Atlantic 10 Power Rankings: VCU new No. 1
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
What do you get when you combine a rare five-game league winning streak for VCU with the shaky stretch that is Butler’s first extended lull of the season?
A new No. 1 in IndySportsLegends.com’s weekly Atlantic 10 power rankings.
The Rams have edged past the Bulldogs with the cresting momentum of 18 wins in 20 tries, ending Butler’s eight-week stay in the top spot. This week will go a long way toward determining whether there will be real-world drama regarding the race for the top seed, as Saint Louis hosts VCU Tuesday and visits Butler on Friday. The Billikens or Rams can potentially gain separation.
Let’s jump right in:
1. Virginia Commonwealth (21-5, 9-2)
All five starters are scoring threats. As good as Butler is, they cannot argue the same. Two straight wins by 18 or more have built some decent momentum to carry into the biggie with Saint Louis as well as Saturday’s bout with always-dangerous-at-home Xavier. The Rams have been awesome in nearly all respects. It’s a deserved rise to the rankings summit.
2. Saint Louis (19-5, 8-2)
What was already a rock-solid defense is becoming scary good. Jim Crews can throw a tag team of defenders at opposing wings led by Dwayne Evans, one of the most valuable players in the A-10 at that end. His length at 6-5 makes him a big obstacle for shooters, but it’s his ability to contain the drive that sets him apart. Behind him is Jordair Jett, another intelligent wing who adds the ability to break passing lanes for steals, and Cory Remekun, who blocks shots and causes problems with his length at 6-8. Good luck, America. It’s no wonder they’ve won seven in a row.
3. Butler (21-5, 8-3 conference)
Brad Stevens does not profess to believe in the concept of momentum, good or bad. Even though it cost ˜em the top spot, the Bulldogs cannot complain too much about a 5-3 spurt in the last four weeks. Not when it began with trips to La Salle and Saint Louis sandwiched around a home date with Temple. And with Rotnei Clarke’s shot malfunctioning (the point guard shot 47.1 percent on 3s in November and December, but is at 37.7 percent since the calendar flipped to 2013). And with wins on unimpressive days against GW and Fordham. Fret not. I’m fairly certain their mojo will be back soon.
4. La Salle (18-6, 8-3)
The Explorers remain firmly in the top-100 nationally in both offensive and defensive efficiency. La Salle is a contender, right there with the ruling VCU-Saint Louis-Butler trinity. Surprisingly, John Giannini’s bunch has managed to stay under the national radar. It’s partly a perception problem – La Salle last made the NCAA tournament in 1992 and has appeared in the NIT once since 1991, and it plays in a veritable high school gym. But Ramon Galloway supplies the star power, and the Explorers are much deeper than most teams. Jerrell Wright is one of the league’s most underrated players.
5. Charlotte (18-7, 6-5)
We’re going to stick up for you, Charlotte fans. So many voices in the Indy media painted the 49ers’ win over Butler as either a product of manic disorder, a stunning upset that had a one in 1,000 chance of happening, or as the side effect of Andrew Smith’s absence. Here’s the deal: Neither is true. Charlotte is 18-7 and a good team. And the 49ers were without DeMario Mayfield, who is as good as Smith. Beating the Bulldogs was the biggest win of the season, and it lends legitimacy to that lofty win-loss record. But a faint-with-surprise result it was not.
6. Temple (17-8, 6-5)
In a two-month span, the Owls have gone from trendy A-10 favorite to enigma. Temple’s defense is in the bottom half of the league in points per possession. Only a head-to-head win over UMass, paired with the Minutemen’s trouncing at the hands of VCU, keeps the Owls in the top six. That’s as default and hollow a ranking as possible because the home loss to Duquesne has us off the bandwagon. The Owls are too erratic to believe in any longer as something other than a pretty ordinary team.
7. Massachusetts (16-8, 6-5)
Despite Jesse Morgan’s season-ending injury, the Minutemen are in reasonably good shape. They’ve emerged along with Temple to form a second tier in the conference – one could argue Charlotte belongs there, too – below the top four but distinctly above the mediocre huddled mass in the middle of the Atlantic 10. UMass is heavily reliant on Chaz Williams to orchestrate. Based on Thursday’s meltdown at VCU, it appears UMass is neither deep enough nor experienced enough in spots to hang with the top teams in the league, although a win at La Salle says otherwise.
8. Xavier (14-10, 7-4)
The Musketeers’ rise to five games over .500 started to make you believe that their 1-5 midseason skid right before conference play would be what costs them an NCAA tournament berth only for an all-around dud at struggling Dayton to remind that no self-respecting selection committee would overlook how Chris Mack’s team can scarcely beat anyone away from the Cintas Center.
9. Saint Joseph’s (14-10, 5-6)
It’s going to be tough for the Hawks, as perturbed by the thought of going back to the NIT as they are, to look back warmly on February. They’re struggling on defense and are tied for 10th in the A-10 after a 2-3 mark this month.
10. Dayton (14-11, 4-7)
With all the uncertainty about the Flyers’ turnover slump – and related uncertainty about their ability to beat anyone decent on the road – the focus was already on a season unraveling. Then Dayton came back from three days off and lost to Rhode Island. Egad! But the Flyers did bounce back and beat Xavier.
11. Richmond (15-11, 5-6)
Let’s just say our odd back-and-forth views on Richmond have not helped the Spiders turn in the right direction. Since a Jan. 24 win over VCU, Chris Mooney’s crew has gone 2-4, with both victories coming by the skin of their teeth at home over Xavier and St. Bonaventure. Derrick Williams isn’t up to full speed yet after his injury, but we’d be remiss not to admit we ranked Richmond too highly. The Spiders just aren’t playing well, and dropping them four spots better reflects that.
12. George Washington (11-12, 5-5)
The Colonials’ three-game win streak is a memory, replaced by a 1-3 slump. The good news: GW is on a much better pace than last season, when Mike Lonergan finished 10-21 in his first season. The bad news: GW is one of only five teams in the conference with a losing record.
13. St. Bonaventure (11-13, 4-7)
Hanging in there without graduated star Andrew Nicholson is getting tougher and tougher, even though they couldn’t ask more of iron man Demitrius Conger, who went the distance twice more in heatbreaking three-point overtime losses to La Salle and Richmond. Not even a career-high 30 from senior Eric Mosley could ease the hurt of such a painful week.
14. Rhode Island (8-16, 3-8)
Xavier Munford is still second in the league in scoring, Nikola Malesevic is finding a groove and even threatening triple-doubles, and Rhody just beat Dayton and Duquesne with go-ahead scores with 3.3 seconds left and 1:22 left, respectively. Best week of the season.
15. Duquesne (8-17, 1-10)
We should probably focus on the 84-83 upset of Temple on Valentine’s Day rather than the home loss to Rhode Island. The Dukes could be forgiven if they were still savoring their first conference win of the season. Even with some overdue upbeat news, there’s a caveat: It’s likely time to stop wondering whether Duquesne can still sneak into the A-10 tournament with a late run. That possibility would require at least three wins in the final five games.
16. Fordham (6-20, 2-9)
A 3-1 record in games decided by three points or less is frustrating because the Rams haven’t kept many close. Chris Gaston’s back, and while he was at his finest on Saturday, the most impressive part of Fordham’s competitive afternoon against Butler was that it came despite bad games from Ryan Canty and Branden Frazier. Had that duo performed to usual standards, Tom Pecora gets a huge win.
