12. Fordham Rams (6-4)
Already with 3x more wins compared to last season, Fordham deserves a ton of credit for how competitive they’ve been. But as an A-10 program, 5-6 wins against what they’ve faced should have been expected. They’ve also split a pair of double-overtime games so far, which has boosted everyone’s numbers as well.
The return of a healthy Chuba Ohams (13.9 ppg and 11.9 rpg) has been huge for the team’s frontcourt with Joel Soriano gone but it’s been the impact transfers of Antonio Daye Jr. (18.1 ppg) and Darius Quisenberry (17.0 ppg) that have made Fordham a solid team. They’re very reliant on these three and their top six rotational players as a whole but the Rams should not be taken lightly once league play starts.
11. Saint Joesph’s Hawks (4-4)
The Hawks have largely done what they’re supposed to in terms of beating the teams they’re supposed to beat while losing to teams they were underdogs in. I’d like to give them more credit for the Georgetown victory but the Hoyas could be in store for a miserable overall campaign. Still, this team has its own trio of lead scorers to contend with, while also being much better defensively compared to last year.
Forward Taylor Funk (15.3 ppg and 5.9 rpg) once again is leading the way, with point guard Jordan Hall (14.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 5.8 apg) once again a triple-double threat. And Vanderbilt transfer Ejike Obinna has given Saint Joesph’s a much-needed presence on the inside, averaging a career-high 12.4 ppg and 6.8 rpg. Freshman guard Erik Reynolds II (8.5 ppg) has also been a nice surprise as a newcomer as well and has started all eight games so far this season.