Atlantic 10 Basketball: UMass, Davidson, and GW rises in latest power rankings

For the first month of the season, Atlantic 10 Basketball has had a largely successful run. They've already had more Quad 1/2 wins than all of last season, along with avoiding many bad losses. Most importantly, multiple programs have set themselves up for at-large contention.

With just a couple of weeks left of the non-conference, there are starting to be some tiers developed in the A-10. Here's a current snapshot of the league entering the holiday break.

15. Rhode Island Rams - 5-6

After an awful first year in the Archie Miller era, Rhode Island completely changed its roster. But without any guaranteed stars on paper, I had them last in the preseason. So far, there's not much that has happened that warrants them moving up, though this team has had some bright spots itself.

The Rams have a good win over Yale and started 5-2 on the season. However, they've lost four straight since, including defeats to CAA programs, College of Charleston and Delaware.

It's been a collective effort for Rhode Island, with six players averaging at least 6.0 ppg. Transfers Jaden House (13.5 ppg) and Zek Montgomery (12.7 ppg and 4.5 rpg) have been the best players so far, while freshman forward David Fuchs (7.2 ppg and 6.9 rpg) has been the top frontcourt player so far.

The Rams have games against New Hampshire and Northeastern to try to end the losing streak before league play. But if nothing else, the program doesn't have the same level of disfunction as last year, making it automatic progress.