The Super Bowl has passed, and it’s nearing time for March Madness to take center stage to the public once again.
Each week, The Good Five Cent Cigar sports staff ranks the 15 teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Here is how the men’s rankings turned out as of Feb. 10:
15th Place: University of Richmond Spiders (8-16, 3-8) (-)
Giving credit where it’s due, the Spiders won their first conference game since Jan. 4 against Duquesne University 73-68, snapping their seven-game losing streak. But, they didn’t make it easy on themselves, allowing the Dukes to go on a 9-0 run in the last three minutes of the game, cutting into the Spiders’ 13-point lead.
In similar fashion, the Spiders’ 71-60 loss against Davidson College three days later came down to falling apart in the final minutes. The Wildcats outscored the Spiders 21-9 in the last nine minutes, a testament to the Spiders’ lackluster, last-ranked A-10 offense being taken advantage of.
14th Place: La Salle University Explorers (12-12, 4-7) (-1)
In their last two games against Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Massachusetts, the Explorers were outscored 174-121. VCU’s 96-66 win over the Explorers was a start-to-finish offensive explosion that didn’t give La Salle a second to breathe.
Despite the 78-55 final score, the Minutemen and Explorers competed in a tight first half, with UMass leading by four points heading into halftime. But, that’s when UMass and its top-four offense turned things on, outscoring the Explorers 43-24 in the second half.
With seven games remaining and a bottom-two conference defense, La Salle will have to pull themselves back together after this rough two-game stretch.
13th Place: University of Rhode Island Rams (15-8, 4-7) (-3)
Conference play this season has been tough on Rhody, and things have only gotten worse in the last week with two losses against Fordham University and George Mason University.
Fourth-year URI guard Sebastian Thomas’ 12th 20-point game of the season was not enough to get the win over Fordham in a tight 80-79 loss on Feb. 5.
Rhody kept things competitive with George Mason in the first half of their matchup, but the Patriots pulled away and handed URI a 82-67 loss on Saturday afternoon. Yes, URI has the best offense in the conference, but when they go 4-17 from the field to open the second half of a tight game, what does it matter?
12th Place: Fordham University Rams (11-12, 3-7) (+2)
Despite winning in dramatic fashion against URI, the Rams still possess a losing record overall and in conference play. Having led by as much as 15 in the first half of the contest and proceeding to allow Rhody to come back, Fordham showcased its top-three A-10 offense and dead last defense.
Fordham will have to prove itself in its eight remaining games that it can compete with the rest of its stacked A-10 opponents if it wants to slide into a top-10 spot.
11th Place: Duquesne University Dukes (10-14, 5-6) (+1)
Following a loss to last-place Richmond, the Dukes ended their five-game skid with a 69-56 win over Loyola University Chicago on Saturday.
The hurdle the Dukes must get past is their inconsistent offense, ranking 14th place in the A-10 with a scoring average of 68.3 points per game. While the Dukes’ defense won their matchup against the Ramblers after holding them to 0-7 shooting from the field in the final minutes, they still have work to do to become an all-around solid team.
10th Place: Davidson College Wildcats (14-9, 4-6) (+1)
Despite losing two of its last three games, Davidson has competed tightly against two top five teams in George Mason and the University of Dayton, and beat Richmond. The two losses were within six points to both opponents. A-10 leading scorer, third-year forward Reed Bailey, posted 19 points in the loss against the Flyers.
Davidson has the potential to stay in games with top contenders, as its under .500 conference win percentage includes earlier season losses to URI and La Salle. Looking ahead, the Wildcats have the opportunity to continue moving up the rankings in the weeks ahead of March.
9th Place: St. Bonaventure University Bonnies (17-8, 5-7) (-6)
St. Bonaventure had quite the swan dive from last week’s third-place spot, but you can’t afford to drop two conference games this late in the season and not face the repercussions. In a highly contested battle, the Bonnies lost to two teams in the mix at the top of the conference: Loyola Chicago and George Washington University.
The Bonnies’ bottom-three offense worked against them while facing the Ramblers, as they sported a seven minute scoring drought in the first half, in comparison to Loyola, who had a .596 field goal percentage in the game. The first half woes continued against the Revolutionaries, as the team shot .375 overall in the loss.
8th Place: University of Massachusetts Minutemen (11-13, 6-5) (+1)
A close 73-71 loss to Saint Louis and a blowout win over La Salle once again kept the Minutemen above .500 in conference play this week.
Ranking fourth in the A-10 in rebounding, fourth-year forward Daniel Rivera continues to be a force to be reckoned with for UMass opponents, having recorded 22 rebounds in the last two games.
UMass hasn’t won consecutive games since its three-game winning streak, sparked by an electric 120-118 triple-overtime win over Fordham, that ended on Jan. 29. With its week ahead, UMass has the chance to start a new streak with games against Davidson and St. Bonaventure.
7th Place: Loyola University Chicago Ramblers (14-9, 5-5) (-1)
The Ramblers have averaged 61 points in their last four games and sit bottom five in A-10 offense.
What seemed to be a statement game for the Ramblers, holding the Bonnies to just 53 points, which was the fewest points they’ve allowed an A-10 opponent since joining the league, was followed by a 69-56 loss against Duquesne. The Dukes and Ramblers traded the lead eight times, but ultimately the Dukes gained momentum down the stretch and sealed the game with an 8-0 run in the final two minutes.
When every game matters, the Ramblers need to dig deeper and find ways to win games down the stretch.
6th Place: George Washington University Revolutionaries (16-8, 5-6) (+2)
Losing by only three points once again to the top-seeded George Mason and winning against the Bonnies was enough to move George Washington up two spots this week.
In the low-scoring 53-50 game against George Mason, the Revolutionaries have nothing to hang their heads about, as GMU holds the top defense in the conference. Third-year forward Rafael Castro, leading rebounder in the conference, contributed 15 points in the win against St. Bonaventure.
The Revolutionaries continue to prove that they can be a threat to the conference leaders, but they’ll need to stay consistent to keep moving up throughout the month of February.
5th Place: Saint Louis University Billikens (14-10, 7-4) (-)
Currently sitting in the third spot in the A-10 standings, the Billikens would have been ranked higher if not for their rematch with Saint Joseph’s University not going their way, falling 76-63.
The difference maker for Saint Louis is its 3-6 road record in comparison to its 11-2 home record. Statistically, Saint Louis is an average team. What sets them apart is its .636 conference winning percentage.
The Billikens face a mighty challenge this week with their game against George Mason, which will be telling to where the Billikens really stand against top A-10 teams.
4th Place: Saint Joseph’s University Hawks (14-9, 5-5) (+3)
It was a game of scoring runs and droughts for the Hawks and Billikens, but 20+ point performances from fourth-year guard Erik Reynolds II and second-year guard Xzayvier Brown led the Hawks to victory. The turning point for the Hawks was scoring 12 straight points after a 17-4 run from the Billikens, resulting in the Hawks retaking the lead into halftime.
Similarly to the Billikens, the Hawks also face George Mason this week and their resilience will be put to the test.
3rd Place: University of Dayton Flyers (16-8, 6-5) (+1)
Taking on the second-ranked VCU, which had won eight of its last nine contests, Dayton fought hard until the end, but a 12-0 Rams run put the game away down the stretch. The Flyers worked against themselves, committing a season-high 19 turnovers that led to 30 Rams points.
On paper the Flyers don’t stand out, but with five wins in their last seven matchups, momentum has carried them through conference foes. It’s up to the Flyers to continue putting in the effort every game until early March.
2nd Place: Virginia Commonwealth University Rams (19-5, 9-2) (-)
The Rams are riding a three-game winning streak and show no signs of slowing down, having outscored their opponents 259-183 in that stretch. Sure, two of those wins were against bottom-three teams, but back-to-back 90+ point performances is nothing to sneeze about.
Sitting second place in both offense and defense in the A-10, the biggest challenge for the Rams down the line is their matchup with George Mason on Feb. 22. Until then, if the Rams can plow through lower A-10 opponents, they’ll be legitimate contenders for the top conference seed.
1st Place: George Mason University Patriots (19-5, 10-1) (-)
As they say, defense wins games, and the Patriots have won nine straight. Last week’s lone critique of the Patriots is that they keep games close, but their latest 82-67 win over Rhode Island proves they have the ability to blowout opponents.
The Patriots’ conference-leading defense holds opponents to an average of 61.8 points per game, and it clearly makes a difference. What stands in the way of the Patriots? Keeping up their consistency.
