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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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Ryan Daly Saint Joseph’s Hawks (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
Ryan Daly Saint Joseph’s Hawks (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images) /

13. Saint Joseph’s Hawks

  • 2020-21 record: 0-6 overall, 0-1 A-10
  • Previous ranking: 8th

When I ranked the Hawks at eighth last month, I wrote in the opening paragraph, “This choice might backfire later on down the line.”  I still think the Hawks will give some A-10 teams some fits as they head into conference play, but Billy Lange’s crew has struggled to get things going after returning from a COVID-19 pause.

After their season-opening losses to Auburn and Kansas, the Hawks have lost four-straight since returning from their pause, dropping a nail-biter at Drexel – a respectable loss – before dropping double-digit games to Villanova, Tennessee, and VCU.  None of those are bad losses whatsoever, obviously – but the Hawks have struggled to remain competitive, especially on the defensive end.

The Hawks are below average in nearly every single defensive category, including 2P% (52.8%, 244th), 3P% (38.7%, 301st), offensive rebound percentage (36.4%, 321st), and adjusted defensive efficency (270th).  They are also awful from beyond the arc offensively, knocking down just 28.2% (295th) of their shots – but they do fare well inside, at 52.1% (109th).

To be fair to the Hawks, they have played the toughest schedule in college basketball thus far, according to KenPom.  Again, once they get into the bulk of conference play, they should pick up some wins – and potentially surpass last year’s six-win total.  They feature four players who average over nine points a game, with Ryan Daly – last year’s A-10 leading scorer who missed the VCU game – leading the way with 17.2 points per game.

Unfortunately, the Hawks may have to wait a while longer before picking up their first win.  Five of their next six games are on the road, including at URI, St. Bonaventure, and Davidson – and their lone home game comes against Saint Louis.

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