1. Davidson
The Wildcats are atop the conference so far this year, with a record of 5-1. The only loss of the year for Head Coach Bob Mckillop’s crew is against a very good Purdue team, ranked 24th in the country. Davidson has seen great performances so far from Jon Axel Gudmundsson, and Luka Brajkovic, which is incredibly important for the Wildcats moving forward to pair them with All-Conference player Kellan Grady.
2. Saint Louis
The Billikens boast one of the better early season victories in the Atlantic 10, going to Newark, New Jersey and beating the Seton Hall Pirates of the Big East Conference. Javon Bess has been the offensive leader for Saint Louis, scoring 14 points per game and shooting 39.3 percent from three, which is second on the team.
3. VCU
The Rams have only one loss on the year, taking an undefeated St. John’s team to overtime in the Legends Classic Tournament in Brooklyn. Although VCU really has not faced super stiff competition besides St John’s, they have still showed up in the nonconference so far, with five wins on the year. Marcus Evans and Isaac Vann have led VCU offensively thus far, scoring 13.3 and 14.8 points per game respectively.
4. Dayton
The Flyers sit at 4-2 thus far on the year and have a huge neutral court win against the Butler Bulldogs in the Battle 4 Atlantis. The Flyers then faced and lost to the Virginia Cavaliers in the Bahamas, the fourth-ranked team in the country. Dayton finished the tournament with a disappointing effort against the Oklahoma Sooners losing 65-54. For Dayton, Josh Cunningham has been big so far. Cunningham is averaging 14.5 points per game, and 7.3 rebounds per game, both team highs.
5. Rhode Island
Rhody has to be disappointed with the effort in a home loss to the Stony Brook Seawolves out of the America East, which is only their second home loss in the past two seasons. URI has struggled as a team shooting the ball and currently sits at exactly .500, with a record of 2-2. Fatts Russell must be a catalyst offensively along with Jeff Dowtin for the Rams to continue to compete at the top of the conference. As a team they’re shooting a paltry 24.7 percent from three, a number they’ll have to improve on moving forward.
6. St. Joseph’s
The Hawks are 3-3 so far on the year, but trending down after losing their last three games. SJU is coming off a disastrous away loss to William and Mary as well in their last game, although their two other losses were against good opponents in UCF and West Virginia losing by twenty to UCF won’t cut it moving forward. Charlie Brown is the engine currently driving this Hawks team, as he is averaging 25 points per game, and shooting just under 60 percent from the field.
7. Duquesne
The Dukes are 4-1 on the year but have yet to win against a viable opponent. Although their lone loss of the season came against Notre Dame, an ACC school they still haven’t played anyone good enough to justify a higher ranking. Eric Williams Jr has been terrific thus far for Duquesne, averaging 17.8 points per game, and shooting 47.8 percent from three.
8. UMass
The Minutemen are 4-3 on the year and are coming off a blowout loss to the number six ranked Nevada Wolfpack. Umass has also lost to Harvard and Howard, two disappointing home losses. Luwane Pipkins has been the best player for the flagship campus of Massachusetts so far, averaging 19.6 points per game. Pipkins also leads the team in assists as well, dishing out 6.2 per game so far.
9. Richmond
The Spiders are 2-4 on the season and are currently on a three-game losing streak, which includes losses against Loyola-Chicago, Wyoming and Hampton. Grant Golden has been Richmond’s best asset thus far, scoring 20 points per game and bringing down 6.3 boards per game as well.
10. George Mason
The Patriots have been a disaster thus far. Sitting at 2-5, George Mason has been the definition of underwhelming in the early season. Originally picked to finish fourth in the Atlantic 10 preseason rankings, the Patriots will most likely finish well below that. In their five losses, Mason has lost to teams such as Penn, American, and Georgia Southern, which led to a complete dumpster fire of a season so far. All-Conference guard Otis Livingston has been a microcosm of his team as well, not living up to his own expectations as he is currently only shooting 37.2 percent from the field, and 14.3 percent from three.
11. Fordham
The Rams have been a surprise so far, sitting at 5-1 on the year. However, a lot of that success can be linked to the powder puff nonconference schedule Fordham has played thus far. They get the nod over the Bonnies, Colonials and Explorers however because of the five wins thus far. Nick Honor has been the team’s best player thus far, averaging 18.5 points per game and leading the team in assists, having dished 20 so far.
12. St. Bonaventure
The Bonnies are a far cry away from the team that made the NCAA tournament just last season. Currently sitting at a record of 1-5 they have not looked sharp early on. They’ve suffered losses to Bucknell and Niagara, which does not bode well moving forward. Jalen Poyser and Kyle Lofton have been their best players thus far, averaging 17.7 and 14.5 points per game respectively.
13. George Washington
The Colonials have begun the season in rough shape so far, losing five of their first six games. However, two of those losses absolutely come against top-tier opponents in Virginia and Michigan. As a team they have struggled shooting the ball thus far, shooting 41.4 percent from the field, and 61 percent from the charity stripe.
14. La Salle
The Explorers are winless through their first six games so far and it hasn’t been pretty. With two of their losses coming against the likes of Lafayette and Drexel, both of which were home games, that can’t sit well if you’re an Explorers fan. Pookie Powell has been solid for La Salle, scoring 18.8 points per game and shouldering much of the offensive load.