A-10 Basketball: VCU on top, La Salle a team to watch in March

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 13: A detailed view of a Spalding basketball during a quarterfinal game between the Davidson Wildcats and La Salle Explorers in the 2015 Men's Atlantic 10 Basketball Tournament at the Barclays Center on March 13, 2015 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images) /

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FULLERTON, CA – NOVEMBER 25: Head coach Ashley Howard of the La Salle Explorers calls a play from the bench in the second half of the game against the Grand Canyon Lopes during the Wooden Legacy Tournament at Titan Gym on November 25, 2018 in Fullerton, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /

Keep an eye on La Salle

After La Salle’s pathetic non-con showing, in which they went winless over their first ten games, fans around the A10 were ready to pencil in automatic W’s next to their team’s game(s) against the Explorers. Anyone who followed the team closely over that stretch, however, recognized two things: their top scorers were almost never healthy at the same time, and that ten game stretch included a murderous slate of opponents – Miami, Temple, Villanova, and Florida just to name a few.

By the time A10 play came around, not only were all of La Salle’s primary weapons ready to go, but also the team was set to face much softer opponents than they had over the first two months. Fast forward to today, and the Explorers are 6-5 in conference with their most recent win coming over a solid Duquesne squad. They’re yet to beat any of the teams in the current top four, but they did give VCU a real scare on the road before crumbling down the stretch and losing by six.

The Explorers don’t do any one thing extraordinarily well and their roster isn’t exactly chock-full of all-conference players, but they’re long and athletic on defense and Ashley Howard has proven his ability to make adjustments and take advantage of his opponent’s weaknesses. In terms of go-to players, the much-improved Saul Phiri is averaging 11.5 points per game and shooting 43.5% from beyond the arc, and Pookie Powell is as steady as ever at the point guard spot (16.3 points per game and 83.3% from the line). The team could use a little more production down low, but the underclassmen group consisting of Miles Brookins, Jared Kimbrough and Ed Croswell are giving us a glimpse of the future with a combined 15.4 points and 14.9 rebounds per game.

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By no means should the Explorers be considered a contender for the conference title at this point, but as far as dark horses go, they have as good a shot as anybody outside of the top six to go on a run in Brooklyn. They’ve got some real tests upcoming with visits to Saint Louis, Dayton, and Olean and a home contest against Davidson, but they should still be able to win enough games to stay out of playing a Wednesday game in the tournament. From there, anything can happen.

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