When I compiled my second Atlantic 10 Basketball power rankings at the start of the month, I referred to the conference as a “bloodbath” – and it continues to yield similar results.
Seven teams now rank in KenPom’s top 100, with six within the top 100 in the latest NET rankings – and another two on the cusp at 106 and 112. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has three A-10 teams slated to make the tournament in St. Bonaventure, Richmond, and Saint Louis.
Seven different teams currently maintain overall winning records, while seven also hold records over .500 in conference play. That is without Saint Louis even playing a game in conference, having been forced to postpone numerous games due to COVID-19 protocol.
With Saint Louis – who, entering A-10 play, was the consensus top team in the conference – out, the Atlantic 10 has been a cluster of bizarre results. Reigning conference champions have fallen to some of the bottom teams, teams have fallen and climbed since the start of January, and – with the Billikens out of action since December 23rd – there is now a new team on top.
The best summary I have seen regarding the Atlantic 10 came from CBSSports’ Jon Rothstein, in a single tweet from this past weekend:
The Atlantic 10 is cannibalizing itself. pic.twitter.com/4i3JBDcj2c
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) January 9, 2021
Like the case with the start of January’s rankings, there is a multitude of teams that could be swapped, particularly when it comes to those in the middle-of-the-pack. Likewise, this conference is in an interesting dilemma with Saint Louis – and an argument could be made to place them anywhere given their lack of conference results.
With a busy weekend slate of Atlantic 10 basketball over, there has been some shift in the rankings as we head into the midway point of the college basketball season. With the conference set to return to action on Tuesday – with Saint Louis finally back – here is where the 14 programs stand heading into the latter half of the conference season.