Atlantic 10 Power Rankings: Hawks plummet, top three crystallizes
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
With conference play less than two weeks away, the Atlantic 10 hierarchy is almost set. Butler, Virginia Commonwealth and Temple more or less clinched spots at the top with strong records and victories over national powers. All three have jumped ahead of Saint Joseph’s for status as conference frontrunner.
With the Christmas holiday this week, scheduling was light. Butler moved up to No. 18 in the AP Top 25, with Temple receiving 36 votes and VCU 16. Commissioner Bernadette McGlade told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that league members wouldn’t necessarily do better by jumping into a totally new conference with the ˜Catholic 7.’
For the last time in 2012, here are IndySportsLegends.com’s weekly A-10 Power Rankings.
1. Butler (9-2)
Andrew Smith and Rotnei Clarke provided the muscle in an effective-but-not-flashy win over Evansville. In other words, Butler did nothing to cost itself the top spot, although a loss tomorrow at Vanderbilt would likely do the trick. Those who were giving up Butler for dead after the Xavier loss feel silly. Coach Brad Stevens is as dangerous as ever.
2. Virginia Commonwealth (9-3)
Poor Longwood never stood a chance. On a six-game winning streak, VCU is arguably one of the 25 best teams in America. The Rams are shooting 37 percent as a team on 3-pointers, up from 33.7 percent a season ago. That’s where they need to be.
3. Temple (9-2)
This nugget is incredible: For the fifth season in a row, Temple has beaten a top 10 team while unranked. Saturday’s upset of then third-ranked Syracuse legitimizes the Owls, who only a couple weeks ago sat atop these rankings and have been in our top three since Nov. 16. Khalif Wyatt was unstoppable. Temple is balanced, with Anthony Lee inside and Wyatt and Scootie Randall outside. The Owls lead the A-10 in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.33) and rank in the top 20 nationally.
4. Saint Louis (8-3)
In blowing out Loyola Marymount, the Billikens continue to take care of business ahead of the New Year’s Eve visit from Steve Alford and New Mexico. That’s an interesting little bout between the Mountain West and A-10, the two non-power power conferences, so to speak.
5. La Salle (8-2)
It’s hard to tell what was learned about La Salle in the Explorers’ romp over Sacred Heart. The contention here is still that Ramon Galloway and company are really good. Wednesday is eagerly anticipated; that’s when La Salle visits ACC contender Miami.
6. Dayton (9-3)
A commendable effort by Dayton to topple a good Murray State team, especially with Josh Benson off his game and in foul trouble. The Flyers have made 47 percent of their shots, second in the A-10. They move up almost by default based on losses by Xavier, Charlotte and St. Joe’s. But their play merits this ranking, too.
7. Charlotte (11-2)
The 49ers were extremely competitive in a skin-of-their-teeth loss to Florida State in a game played in Uptown Charlotte (yes, locals, we’ve seen it firsthand, so we know the lingo). I’m still not sure how well Alan Major will do in conference play, but I can comfortably say he has the surprising 49ers set up to be a power in Conference USA next season.
8. Massachusetts (7-3)
That’s four in a row, as little Chaz Williams had 26 points and 11 assists in a home win over East Carolina. The former Hofstra transfer might be the best pure point guard in the conference, and the Minutemen will go as far as he can take them.
9. Saint Joseph’s (5-4)
So much for the Hawks bouncing back and recovering from the stinker against Villanova. The losers of the Holy War have looked flat for a full month and have lost three of their last four. Junior big man C.J. Aiken has been a disappointment, shooting just 44 percent and performing worse in most categories than he did as a sophomore. St. Joe’s played all five starters at least 36 minutes and still lost at home to Fairfield. Maybe the Hawks are a bit of a tease. Overall, they are 2-4 against teams with winning records.
10. Xavier (7-4)
The Musketeers now have unceremoniously fallen to Pacific, Vanderbilt and Wofford. That’s a quick way to earn the ˜inconsistent’ label. It’s also a path that requires a better conference record to remove the taint of bad nonconference losses at home. The RPI isn’t great, and it’s not inconceivable that come March Xavier finds itself in the unusual position of needing an auto bid to go dancing.
11. St. Bonaventure (7-4)
Can’t fault the Bonnies for a 19-point loss to No. 25 North Carolina State. What bothered coach Mark Schmidt was that top scorers Chris Johnson and Demitrius Conger came up small in a big game. In conference play, the X-factor remains the play of 7-foot sophomore center Youssou Ndoye.
12. Richmond (9-4)
Ouch. A team never wants to end a five-game winning streak by blowing a late 12-point lead and losing on a 3 at the buzzer. Yet that’s exactly what the Spiders did against George Mason. Richmond takes and makes a lot of 3s, so they’ll always be dangerous.
13. Duquesne (7-6)
The rebounding and defense that beat West Virginia abandoned the Dukes in a big way in a 91-79 loss at Louisiana Lafayette. Keep in mind, Duquesne has a new coach and a significantly changed rotation.
14. George Washington (5-6)
Senior Lasan Kromah’s scoring has dropped for a third consecutive season, and he’s barely averaging 10 points after a five-point outing in a win over Virginia Military Institute.
15. Rhode Island (4-8)
The Rams were murdered on the glass last night in a visit to Saint Mary’s. That rout ended Rhode Island’s two-game winning streak. There are just too many weak links on this roster.
16. Fordham (3-9)
After getting whitewashed by UConn, Fordham bounced back with a win over hapless Siena. Chris Gaston returned to find a co-star in Branden Frazier, who averages 16.8 points and 5.1 assists per game.
