Atlantic 10 Basketball Power Rankings: VCU on top after non-conference

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 09: Virginia Commonwealth Rams fans cheer against the Rhode Island Rams 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) /

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Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images /

#9: Duquesne Dukes

The Dukes are perhaps the team with the most long-term potential in the conference right now, but they’re still working to tap into it. They’ve played one of the top 25 easiest schedules in the nation so far (according to Kenpom.com), so it’s not surprising that they’re currently sitting at 9-4, but they’re still yet to beat anybody impressive. They have some decent wins on their resume in Radford and Marshall, and they played Notre Dame and Penn State tight, but they’ve shown a very low floor at times as well – eg. losing to NJIT by 11 and to Pitt by 19.

Duquesne is still extremely young and inexperienced, so I don’t expect them to be the most consistent team in the conference right now, but coach Dambrot needs to find more steady production outside of Eric Williams (who’s been fantastic). The Dukes will have a very tough test to open up conference play when they travel to Davidson, but will then come home to face Fordham and a reeling St. Joe’s team. If they can pull off the upset against the Wildcats, they’ll have a chance to get red hot and rise in this large middle-of-the-pack mix.

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