Atlantic 10 Basketball power rankings: Davidson, Saint Louis lead early season list

BOISE, ID - MARCH 15: Kellan Grady #31 of the Davidson Wildcats reacts in the second half against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Taco Bell Arena on March 15, 2018 in Boise, Idaho. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

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WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 09: Head coach Phil Martelli of the Saint Joseph’s Hawks looks on against the George Mason Patriots during the first half in the Quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 9, 2018 in Washington, DC.(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

5: St. Joe’s (4-4)

After starting off the season extremely hot, the Hawks have recently come back down to earth. They went 3-0 in their first three, but are 1-4 since including a bad loss to William & Mary. There’s still plenty to like with this team: Jared Bynum is a very steady point guard for a freshman, Charlie Brown and Lamarr Kimble look like they’ve shaken off all the rust from sitting out last year, and Taylor Funk is one of the best pure shooters in the league. That said, they’ve recently shown that they aren’t quite good enough to get by without a total team effort, and that they can be pushed around physically if they don’t play with enough intensity.

In an A10 with only a few teams of the caliber of the Hawk’s recent opponents, they should absolutely find a way to stay in the top half of the league, but they are going to have to improve their consistency and effort if they want to make a run at the trophy. They’ve got a tough stretch coming up (Villanova, Loyola-Chicago), and it would speak volumes if they were able to pull out some good wins. Either way, they’ll have a chance to build momentum early on in conference play, their first three games coming against the likes of George Mason, George Washington, and St. Bonaventure.

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