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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Atlantic 10 Basketball Dayton Flyers Jalen Crutcher Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /

9. Dayton Flyers

2020-21 record: 8-4 overall, 4-3 A-10
Previous ranking: 7th

No one embodies Jon Rothstein’s tweet about the A-10 cannibalizing itself more than Dayton. Entering A-10 play back in December, the Flyers were 4-1 with solid wins over Mississippi State and Ole Miss, with a decent buzzer-beating loss to SMU – and, despite their issues with little bench production, looked primed to give teams some fits in the A-10.

That, for the most part, has sort of held up – but Dayton’s trek through the A-10 this season has been nothing short of bizarre. When I ranked these teams back in January, the Flyers were just coming off a home loss to La Salle – the first time the Explorers have won at Dayton in 20 years. Within a week, Dayton dropped their second A-10 game in inexcusable fashion, giving Fordham its first – and only – win.

Then the Flyers scooped up an impressive overtime victory at Davidson and took down a scrappy Duquesne squad, with wins over George Mason and GW mixed in – but were just dismantled over this past weekend on the road at VCU, 66-43. Dayton’s inconsistency leaves them in a bind, but it is understandable – to date, only four players have played in all 12 games for Dayton.

The Flyers have typically been led by the trio of Jalen Crutcher, Ibi Watson, and Mustapha Amzil – they combined for 43 of Dayton’s 67 points against George Washington – but they were abysmal against the Rams, combining for nine points (4-25). Shutting down just one – or two – of those three is Dayton’s kryptonite – hence why they averaged just 0.66 points per possession against VCU.

It does not get any easier for the Flyers – but they are the type of team to pull off bizarre wins, after all. Seven of their last 10 games are against teams in the top 70 in KenPom – and their next tilt will be Saint Louis’ first game back from their month-long break. If the Flyers hope to continue to be a thorn in teams’ sides, they have a perfect opportunity to do just that on Tuesday against the Billikens.

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