As league play gets set to tip Friday, the Atlantic 10 looks like Rhode Island, St. Bonaventure and everybody else.
The Rams and Bonnies each have signature wins and solid computer numbers. Both teams survived six games with their top player sidelined with injuries. But E.C. Matthews and Jaylen Adams are back for URI and SBU, respectively, and could compete with each other for player of the year.
The Bonnies (10-2, RPI 31) are undefeated with Adams in the lineup and boast a win over Maryland without him. One of the losses is to undefeated TCU and the other is to Niagara in the first game of the season. Helped by last week’s win at Syracuse, a strong A-10 showing should assure them a return to the NCAA tournament.
UMass will get a good look at Mark Schmidt’s squad right away as the Minutemen open league play in Olean, New York, Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
The three teams Rhode Island (7-3) has lost to are either ranked now (Virginia) or have been ranked this season (Alabama, Nevada).
The Rams are No. 17 in the RPI. Their upset of Seton Hall at Madison Square Garden and a win over Ocean State rival Providence bolsters their resume as well.
If either falters and the other wins the Atlantic 10 Tournament in Washington, D.C., the league could be looking at just one bid. The A-10 would benefit from both of those teams winning a lot of conference games and separating themselves from the pack.
FALLEN FAVORITES —
Notably missing from the top of the league are perennial contender VCU (8-5) and Dayton (6-6), which have respective NCAA Tournament streaks of seven and four years in jeopardy.
This would have been a tough year for Dayton even if Archie Miller had stayed. The Flyers lost four starters, including their top three scorers, top two rebounders and all-conference point guard Scoochie Smith.
But without Miller, the new and returning players are trying to take on increased roles in a new system under new coach Anthony Grant. With losses to Hofstra, Old Dominion and Penn among others, the NIT is probably a good goal.
VCU has its third coach in four seasons as Will Wade left for LSU leaving Mike Rhoades to try to reestablish the consistent success and identity that defined the program under Shaka Smart.
With an RPI of 109, the Rams haven’t been bad, but they’re well outside at-large discussion. They’ve fallen each time they had a shot at a signature win (Virginia, Marquette, Michigan, Texas, Seton Hall).
LUCKLESS — The only silver lining in last year’s injury-dampened season for Saint Joseph’s was that all the key players were expected back.
But versatile guard Lamarr Kimble (15.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists in 2016-17) is out for the year and Charlie Brown (12.8 ppg, 5.0 rebounds last year) has played just one game. The Hawks have missed them struggling to 5-6.
DUQUESNE REAL? — No matter who is on the Dukes’ schedule, 9-4 is a good record for a program that hasn’t had many good years.
But their strength of schedule is ranked 336th nationally, so it’s early to call them a surprise under new coach Keith Dambrot. This is a story that bears watching.
STRUGGLING SLU — Saint Louis (6-6) had high hopes too, but three players who were expected to contribute have been held out all season following sexual assault accusations. As a result, the team has never got on track.
NEW STARS — Nine of the Atlantic 10’s top 15 scorers, nine of the its top 15 rebounders and seven of it’s top 10 assists leaders from last year either graduated, transferred or are out for the season with an injury.
Those departures left a void for new players to become standouts in the Atlantic 10. Some of the early candidates include:
Josh Cunningham, F, Dayton — The Bradley transfer, who missed most of last year with injury, is averaging 16.3 points and 9.8 rebounds, and is a key part of Dayton’s rebuild.
Luwane Pipkins, G, UMass — The sophomore guard’s improvement has been a big part of the reason the Minutemen’s rebuild is further along that expected.
Will Tavares, G, Fordham — The volume-shooter’s scoring jumped from 5.6 points a year ago to 16.8 this year.
Grant Golden, F, Richmond — The redshirt freshman forward has glittered in a mostly down year for the Spiders. He has the making of being the versatile big who can pass and score out of the post that Richmond’s best teams have been built around.
Eric Williams Jr., G, Duquesne — The Dukes have a history of players who put up notable numbers on forgettable teams. But the 6-foot-5 Williams is almost averaging a double-double with 14.2 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.
Goanar Mar, F, George Mason — At 195 pounds, the freshman needs to put on weight, but his 12.1 points and 4.6 rebounds have been a welcomed addition for the Patriots. How he holds up in conference play bears watching. In three games against better opponents (Louisville, Auburn, Penn State) his averages drop to 5.2 points and 3.0 rebounds.
Darrell Davis, G, Dayton — The senior has gone from an effective role player to all-conference candidate with 16.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists.
Javon Bess, G, Saint Louis — The Michigan State transfer has been what coach Travis Ford had hoped he’d be with 13.6 points and 6.5 rebounds. He hasn’t had enough help.
Taylor Funk, F, Saint Joseph’s — The Hawk rookie is averaging 14.3 points and is shooting 45.0 percent from outside. He looks like a key piece of St. Joe’s future.
Kellan Grady, G, Davidson — The Wildcat freshman had 30 points on Christmas in Hawaii and is averaging 15.0 points for Davidson.
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage