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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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) /

#7: St. Joe’s Hawks

After being picked to finish second in the conference in the preseason coaches’ poll, the Hawks got off to a hot start in November. They beat a solid Old Dominion team, then Monmouth, then a P5 team (albeit a weaker one) in Wake Forest in their first three games. Since that stretch, however, they are 4-6 with their most recent loss being the 85-60 shellacking put on them by George Mason in the conference opener. It’s tough to diagnose exactly what’s gone wrong – one might think it was Charlie Brown’s absence for several games – but he was healthy against Mason and they still got pounded.

Because the Hawks’ offensive weapons (eg. Charlie Brown, Lamarr Kimble, and Taylor Funk) and because of coach Phil Martelli, it wouldn’t be wise to count them out just yet, but they have a lot of soul searching to do if they want to avoid the wheels falling off the bus. Their next three games will come against George Washington, Saint Bonaventure and Duquesne, so they need to capitalize and win at least two, if not all three of those games if they want to right the ship sooner rather than later.

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