Atlantic 10 Basketball: St. Bonaventure on top in latest power rankings

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 10: The Atlantic 10 Logo on a basketball during the game between the St. Bonaventure Bonnies and the Davidson Wildcats during the Semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 10, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) /

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St. Joseph’s Taylor Funk Atlantic 10 Basketball Kns Vols Stjosephs /

14. Saint Joseph’s Hawks

2020-21 record: 1-12 overall, 0-7 A-10
Previous ranking: 13th

When I ranked the Hawks at the start of January, they were 0-6, with five of those losses coming to teams ranked in the top 70 in KenPom. Likewise, the Hawks – at that point – had played the toughest strength of schedule in the country, with games against Kansas, Villanova, and Tennessee in their repertoire.

Since then, the Hawks have accumulated three more losses to teams in the top 70 of KenPom – but also have finally had the opportunity to play the weaker teams on the schedule. Unfortunately, Saint Joseph’s has not fared well with those opportunities. They barely eeked out a three-point win over Albany for their first victory of the year, but have dropped four straight A-10 games – one at La Salle, and two to George Mason.

The Hawks have been forced to operate in their last eight games without Ryan Daly, the A-10’s leading scorer last season. If there has been any solace for the Hawks, it has been the play of junior Taylor Funk, who has averaged nearly 18 points in the wake of Daly’s absence.

One of the issues playing Saint Joseph’s, however, has been the inconsistency past Funk – Jordan Hall, Dahmir Bishop, and Jack Forrest are all players who have reached double-digits multiple times this season but have fluctuated between double and single digits during the A-10 schedule. Their offensive woes translate to the court – they rank an abysmal 288th in 3P% (30.0%) and they are even worse on the defensive end, allowing teams to shoot 38.1% (310th) from long range and 52.9% (269th) inside.

What is even worse is that the Hawks do not have many more opportunities to scoop up a win this year. They let golden opportunities against La Salle and George Mason slip. Their lone victory came against a sub-200 KenPom team (Albany) – and they have just two more of those left on their schedule in George Washington and Fordham – and they face both on the road. It doesn’t get easier to close the month, considering they host Richmond and head to Duquesne.

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