Busting Brackets
Fansided

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)
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)
13 of 15
Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images
Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images

3: Dayton (5-3)

The Flyers are coming out of an extremely difficult stretch in which they lost three of four, but if you watched them play in those games, it’s clear that they’re one of the best teams in the conference right now. Their win over Butler was perhaps the best win that the conference has had thus far*, and their only 3 losses have been to Virginia, Oklahoma, and Mississippi State (who are a combined 22-2). It’s not like they got routed in any of those games either – in fact, the Virginia and Mississippi State games both came down to a few possessions.

People were worried if the Flyers would be able to improve from last year after the loss of Darrell Davis and the influx of so many new players into the program (not to mention the worries about Anthony Grant as an in-game strategist). They’ve proven they have the talent and maturity to more than make up for Davis’ absence, however, and some of the newcomers are making names for themselves as stars (eg. Obadiah Toppin).

Between returning players like Josh Cunningham, Jalen Crutcher, and Jordan Davis, and highly-touted newcomers like Toppin and Dwayne Cohill, I always knew this team would have the talent to compete. It was just a matter of whether or not they would be able to piece it together and play as a connected unit. They have, and should only continue to get better as they continue to establish their identity.

*Note: St. Louis also beat Butler.