Atlantic 10 Power Rankings: Butler drops, St. Joe’s still on top
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
It was a solid, if not spectacular, opening week for the Atlantic 10.
Twelve of the 16 schools in the conference have won a game, although three teams expected to compete for the league crown – Saint Louis, Virginia Commonwealth and Butler – suffered early disappointments.
It’s Friday, which means it’s time for IndySportsLegends.com’s Atlantic 10 Power Rankings. For now, the Hawks keep their talons latched on the highest perch. Check back each week during the college basketball season for an updated listing.
1. Saint Joseph’s (1-0)
Langston Galloway led them past a Yale team that couldn’t score. Tonight, the Hawks face No. 20 Notre Dame in the championship round of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. A win would raise their national profile and snatch the attention of top-25 voters.
2. Saint Louis (1-1)
Uncharacteristically bad on defense, the Billikens fell at home to Santa Clara Wednesday. Saint Louis looked poor on offense, too, committing 17 turnovers and shooting 35 percent. Right away, the loss of senior point guard and team captain Kwamain Mitchell is felt. It’s important he recovers from surgery on his left foot in time for conference play.
3. Temple (1-0)
Khalif Wyatt has an off-night and the Owls still roll a solid Kent State team in a nationally televised road game? Granted, Scootie Randall won’t score 31 every time, but his return to health is a great story, and Anthony Lee was fantastic. We’ll give Temple, possibly underrated, an early four-spot rise in these rankings.
4. Xavier (2-0)
The names on the back of the jerseys change, coaches come and go, but the Musketeers still own Butler. Xavier won for the 10th time in 12 meetings as if to say, Shame on all this ˜down year’ talk. All Chris Mack and company did in the season-opener was paste 117 points on Fairleigh Dickinson.
5. Massachusetts (2-0)
The Minutemen pulled off an impressive 77-75 win last night over Providence, a Big East team. It appeared UMass would lose to Harvard in the Tip-Off Marathon, but a late flurry saved the day. Figure UMass to rack up the points again this season. The question is whether they can defend at a high level.
6. Butler (1-1)
The Xavier loss replayed themes of last season: poor 3-point shooting and an inability to convert from the charity stripe. Yes, Andrew Smith has started his senior season in miserable fashion. But hold the concern. Against Elon, Butler employed the tried-and-true formula of excellent defense and relentless rebounding. If that holds up, Rotnei Clarke and Kellen Dunham will fix the offense and pave the path to contention.
7. Virginia Commonwealth (1-1)
Wichita State exacted March Madness revenge. It was the type of ugly, low-scoring contest VCU wants to play. The Shockers made a game-winning shot. Shaka Smart will get over it. What he can’t make up for is the NCAA’s ruling that freshman small forward Jordan Burgess is ineligible to play this season. That brutal bit of news, combined with the loss, drops the Rams all the way to seventh.
8. La Salle (1-0)
Jerrell Wright, whose improvement is key to the team’s, posted 14 points and 10 boards in a 73-66 victory over Delaware, a quality opponent. Versatile D.J. Peterson, a 6-foot-5 sophomore, could become a top sixth-man in the A-10. The Explorers also await the services of Virginia Tech transfer Tyrone Garland next semester.
9. Richmond (3-0)
Home wins over Liberty, North Carolina-Wilmington and Hampton tell us relatively little about how good the Spiders can be. But, 3-0 is 3-0.
10. Dayton (1-1)
No shame in losing to Colorado, although it must be slightly dispiriting to see Kevin Dillard shoot 7-of-25 in the first two games.
11. St. Bonaventure (2-0)
Another A-10 championship? No chance without Andrew Nicholson. But credit the Bonnies for starting strong and gutting out a road victory over Cornell.
12. Charlotte (2-0)
In what stood as the exact opposite of senior leadership, star forward Chris Braswell got himself suspended for the opener by violating an unspecified team rule. Starting guard DeMario Mayfield sat the first two, which were home wins over Charleston Southern and Georgia Southern. Not a good look, to say the least. Will this program ever get itself straightened out?
13. George Washington (0-1)
A home loss to Youngstown State, perennial doormat of the Horizon League? Don’t expect reelected President Barack Obama to check out the Colonials any time soon.
14. Duquesne (0-2)
No change in the bottom three from our preseason rankings, but give the Dukes all the credit in the world for competing against Georgetown before losing respectably 61-55 at the Verizon Center.
15. Fordham (0-3)
Three games, three huge deficits for the Rams. At least guard Branden Frazier had two quality efforts. He must’ve answered that Help Wanted ad Chris Gaston put in the newspaper.
16. Rhode Island (0-2)
Rams shot 34 percent and 28 percent, respectively, in losses to Virginia Tech and Norfolk State. Rhode Island played a pair of tough games to open the year, but losses are going to be the norm regardless.
