loss to Arkansas State, but these aren’t your Andrew Nicholson-led Bonnies this year.

14. George Washington (4-6): Someone take the lid off GW’s baskets – the Colonials are ranked 244th in the country in scoring and have lost three straight.

15. Rhode Island (3-7): Dan Hurley’s first year as coach hasn’t been fun yet, but the Rams are a work in progress. They’ll be a cellar dweller all season.

16. Fordham (2-8): The Rams snapped their 5-game losing streak on Saturday, but they get a trip to Storrs this week. Spoiler alert: It won’t end pretty.

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