Atlantic 10 Basketball power rankings: UMass tumbles while Dayton soars up

1. Davidson Wildcats – 15-2 (5-0)

Davidson was flying under the radar in the non-conference until an opportunity emerged in a sudden-notice matchup with Alabama. A win over them took the Wildcats into the favorite entering the start of A-10 play. And so far, nothing has occurred that would make them anything but.

The first three wins for Davidson came against Saint Joeseph’s, Rhode Island, and UMass. Then came this past week, facing a couple of tough road tests against Richmond and VCU. The first win was in an 87-84 shootout over the Spiders, thanks to a career-high 29 points on 8/9 three-point shooting from Michael Jones.

The other was a defensive-minded and back-and-forth battle against the Rams of VCU, with Davidson surviving a pair or game-winning shot attempts to prevail, 63-61. Big man Luka Brajkovic led the team with 19 points.

The fact that the Wildcats without superhuman efforts from leading scorer Hyunjung Lee or transfer point guard Foster Loyer is a great sign that the team can continue this run for the rest of league play and be good enough for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The next three games include against Fordham and La Salle, along with a rematch with VCU at home.