It’s coming down to the wire for men’s basketball in the Atlantic 10 Conference, and it was a week of clarifying which teams are legitimate.
Each week, The Good Five Cent Cigar sports staff ranks the 15 teams in the conference.
Here’s how the rankings turned out as of Feb. 24:
15th Place: Fordham University Rams (11-16, 3-11) (-)
For the second week in a row, Fordham’s at the bottom of the barrel. Although its offense ranks fifth in the conference with an average of 74.7 points per game, Fordham has failed to score more than 70 points in its last three losses.
Fordham’s latest defeats came from Duquesne University and Davidson College, pushing its skid to four games. While the Rams didn’t lose by more than 11 points, dropping five of their last six games is enough to deter team morale less than a week away from March.
14th Place: La Salle University Explorers (12-15, 4-10) (-)
The Explorers dropped a telling game to the University of Richmond, and that wasn’t the worst thing to come out of this week. On Thursday, Feb. 20, the school announced that Head Coach Fran Dunphy will retire at the end of this season, ending an era that brought La Salle three A-10 Tournament wins and nearly 200 regular season wins.
With four regular season games remaining, including a matchup with Duquesne where Dunphy will be honored, La Salle will need to pull out all the stops to have a shot at another tournament win under Dunphy.
13th Place: University of Richmond Spiders (10-18, 5-10) (-)
While the Spiders have won two of their last three, both victories were to the two teams below them. Richmond only has one less conference win than four opponents above them, but with a 2-10 away record and last-place offense, time is not on its side to turn things around.
Richmond’s latest road loss to Saint Joseph’s University came by a score of 78-62, shooting .379 percent from the field in comparison to SJU with .549. The Spiders’ final three regular season games will be played against top-four teams in the conference, two of them being away. It will take a mighty effort for the Spiders to claim victory on their way to the postseason.
12th Place: University of Massachusetts Minutemen (11-17, 6-9) (-1)
Dropping their last two games by at least 22 points, the Minutemen’s chances of earning a first-round bye in their final A-10 season grow slimmer. Bottom three in defense, UMass cannot afford to continue to score under 60 points in its final three regular season games
UMass sits in last place in team field goal percentage with .413. On Saturday in the Mullins Center, it’ll be an offensive battle between UMass’ fourth-year guard Rahsool Diggins and URI’s fourth-year guard Sebastian Thomas, both top-10 scorers in the conference.
11th Place: Duquesne University Dukes (11-16, 6-8) (+1)
With their five-game skid far in the rearview mirror, the Dukes have proven they can compete with top-seeded teams as of late. After claiming a 73-64 win over Fordham, the Dukes dropped a close 70-63 loss against St. Bonaventure University.
The Bonnies have eight more overall wins than the Dukes, but they rank right above the Dukes in both offense and defense. With defense being the stronger of the two, Duquesne will need its defense to step up against George Mason University this upcoming week.
10th Place: University of Rhode Island (17-9, 6-8) (-2)
After jumping five spots in last week’s rankings, URI is back to sitting just outside single digits amid the middle conference battle. The Rams’ road woes continued, as they fell 81-66 to Saint Louis University.
Rhody will be back at home to try and better their 13-2 record in the Ryan Center against the University of Dayton, who sits just below URI in the conference’s offensive standings. Thomas, who averages 17.7 points per game, has only scored 19 points through his last two games.
9th Place: Davidson College Wildcats (16-11, 6-8) (+1)
Before handling Fordham 80-69, A-10 leading scorer Reed Bailey’s double-double was not enough to push Davidson past Loyola University Chicago, falling 77-69. Once again dealing with woes down the stretch, Davidson had come back from deficits earlier in the game, but could not do it one final time.
The Wildcats’ biggest challenge this week will be taking on the red-hot Virginia Commonwealth University after tangling with the Billikens. With two weeks left to turn around their late-game narrative, the Wildcats will need to dig deep against top-seeded opponents.
8th Place: St. Bonaventure University Bonnies (19-9, 7-8) (+1)
Only playing once last week, the Bonnies claimed victory over Duquesne in back-and-forth play that came down to their defense in the final minute of the contest. The Bonnies are ranked third in the conference’s defensive rankings, averaging 64.3 scored by opponents per game.
Shooting .500 percent from the field, the Bonnies were led by third-year guard Lajae Jones with 24 points in the matchup. Team-leading scorer fourth-year guard Melvin Council Jr. was just behind with 20 points. For the Bonnies to move up further in the standings in the next two weeks, their biggest players will need to continue producing consistently.
7th Place: Saint Louis University Billikens (15-12, 8-6) (-)
The Billikens also only played once last week and took down the Rams at home, but their success is undermined by the fact that URI has a 1-7 road record this season. Still, after scoring 81 points, the Billikens should ride some momentum into their final three games.
Two out of three of Saint Louis’s remaining games are against opponents seeded higher than them: Loyola Chicago and Dayton. The Billikens will be put to the test in the final stretch of their regular season.
6th Place: George Washington University Revolutionaries (18-10, 7-8) (-)
The Revolutionaries also stay stagnant in this week’s rankings, as they split their games against Saint Joseph’s and UMass to stay under .500 in conference play.
The Ramblers should prove to be the Revolutionaries’ biggest foe in a deciding week for postseason seeding. While not a standout squad, if the Revolutionaries can pull out three straight victories to close out the season, they have a chance at claiming a double-bye spot.
5th Place: University of Dayton Flyers (18-9, 8-6) (-2)
After winning four of their last five, the Flyers fell to the Ramblers 76-72, causing them to swap places in our rankings. Despite the close score, the Ramblers led for the majority of the game.
Despite its top-three conference offense, Dayton could not fend off the Ramblers in its second matchup of the season, while in the first, Dayton came out on top 83-81. The Flyers still have four games left to prove themselves as a top contender.
4th Place: Saint Joseph’s University Hawks (17-10, 8-6) (-)
Following their tight-knit loss against George Mason, the Hawks won two straight, scoring at least 78 points. Although the top two teams have separated themselves from the rest of the A-10 with double digit conference wins, Saint Joseph’s is right in the mix and deserves a double-bye.
Heading into the last two weeks with momentum, the Hawks have the opportunity to advance one place upward and secure themselves a spot in the third round of the postseason.
3rd Place: Loyola University Chicago Ramblers (18-9, 9-5) (+2)
Separating themselves from the Hawks and Flyers with one more conference win, the Ramblers have won four straight and show no signs of slowing down. Through their winning streak, the Ramblers have scored at least 76 points.
Although they sit in the middle of the pack statistically, seventh place both offensively and defensively, the Ramblers set themselves apart with their ability to pull out close victories. Loyola Chicago will look to extend its 14-1 home record against GW next week.
2nd Place: George Mason University Patriots (21-6, 12-2) (-1)
The Patriots and VCU battled it out in Richmond, but ultimately the Rams came away with a 70-54 win, knocking the Patriots off of the top spot. The Patriots’ 11-game winning streak was snapped in the biggest A-10 game of the season to this point.
After trailing by one at halftime, VCU jumped out to a lead and didn’t give it up. On top of their first loss since Jan. 4, the Patriots’ last two wins were by a margin of two points or below. In order to gain back their confidence, the Patriots will hope to blow out their final four opponents.
1st Place: Virginia Commonwealth University Rams (22-5, 12-2) (+1)
Riding a six-game winning streak and 14-0 home record, the Rams are the team to beat heading into March. Crowning themselves on top of the A-10, the work is not done for VCU.
If the Rams stay consistent in the next two weeks, this team should scare any opponent they face in the third round of the A-10 Championship.
