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

2. UMass Minutemen (8-1)

New head coach Frank Martin has made an immediate impact with the Minutemen, including winning the Mrytle Beach Invitational. That includes wins over Murray State and Colorado, along with a recent road win over Harvard. Noah Fernades was the star of last year’s team and is the lone double-digit scorer to this point, producing 11.4 ppg and 3.4 apg.

There’s plenty of depth that UMass has, playing 10-11 guys each game. Newcomers Matt Cross, Tafara Gapare, and Wildens Leveque have had a big impact so far, while freshman RJ Luis has the makings of a future All-A10 player. They’ll be tested soon, with neutral site battles with Hofstra and North Texas coming up but so far, they’ve passed just about every obstacle that has come their way.

1. Saint Louis Billikens (7-2)

While other preseason contenders have struggled in the A-10, Saint Louis has largely done what it needed to do. They couldn’t beat ranked foes, Maryland and Auburn but do have wins over Memphis and Providence. Plus, there will be a road game at Iona and at home against Drake to help boost their resume.

Yuri Collins led the country in assists last season and right now, seems poised to not only repeat but do so at historic numbers. He’s currently averaging 11.9 apg, including a program-record 20 in a win over Tennessee State. Collins is the clear best player in the conference and has three double-digit scorers alongside him in Gibson Jimmerson, Javon Pickett, and Javonte Perkins.

The Billikens are a team that still has plenty to improve on, particularly on defense. But so far, they haven’t moved the needle one way or another since the start of the season. Considering they were a preseason favorite in the Atlantic 10, that’s a good thing. And with the others having some health issues, there’s no reason why Saint Louis can’t place at the top, as long as its key players remain on the court.