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

By Tristan Freeman

Mar 12, 2023; Brooklyn, NY, USA; The Virginia Commonwealth Rams celebrate after defeating the Dayton Flyers 68-56 to win the Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 12, 2023; Brooklyn, NY, USA; The Virginia Commonwealth Rams celebrate after defeating the Dayton Flyers 68-56 to win the Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports /
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Virginia Commonwealth Rams Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
Virginia Commonwealth Rams Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports /

6. Loyola-Chicago Ramblers

2022-23 season record: 10-21 (4-14)

The Ramblers went from the top of the Missouri Valley to the bottom of the Atlantic 10 this past season in the program’s debut. But a case can be made that they’ve had the best offseason of the league, landing several quality transfers. One of them is Davidson wing Desmond Watson, who averaged 9.4 ppg this past season. Joining him is 13.3 ppg guard Greg Dolan from Cornell, as well as Dame Adelekun, an All-Ivy League forward from Dartmouth.

With the top three scorers coming back for Loyola, led by star forward Phillip Alston, there’s no question that the program is going to climb up the conference ladder. How far remains to be seen but this group on paper, seems to fit much better than the one this past season.

5. VCU Rams

2022-23 season record: 27-8 (15-3)

The A-10 champs not only lost head coach Mike Rhoades to Penn State, but most of the roster went elsewhere too, including Player of the Year guard Ace Baldwin. The hire of Utah State HC Ryan Odom has paid off early, landing several transfers. Two of them come from Utah State in double-digit starters, Sean Bairstow and Max Shulga, along with Richmond freshman point guard Jason Nelson and former top-100 center prospect from Louisville, Roosevelt Wheeler.

The biggest pickup might be Joe Bamisile, who averaged 16.3 ppg as a sophomore at GW at this level. If he’s eligible to play, VCU might have the second-best backcourt in the A-10 next season. There are a lot of good pieces from different players and seeing how the non-Utah State guys look in a new system will be something to watch but this program won’t be taking much of a step back at all.

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