Busting Brackets
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Atlantic 10 Basketball: 2020-21 power rankings heading into conference play

By Benjamin Zacher

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 15: The Atlantic 10 logo on the court before the game between the George Washington Colonials and the Richmond Spiders at the Charles E. Smith Athletic Center on January 15, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 15: The Atlantic 10 logo on the court before the game between the George Washington Colonials and the Richmond Spiders at the Charles E. Smith Athletic Center on January 15, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) /
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Nah’Shon Hyland Virginia Commonwealth Rams (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
Nah’Shon Hyland Virginia Commonwealth Rams (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

2. VCU Rams

  • 2020-21 record: 8-2 overall, 1-0 A-10
  • Previous ranking: 4th

Without a doubt, there is not a bigger surprise in the A-10 than VCU.  After being picked ninth in the A-10 preseason poll, the Rams have surpassed expectations, winning six straight after falling to a Penn State buzzer-beater back on December 2nd.  Their strong showing at the season-opening Bad Boy Mowers Classic – which included a 12-point loss to West Virginia – put VCU in the spotlight.

None of those six wins have been remarkable, per se – they all come against sub-100 KenPom teams in Mount St. Mary’s, NC A&T, Old Dominion, Western Carolina, James Madison, and Saint Joseph’s – but of their eight wins, which also includes solid wins over Utah State and Memphis – just one (James Madison) has been decided by single-digits.

Sophomore Nah’Shon Hyland may be one of the most underrated players in all of college basketball.  Responsible for an overwhelming 33.4% of VCU’s shots while he is in – the 35th-highest mark among players – the 6-3 guard has been on fire from the floor, knocking down 50.0% of his 2PTers, 38.0% from beyond the arc, and 89.3% from the charity stripe en route to averaging 17.1 points per game.  Joining him in double-digits is Vince Williams at 11.2.

The Rams may also be one of the most balanced groups in basketball, featuring nine players that see at least 14 minutes of action per game – with two others averaging between 9.8 and 9.5 minutes per game.  Subsequently, as a team, VCU has been stellar on both ends of the floor – offensively, they rank 116th in 3P% (34.9%), 44th in 2P% (55.4%), and 50th in effective FG% (54.3%).

They have been an absolute terror on the defensive end, however.  Ranking as the 15th most efficient defense in the country, the Rams hold teams to 28.6% from long range (43rd) and 45.9% inside (70th), which correlates with the 36th-best effective FG% defense (44.8%).  Most significantly, they force a turnover on 25.8% of opponents’ possessions – the 14th-best mark in Div. I.

COVID-19 protocol forced the Rams to postpone Saturday’s game against Davidson, and it remains to be seen what happens with VCU’s upcoming games.  They should be able to continue their stellar start, however, taking on George Mason and George Washington on the road while hosting URI in between.

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