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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 La Salle Explorers (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

11. La Salle Explorers

  • 2020-21 record: 0-2
  • Wins: N/A
  • Losses: at St. John’s (82-65), vs. St. Peter’s (62-51, neutral)

It is no surprise that the Explorers have struggled to begin the season.  They rank in the top 100 in strength of schedule, and that has reflected in their opening two games, losing to an improving St. John’s team (82-65) and a solid St. Peter’s squad (62-51).

They were picked to finish 13th in the preseason conference poll, but do not be surprised if they happen to enter A-10 play with a good non-conference record.  Last season, they began the A-10 regular season coming off a 9-3 non-conference record – highlighted by some really solid wins over Murray State, Bucknell, and Wright State – before going 6-12 in conference.

Ashley Howard will need people to step up on a consistent basis, however. Jhamir Brickus has been the bright spot thus far, scoring double-digits off the bench in both games – but the Explorers desperately need David Beatty to return to form.  After leading the team in scoring last season (10.7 ppg), Beatty has yet to record more than six points in a game this year.

The Explorers also desperately need to fix some issues on the offensive end, where they rank 244th in field-goal percentage (39.0%), 271st in free-throw percentage (57.1%), and 266th in turnovers per possession (27.0%).

La Salle’s schedule gets a little bit easier from here – three of their next five games are against teams that rank below them in KenPom (Army, Towson, and Delaware), meaning they have ample opportunities to pick up some decent non-conference victories.

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