Atlantic 10 Basketball: Bonnies on top heading into conference tournament

12. La Salle Explorers

• 2020-21 record: 9-16 overall, 6-12 A-10
• Previous ranking: 10th

Once the giant killers in the Atlantic 10, with wins over Dayton, Richmond, and Saint Louis, the Explorers have abruptly seen their season spiral downwards since their February 3rd win over the Billikens.  Since that game, La Salle has gone just 1-5 to close out the month of February.

That lone win was impressive on its own, being a 20-point romp over Duquesne – but in that same stretch, the Explorers endured understandable losses to St. Bonaventure and Saint Louis, but experienced awful setbacks to Fordham, Saint Joseph’s, and, – most recently – a 35-point blowout at George Mason.

That 85-65 win over Duquesne saw senior David Beatty match his career-high in points with 22, with the Explorers recording blistering marks of 57.7% (2PT) and 47.8% (3PT) – but La Salle’s offense was virtually nonexistent in the loss to George Mason, with the offense – led by Jared Kimbrough’s 21 points – posting just 0.78 points per possession.

Now, the Explorers will head into the A-10 Tournament as the 12th seed and will have to face the upstart Saint Joseph’s Hawks – a team that the Explorers have struggled with this season.  They escaped the Hawks in a high-scoring affair back in January but just lost to them on February 20th in a 91-82 contest.