March has finally arrived and that means the regular season has come to an end in the 2023-24 women’s college basketball season and conference tournaments are set to get underway.
For the final time this year, the Good Five Cent Cigar sports staff got together to rank all the teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Before the rankings begin, a quick note that unfortunately, Davidson College had to cancel the rest of their season due to a “significant number of injuries” on their team, so they will not be included in these rankings. We wish the best for Davidson and their entire program.
With that, here is where the University of Rhode Island women’s basketball team and the rest of the conference stands heading into the A-10 Tournament in Henrico, Virginia this week:
14th Place: St. Bonaventure University Bonnies (4-25, 1-17) (-)
Saying that St. Bonaventure is struggling heading into the postseason would be an understatement. Their losing streak has now stretched all the way to 17 games after closing out their regular season with losses to the University of Massachusetts and the University of Richmond. These losses also confirmed they would be the bottom seed in the tournament.
In order to avoid a first round exit, the Bonnies are going to need to win their first game of 2024 when they take on the University of Dayton.
13th Place: University of Massachusetts Minutewomen (4-26, 2-16) (+2)
In a matchup where both teams went in on a 15-game losing streak, UMass prevailed over St. Bonaventure 58-45 to end their regular season on a high note. Even if it came against their counterpart at the bottom of the conference, getting this win provides them with a hint of momentum, something they have been searching for throughout the year.
The Minutewomen head into this conference tournament in a much different position than last year when they were the number one seed. They will look to take down La Salle University in the opening round to salvage something out of this rebuilding season.
12th Place: La Salle University Explorers (8-21, 5-13) (+1)
Heading into their final game of the regular season, La Salle had lost their previous eight games, the last five being by 20 or more points. However, they found a way to get a 93-83 win on the road over Fordham, who came into the game on a six-game winning streak, and provide some hope for this upcoming week.
Their journey in Virginia will start by taking on UMass, who they defeated in both of their meetings during the regular season.
11th Place: University of Dayton Flyers (11-18, 5-13) (-)
It was a tough week for Dayton to close out their regular season, losing to George Mason University 78-53 and Rhode Island 77-42. They have now lost six of their last seven games with the only win being due to a forfeit by Davidson.
The Flyers will have a chance to get back on the right track when they play the bottom dwellers of the conference, St. Bonaventure, to open up the tournament. If they can take care of business, they will have a chance to get revenge against Rhode Island in the second round.
10th Place: George Washington University Revolutionaries (13-17, 6-12) (+2)
Despite not scoring over 60 points in any of the games, the Revolutionaries are heading into Virginia riding three straight wins over UMass, Davidson and Loyola University Chicago. They are hoping this is a case of peaking at the right time as it’s the first time they’ve won three consecutive games since December.
Due to the newly structured format of the tournament, George Washington was able to secure a first round bye and will get set for their second round matchup against Saint Louis University.
9th Place: Loyola University Chicago Ramblers (14-15, 8-10) (+1)
Loyola Chicago heads into Virginia on a low note, especially on the offensive end, after suffering a 50-43 loss to George Washington. This was their lowest point total in a game since Jan. 13.
The story for the Ramblers throughout the year has been their struggles against the top teams in the conference. They are 0-5 when playing the top five seeds in the Atlantic 10 compared to 8-5 against everyone else. If they want to make some noise this week, they will obviously need to figure out how to hang with the best of the best.
8th Place: Saint Louis University Billikens (14-17, 9-9) (-)
The Billikens had their high powered offense on full display at the end of the season, winning their final three games all by 20 or more points. This team has no problems scoring the basketball as they rank second in the conference in points per game. They do, however, face issues on the defensive end, ranking last in points allowed per game.
This sets up an intriguing matchup of offensive prowess versus defensive prowess in the second round of the tournament when they take on George Washington, who rank 13th in offense, but are top five in defense.
7th Place: Fordham University Rams (12-16, 8-10) (-)
It appeared as if Fordham was going to head into Virginia with all the momentum in the world, riding a six-game winning streak going into the final day of the regular season and coming off a 62-57 win over one of the top teams in the conference, Saint Joseph’s University. Unfortunately, they were upset by La Salle 93-83 and missed an opportunity to finish the year at .500 in conference play.
Still, the winning ways of the Rams down the stretch makes them a team to watch out for to make a Cinderella run this week. Their opening matchup will be against Loyola Chicago, who they lost 73-64 to in the regular season.
6th Place: University of Rhode Island Rams (18-13, 10-8) (-)
A stress free 77-42 win over Dayton couldn’t have come at a better time for Rhode Island, who entered the game on a two-game losing streak. The Dayton win was their biggest margin of victory throughout all of conference play and showed the kind of threat this team could be.
Although it was a largely inconsistent year, the Rams were the preseason favorites to win the conference for a reason. If they can ride the momentum from their last game, this team still has the pieces and the potential to make a run.
5th Place: Duquesne University Dukes (18-11, 13-5) (-1)
Duquesne went into the week with the longest winning streak in the conference, winners of their past six games and a chance to secure an elusive double bye. However, they ran into some tough competition and dropped games to both Richmond and Saint Joseph’s. This left them one game back of getting an automatic trip to the quarterfinals.
The Dukes will now await the winner of La Salle and UMass to see who their second round matchup will be. If they get past this, they would have their work cut out for them with George Mason in the quarterfinals, a team that scored 101 points against them earlier this year.
4th Place: George Mason University Patriots (23-6, 14-4) (-1)
The Patriots had an up-and-down final week of the season, first dominating Dayton 78-53 before dropping one on the road to the Virginia Commonwealth University 61-56. They did still get a double bye to the quarterfinals, so they will have plenty of time to reset following the loss.
Taking a look at the numbers, it’s clear that this George Mason team is a powerhouse and a serious contender to win this tournament. They have the best point differential in the Atlantic 10 and are one of only three teams in the conference to average 70 or more points per game.
3rd Place: University of Richmond Spiders (26-5, 16-2) (+2)
It has been an incredible season for Richmond and it got even better this week when they won their first regular season Atlantic 10 title in program history with convincing victories over both Duquesne and St. Bonaventure.
It’s certain that the Spiders don’t want to stop here; their sights are set on securing their first trip to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament since 2005. In order to do so, they know it will have to be through their offense as they led the conference in points per game during the year.
2nd Place: Saint Joseph’s University Hawks (26-4, 15-3) (-1)
There’s no denying how dominant the Hawks were during this entire season, but after a couple of losses down the stretch they no longer find themselves in the top spot of the rankings. They suffered a shocking upset loss to Fordham at home, 62-57, before closing out their regular season with a 77-73 win over Duquesne.
The Hawks experienced their biggest struggles of the season in the past couple weeks as two of their three conference losses came in the final four games. Despite this, they are still one of the top contenders to raise the trophy this week and hope that the Duquesne win can get them back into form.
1st Place: Virginia Commonwealth University Rams (26-4, 15-3) (+1)
For the final rankings, there is a new team at the top. VCU couldn’t have drawn up a better finish to the season as they won nine of their last 10 games, including their last five.
The Rams go into the tournament as the number two seed, only behind their in-state rival Richmond. Their style of play is the complete opposite of Richmond’s, though, as they win games through their defense, averaging just 52 points allowed per game. Right now, there’s not a team heading into Virginia this week with more momentum than VCU.