Atlantic 10 Basketball: UMass, Duquesne surprises in latest power rankings

4. VCU Rams (5-3)

The Rams have been without Ace Baldwin (17.0 ppg and 6.8 apg) for half of the games, with the team going 2-2 in that span. But he played 38 minutes in the team’s loss to Temple last week, which was a bad loss by their standards. This is a team that does have a trio of double-digit scorers but none of them have put up more than 11.0 ppg.

VCU’s defense hasn’t been at its normal elite level but that most likely has to do with the new pieces being integrated and Baldwin’s health. They’ve faced arguably the toughest schedule of any A-10 team and have wins over Pittsburgh and Vanderbilt. The next five games are all at home against inferior opponents so anything less than 5-0 would be considered a letdown by the program.

3. Duquesne Dukes (7-1)

Just one month into the season, the Dukes already have one more win than they did all of last year. They have victories over Montana, UC-Santa Barbara, and Colgate, who should be contenders in their respective leagues. Duquesne ranked 20th in three-point shooting, though they rank in the bottom 15 in three-point defense.

The Dukes have plenty of depth and were playing 11-12 guys when healthy, with 10 guys averaging at least 6.0 ppg. The lone double-digit scorer is Dae Dae Grant, who is putting up 19 ppg. JUCO transfer Jimmy Clark is second with 8.4 ppg, including the game-winning three-pointer to beat Ball State last weekend. The schedule gets tougher in the next three games, taking on Marshall, New Mexico State, and DePaul. If they go 3-0 in that stretch, then they should be viewed truly as one of the best in the A-10.