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Atlantic 10 Basketball: Richmond, Saint Louis on top in opening weeks

By Benjamin Zacher

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 09: The Atlantic-10 logo on the floor before a college basketball game between the George Washington Colonials andthe Dayton Flyers at the Smith Center on January 9, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 09: The Atlantic-10 logo on the floor before a college basketball game between the George Washington Colonials andthe Dayton Flyers at the Smith Center on January 9, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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Atlantic 10 Basketball
Atlantic 10 Basketball Kellan Grady (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

6. Davidson Wildcats

  • 2020-21 record: 2-2
  • Wins: vs. High Point (82-73), vs. UNLV (77-73, neutral)
  • Losses: vs. #17 Texas (78-76, neutral), RV Providence (63-62, neutral)

The Wildcats were so close to being a nationally-ranked team.  They secured a season-opening win over High Point before giving their collective fanbase heart attacks in their three games in the Maui Invitational, falling to eventual champions Texas by two and Providence by one, but sneaking past UNLV by four.

Dropping those games to Texas and Providence hurts any chances of Davidson potentially being an at-large-worthy team, but there is enough talent on this team to make some noise in the A-10 and even win the conference tournament.

Bob McKillop has some scary offensive options on his team, led by Preseason All-Conference First Team honoree Kellan Grady, who is averaging 18.3 points and 5.5 rebounds.  He is not alone, either – Hyunjung Lee is just barely trailing with 16.8 ppg, and Carter Collins has chipped in with nearly 12 points a game.

The Wildcats – despite ranking 151st in points per game – have been brilliant offensively, ranking 34th in 2PT% (60.7%), 93rd in 3P% (35.6%), and 33rd in FT% (77.4%).  There is some work to do defensively, however, especially if they hope to win close games over higher-ranked opponents.

They should, realistically, pick up two easy wins coming up over Georgia Southern and Charlotte – but the Wildcats will be put to the test once A-10 play rolls around.  Starting on the 18th, they will take on URI, Vanderbilt, Richmond, VCU, Duquesne, and Dayton – all in a row.

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