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Atlantic 10 Basketball power rankings: Dayton dominates, Rhode Island rallies

By Cody Gerena

DAYTON, OH - JANUARY 22: Ryan Mikesell #33 of the Dayton Flyers celebrates with Obi Toppin #1 and Jalen Crutcher #10 in the first half of the game against the St. Bonaventure Bonnies at UD Arena on January 22, 2020 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
DAYTON, OH - JANUARY 22: Ryan Mikesell #33 of the Dayton Flyers celebrates with Obi Toppin #1 and Jalen Crutcher #10 in the first half of the game against the St. Bonaventure Bonnies at UD Arena on January 22, 2020 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 13: Carl Pierre #12 of the Massachusetts Minutemen (Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 13: Carl Pierre #12 of the Massachusetts Minutemen (Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images) /

10. George Washington Colonials

Record:10-14 (4-7)

From one George to another. After having a surprisingly strong month of January with a first-half consisting of losing to three quality teams by five points each. That was then followed by a great second half of the month where they went won four games out of five picking up some decent upsets such as one at UMass and a quadruple-overtime game against Davidson with the only bad loss that whole month being just a six-point one at Fordham. The Colonials may have left January with a 4-4 record and a good amount of momentum, but it seems like they have stalled recently as they have lost their last three games by an average of 26 points per game.

The Colonials are led by senior guard Armel Potter who leads the team in points and assists in conference games with 14.5 and 5.5 assists per game, but he hasn’t played since the Davidson win and he is still day-to-day. Freshman Jameer Nelson has been trying to fill the hole recently and has led the team in points, assist, and rebounds over the past three games, but as he has shown good things such as an 8-13 19 point performance at St. a Bonaventure, he is still not complete as he has had turnover troubles turning over the ball 15 times in those games.

This week the Colonials are only facing the Patriots. KenPom has them as the underdog in all but one of their last seven games remaining. If George Washington wants to avoid the bottom of the conference they’ll need Armel Potter back as soon as possible as he had his best game all season against George Mason and a win will do them wonders in keeping them out of the bottom.

9. UMass Minutemen

Record:10-14 (4-7)

The A10’s youngest team has recently shown signs of hitting their stride these past two weeks going 3-2 with notable wins against Duquesne and in a rematch against George Mason as well as having a near upset at Rhode Island. This has been a team to watch out for especially at home. Pretty impressive for a team whose average player only has under a year of college experience under their belts.

UMass’ top player is the freshman center Tre Mitchell, who leads the team in points and is second in rebounds and assists on the team and averages 19.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in conference games. This year has been important in developing a team that only has two upperclassmen getting noticeable minutes.

They will definitely be a quality team next season but if they want to make an impact this season then they’ll have to do better away from home as they only have one away win so far this season. If they have more performances like the ones they’ve been having recently, then they would have a nice safe spot in the middle conference.

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