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

12. UMass Minutemen – 8-9 (1-4)

Coming into league play, the Minutemen were viewed as a “mid-tier” squad, capable of beating anyone when on offensively, but also capable of losing to anyone due to their lack of defense. Through the first couple of weeks, we’ve seen the ladder for this team.

The woes started on the road at Richmond, in a winnable game that got away from them in the final minutes. However, the real setback came at home against Duquesne, allowing freshmen guards to torch them in a 78-74 loss. UMass followed that up with a pair of defeats to both Davidson and Rhode Island to fall to the bottom of the standings at 0-4 in the A-10.

But as good an offense as the Minutemen has, you aren’t going to lose them all. They were able to withhold Saint Louis in a shootout, 91-85 on Thursday. Five players for UMass were in double figures, led by 24 points and six assists from Noah Fernandes. They also were boosted by a combined 28 points off the bench from Greg Jones and Jahvon Garcia.

The Minutemen are going to need to win games without scoring 90 points going forward, starting with a rematch against Saint Louis. Looming winnable matchups against La Salle, George Mason, George Washington, and Rhode Island gives this team a chance to climb up the ladder but the defense will need to improve to win those games.