One preseason favorite for Atlantic 10 player of the year has yet to play a game and the other isn’t expected to play any games for several weeks.
With several new coaches around the league, there figured to be some early growing pains in the A-10 even in the healthiest of circumstances, but good fortune has been scarce in the league.
St. Bonaventure’s Jaylen Adams hasn’t played a game yet and his return date is uncertain.
Rhode Island, the league’s preseason favorite, is without E.C. Matthews for several weeks as the snakebit star guard suffered a broken left wrist last week. He’s not expected back until mid-December at the earliest.
Saint Joseph’s, which had a chance to take a big step forward this season, has been without Charlie Brown and Lamarr Kimble, who were both expected to be a key part of that resurgence. Brown is expected back eventually, but Kimble is done.
Kimble averaged 15.5 points, 4.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds last year looking like a poor man’s DeAndre Bembry, but he suffered a season-ending foot injury in St. Joe’s opener.
It’s not just injuries.
Dayton, which is normally a reliable flag bearer for the league, is 2-2 under Anthony Grant with losses to Hofstra and Old Dominion as the Flyers rebuild.
Richmond, which was expected to have a down year, opened the season with a loss to Delaware and then was blown out at home by Jacksonville State, 94-61.
Saint Louis’ 77-71 win over Virginia Tech is the league’s lone victory (1-7) over a top-seven league (Power Five plus Big East, AAC).
MY TOP 10 — 1. Duke, 2. Kansas, 3. Arizona, 4. Michigan State, 5. Villanova, 6. Wichita State, 7. Kentucky, 8. North Carolina, 9. Miami 10. USC.
For the rest of my Top 25, visit the College Hoop Week Guide on gazettenet.com’s UMass Sports Blog.
(Potential) GAMES OF THE WEEK: — As it does every year, Thanksgiving week features some outstanding potential matchups with tournaments taking place all over the hemisphere. But the seeds have to hold.
Some of the best possible games include:
No. 4 Michigan State vs. No. 9 North Carolina in the PK80 — This tournament, named for Nike czar Phil Knight, is actually two eight-team tournaments happening simultaneously in Portland, Oregon, featuring 16 of the top swoosh-sponsored schools in Division I.
UNC vs. MSU is a good matchup in any season and a great one in this one.
No. 1 Duke vs. Texas in PK80 — Yes, Duke could face Gonzaga or Florida deeper in the event, but a battle between lottery picks Marvin Bagley and Mo Bamba would be outstanding.
No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 5 Villanova at Battle for Atlantis — Arizona big man DeAndre Ayton has been overshadowed in attention by Bagley and Missouri’s Michael Porter Jr., but Ayton is going to make some lottery team very happy.
ATLANTIC 10 GAME OF THE WEEK: Rhode Island vs. No. 20 Seton Hall, Thursday, 6 p.m. — With Matthews healthy this NIT Season Tipoff Matchup would have been outstanding. Without him, it’s a much tougher task for the Rams.
BUZZER BEATER — Is there a more ambitious schedule in America than Texas Southern’s?
The Tigers, who include former UMass guard Donte Clark, don’t play a home game until Jan. 1.
They’ve already played at Gonzaga, Washington State, Ohio State and Syracuse, and have lost all four.
Between now and Dick Clark night, Texas Southern is at: No. 3 Kansas, Clemson, Oakland, Toledo, Oregon, No. 22 Baylor, Wyoming, TCU and BYU.
That’s eight games against top-seven conference foes. It will have played three games in the Pacific time zone, two in Mountain time, three in Central and five in Eastern.
Anything other than 0-13 would be an achievement.
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage