Atlantic 10 Basketball: Way-too-early power rankings for 2023-24 season

8. UMass Minutemen

2022-23 season record: 15-16 (6-12)

Between seniors and transfers, UMass got a lot of roster departures this offseason. The two key returning players are forward Matt Cross (12.2 ppg and 6.3 rpg) and freshman guard Keon Thompson. The good news is that they added arguably the best incoming transfer of the entire league in Josh Cohen, the Co-NEC Player of the Year with 21.8 ppg and 8.3 rpg at Saint Francis (PA).

A frontcourt of Cohen and Cross will be elite offensively but an issue on defense. And the issue of the young and inexperienced backcourt will have a lot of questions. A breakout year from Thompson and four-star commit Jayden Curry having an impact will be needed for them to have a shot at the top tier.

7. Dayton Flyers

2022-23 season record: 22-12 (12-6)

To be clear, I’m going under the assumption that star big man DaRon Holmes won’t be back with the Flyers. He and Toumani Camara were the two-way juggernauts that made Dayton good in the league and with them gone, the team is going to take a step back. Buffalo transfer Isaac Jack was solid as a freshman but isn’t near the defensive ability of the other two bigs,

RMU transfer Enoch Cheeks joins a backcourt that’s talented, yet often injured. A healthy year from Malachi Smith, Koby Brea, and Kobe Elvis would keep them competitive at the bare minimum but one of them will have to break out as a star to get them in the top tier.