Atlantic 10 Basketball: VCU on top, Bonnies drop in latest power rankings

1. VCU Rams

• 2020-21 record: 15-4 overall, 8-2 A-10
• Previous ranking: 7th

It’s bizarre to believe that the team picked ninth in the A-10 preseason poll would be in the top spot of the standings halfway through February, but here we are.  The highest-ranking A-10 team in NET (34th), the VCU Rams have been the shocker in the conference – and, at the moment, should feel confident about their chances in reaching the NCAA Tournament.

The Rams have just one bad smudge on their record – a 15-point home loss to URI – but their losses to West Virginia, Penn State, and St. Bonaventure have all aged well.  Additionally, when the last power rankings were released, the Rams were coming off a stretch where they were 3-2 in their last five, having scooped up unimpressive single-digit wins at George Mason and George Washington as well as dominating Dayton by 23.

Weeks later, beginning with that rout of Dayton, VCU has now won five straight – and each win has been fairly significant, to say the least.  They completed a sweep over Dayton, took down the giant-killers in La Salle, scraped by URI on the road, and – most importantly and most recently – avenged their loss to the Bonnies, upsetting St. Bonaventure on Friday, 67-64, to take first-place of the A-10.

The Rams were not necessarily impressive offensively against the Bonnies, recording clips of just 43.9% (2PT) and 20.0% (3PT) while allowing St. Bonaventure to shoot 54.3% inside – but VCU’s relentless and aggressive style of play powered them to victory, hauling down 19 offensive rebounds (44.2% of their missed attempts), forcing 15 St. Bonaventure turnovers – which ultimately led to 18 VCU points, and drawing 24 fouls, allowing the Rams to attempt 26 freebies.

This is all without mentioning Nah’Shon Hyland, who – arguably – has made the strongest case for A-10 Player of the Year.  Despite shooting poorly against the Bonnies, the sophomore still led the Rams in scoring with 22 points (2-4 2PT, 3-12 3PT, 9-10 FT) as well as rebounding, hauling down eight caroms.  Hyland now ranks third in the A-10 in scoring (19.3 ppg), second in FT% (87.2%), 13th in 3PT% (38.9%), and third in steals per game (2.1).

The Rams will have their work cut out for them if they hope to remain in the top spot of the deeply competitive A-10, however.  Four of their last five scheduled games are against top-100 KenPom teams – with Richmond the first one up on Wednesday.  Most significantly, however, is their February 23rd showdown with Saint Louis at home – a showdown that could determine the regular-season champion.