Atlantic 10 Basketball: Richmond, VCU, and Loyola-Chicago rise in latest power ranking

10. Fordham Rams - 10-12 (4-5)

Outside of that random triple-overtime win over GW that saw a combined 232 points, Fordham’s defense has largely remained elite in league play. The bigger issue at times has been the offense, having lost 4 of 5 games at one point, including to Davidson and Duquesne.

One positive development has been the emergence of forward Elijah Gray, who has averaged 14 ppg in the last nine games, including 19 points and eight rebounds on the road at Duquesne. They’ll need Japhet Medor to get back into form, having scored just 12 points total in the last four games played. Their next opponents are St. Bonaventure and VCU at home, both of whom should be fairly tough battles.

9. Duquesne Dukes - 13-8 (3-5)

After a 0-5 start to league play, the Dukes have bounced back, winning three straight A-10 games, including on the road at Rhode Island. Dae Dae Grant, who missed three games during this stretch, had 31 points in the win over the Rams this past weekend. The emergence of walk-on guard Jake DiMichele has given them needed depth in the backcourt as well.

Duquesne was a preseason top-4 team so at some point, they were going to make a run. We’ll see how long it continues, having a home game against Davidson before back-to-back battles with St. Bonaventure and Dayton on the road. Wins against them will suddenly back into contention.