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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 16: Kellan Grady #31 of the Davidson Wildcats (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 16: Kellan Grady #31 of the Davidson Wildcats (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

8. Davidson Wildcats

Record: 11-11 (5-5)

The Atlantic 10’s most disappointing team this season has without a doubt got to be the Wildcats. After returning all five starters from last year with some of them even on National shortlists for awards as well as the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year from last season(Jon Axel Gudmundsson), they were polled as the second-best team in the A10 preseason poll and were projected to get a bid in the NCAA Tournament.

Instead what we got was a team that does not match your expectations at every turn, sure the team can still be considered good but it is not what we were expecting. We expected a team that would go neck and neck and neck with VCU and Dayton earlier this season but we got a team that has had problems with Saint Joseph’s, George Washington, and even Fordham.

Davidson went 4-2 in their last six games and with the most notable win being against Saint Louis. Senior guard Jon Axel Gudmundsson may be down overall this season but he has stepped it up and took over the team in conference play, leading the team in scoring rebounds and assists with 17.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 5.5 assists in A10 games, which is higher than his numbers last year.

The worst thing about him so far in the conference games has been his three-point offense as he has been making just .250 of them. Junior guard Kellan Grady is another name from last year that is still performing at a nice level, scoring 16.9 points per conference game. The Wildcats may be disappointing but they aren’t dead in the water. They will be facing Fordham at home and St Bonaventure away this week, two winnable games that can help them build even more momentum.

7. Saint Louis Billikens

Record: 17-7 (6-5)

Earlier this week there was a huge 5-way tie for third place in the conference with all five teams possessing a 6-3 conference record. Out of all of those teams, the Billikens were the only team that lost twice. Saint Louis entered into a critical home game against Duquesne who was one of the other four teams in the tie but the Dukes managed to leave with a win.

From there the Billikens then had a game at #6 Dayton, a team they had on the ropes before in their first matchup. This time they again managed to put up a good fight but it still wasn’t enough to beat the Flyers. This team had a chance to make a power move, now they are on the outside looking in on the top four spots in the conference.

Saint Louis is led by Hasahn French, who is averaging a double-double in conference play so far this season (11.2 points and 12.1 rebounds per game). Jordan Goodwin will be right by his side and is almost averaging a double-double in conference play as well (15.5 points and 9 rebounds per game, he is averaging a double-double when you factor in non-conference games as well).

The Billikens only have one game this week when La Salle comes over on the weekend. They don’t have a tough schedule remaining with four of their last games being against sub .500 conference teams, so if they want to make it to the top they can not lose any of those games as they can probably only afford one more loss for the rest of the season.

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