Atlantic 10 Basketball: VCU on top, Bonnies drop in latest power rankings
There have not been as many conferences that have had to endure tumultuous stretches as Atlantic 10 Basketball has had to deal with. Filled with constant pauses, the conference – which boasts as many as four potential tournament teams – has found itself in an interesting dilemma.
Here is where the conference stands presently: according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, in his most recent projections from February 12th, two A-10 teams are slated to make the tournament in St. Bonaventure and VCU, with the latter among the Last Four In. Both Saint Louis and Richmond, meanwhile, are in the First Four Out.
Seven teams, meanwhile, rank in the top 100 in KenPom – with two more in UMass and Duquesne right on the verge of cracking into the top 100 – while five teams rank in the top 68. In the latest NET rankings, four teams – VCU, St. Bonaventure, Saint Louis, and Richmond – all find themselves vying for spots in the tournament, ranking in the top 55. Davidson, meanwhile, is just on the outside looking in at 70th.
I had been intending to release a set of power rankings a week or so ago – but at least six different programs have been forced to go on pause since the last set of rankings two weeks ago. For context: there were five games slated for Saturday, February 13th – and just one was ultimately played. There will have been just 10 conference games played since Friday, February 5th.
In case you needed a reminder from two weeks ago, CBSSports’ Jon Rothstein’s tweet still holds up, now in February:
The Atlantic 10 is cannibalizing itself. pic.twitter.com/4i3JBDcj2c
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) January 9, 2021
With the Saint Louis Billikens now back in action and having a few A-10 games under their belt, it has been a bit easier to figure out the top of the league – but neither St. Bonaventure nor Saint Louis, the previous number-one teams in these power rankings, find themselves in the top spot this time around.
With several teams competing for at-large positions in the upcoming NCAA Tournament, the NCAA Selection Committee will have an incredibly difficult time determining just how many – and what teams – will be able to go, particularly with the thoughts of lackluster non-conference schedules and constant pauses in mind. Until then, however, here is where the 14 programs stand after the first two weeks of February.