Busting Brackets
Fansided

Atlantic 10 Basketball: VCU, Dayton among most likely to grab 2019 autobid

By Stu Luddecke

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 08: A general view as the George Washington Colonials play the Saint Louis Billikens during the second half in the Second Round of the Atlantic 10 Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 8, 2018 in Washington, DC.(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 08: A general view as the George Washington Colonials play the Saint Louis Billikens during the second half in the Second Round of the Atlantic 10 Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 8, 2018 in Washington, DC.(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 4
Next
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – DECEMBER 09: De’Riante Jenkins #0 of the VCU Rams shoots over De’Andre Hunter #12 of the Virginia Cavaliers in the first half during a game at John Paul Jones Arena on December 9, 2018 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – DECEMBER 09: De’Riante Jenkins #0 of the VCU Rams shoots over De’Andre Hunter #12 of the Virginia Cavaliers in the first half during a game at John Paul Jones Arena on December 9, 2018 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images) /

#2: Dayton Flyers

However you feel about Anthony Grant as a head coach, it’s impossible to criticize him too much for the job he’s done this year with the Flyers. They currently sit at 11-5 in conference play and are 19-10 overall, and they seem to be clicking especially well of late outside of the loss to Rhody. In the other four of their last five contests they beat SLU and Davidson, took VCU to the wire, and absolutely stomped UMass.

The fifty-eighth overall team on Kenpom.com, the Flyers don’t do any one thing extraordinarily well, but they are well-balanced and can get as hot offensively as any team in the league. Depth is a weakness, but the starting five is talented enough to beat the good teams in the A10 and destroy the bad ones on most nights.

Freshman Obi Toppin, in addition to having a fantastic name, could easily win A10 Rookie of the Year, Jalen Crutcher has developed into a bona fide star at point guard, and Josh Cunningham is almost certainly the best big man in the league.

A short rotation could potentially be a problem in the postseason, especially if the injury bug bites, but a double-bye should help alleviate some of those concerns (supposing they hold on to a top four position).

*This article was written shortly after the Flyers lost to Rhode Island, so their Kenpom.com ranking is almost assuredly not 58 as you’re reading this.

#1: VCU Rams

VCU followed up a 4-2 start by winning nine straight games, and they’ve been absolutely hammering their opponents over that stretch. The average margin of victory for the Rams since their last loss (to Rhode Island) over a month ago has been 16.8 points, and they’ve won by 28 points or more on three occasions.

Stifling defense has been the Rams’ calling card – the fourth most efficient defense in the nation according to kenpom.com – but they are plenty adept at putting the ball in the hole as well. Marcus Evans, De’Riante Jenkins, Issac Vann, and Marcus Santos-Silva are all averaging over 9.0 points per game, and the rotation runs three or four more deep of guys who can get hot on any given night.

dark. Next. Bracketology Bubble Watch

Mike Rhoades should win coach of the year for the job he’s done with this group, especially after being picked to finish 7th in the preseason coaches’ poll. With the Rams rolling and the other top teams looking increasingly mortal as the season wears on, they seem to be a pretty safe bet to hoist up the hardware in Brooklyn.

Home/Atlantic 10