Atlantic 10 Notebook: Biggest Surprises Edition
Leading off
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Leading off this week, we'll flag 10 of the biggest conference surprises in the season's first month. I'll double-up on this one with Chris DiSano (College Chalktalk/Cox Sports) as we each take five.
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Chris Braswell - Charlotte needed a big
year out of Braswell if it was to take a step forward this season
and so far the junior has delivered. Braswell is second in the
league in scoring and fourth in rebounding. He's (18.3 points,
eight rebounds) becoming what many in Charlotte believed he
could become: one of the league's best big men by his junior
season. We thought he'd be good, just not this good, and
not this early on the heels of a plateau-like sophomore
year.
That there's another KA - though not the "KA"
- in Richmond who is going to give opponents fits for four
years. Sure, Kendall Anthony has some mighty
big shoes to fill and much learning ahead but the jitterbug from
Jackson, Tennessee, is shredding defenses and pacing the Spiders in
scoring at 15.4 per game. Ask Wake Forest, which he torched
for 21 on Saturday. Plus, the early frontrunner for A10
Rookie of the Year has the teardrop in his repertoire... and
anybody who can shoot the teardrop is okay with me.
Kevin Dillard's impact at Dayton - Kevin
Dillard, as a player, isn't the surprise here.
We knew the former Southern Illinois guard would be a
fine A-10 point man. However, how quickly he has impacted Dayton is
shocking. UD has looked like a contender (we wouldn't have thought
that in October) over this first month, already having beaten
Minnesota and Wake Forest due in large part to Dillard's
contributions in running the show.
Rhode Island's 1-7 start. After losing veteran point Marquis
Jones and Second Team All-Conference performer Delroy James,
most figured that 2011-12 would be a rebuilding year in
Kingston. But not from right down to the slab.
Rhode Island has committed more turnovers than it
has dished out assists in seven of eight games and, you
guessed it, lost each of those seven. Transfers
Billy Baron (UVA) and Andre Malone (Auburn) become eligible on
12/23 and will help production-wise, but what this team truly needs
is for a leader to emerge and help the Rams late in close
games -- like the 76-74 affair URI dropped to Maine yesterday.
Saint Joseph's fast start - Many, including
myself, thought the Hawks might be a year away; too young, too thin
on the bench. Thus far, they're proving they can get it done with a
loaded starting five armed with one of the best scoring backcourts
in the league in Carl Jones (19.9 points) and
Langston Galloway (15.6 points). If the bench develops over
time, the Hawks are going to be deadly come March.
The La Salle Explorers off
to a 5-3 start. Predicted to finish 13th out of 14 Atlantic
10 teams, the Explorers played 'Nova and Pitt tight before
succumbing late to each. A hiccup to 6-2 Robert Morris
accounts for the third loss. Otherwise, the Explorers have been
solid led by the ironmen backcourt of sophomore
tandem Tyreek Duren and Sam Mills - each playing about 36
minutes per game - which has been fantastic. It's worth
noting that Giannini talked considerably about 'role definition' at
media day and his belief that this group had an excellent chemistry
and better understanding of their roles. So far, they're
making the Doc look good.
St. Bonaventure's struggles - Folks in Olean
thought this was the year the Bonnies would get back on
the map; six games into the season these Bonnies look flawed.
Andrew Nicholson (14.4 points) hasn't looked overly impressive
(though slowed by illness lately) and the Bona offense cannot seem
to solve a 2-3 zone. SBU's second to last in scoring offense (64
ppg) and that shouldn't be the case armed with an NBA
type talent in Nicholson.
Who's leading Duquesne in scoring? Nope. Not T.J.
McConnell or the sleek preseason pick (by many including yours
truly) of B.J. Monteiro. It's Sean
Johnson. At 17.9 points per game, Johnson is tops on
Ron Everhart's team. Even more surprising? He's
generating that type of offense on only 10 shot attempts per
game. Shooting 52.7% from the floor and 88% from the stripe,
Johnson dumped 24 on a typically stingy Akron team, scored 19
against a decent program called Pittsburgh (maybe you've heard
of them) and blitzed a good Tennessee Tech team for 25, including
7-7 from the stripe.
Saint Louis' offensive firepower - Many figured that
Saint Louis was going to peak this year but
few probably thought their offense would this efficient. The
Billikens are eighth in the league in scoring (71.7 ppg) and lead
the league in field goal percentage (.497%). If SLU can continue to
play trademark defense and maintain its torrid shooting, foes
will be in a world of trouble.
Finally, Tu Holloway's clutch play has been a
huge surprise so far this season. Right... about as much of a
surprise as Aaron Rodgers marching Green Bay down the field in 58
seconds last night for the game winner. The Xavier leader is
scoring 18 per game, has already attempted 42 free throws (making
36) and carries a stellar 25 to 12 assist to turnover ledger for
the undefeated Muskies. So while Tu's play is no surprise, it
would be a surprise for us to not mention him in some way this
week. So there you go...
Required Reading
To read about La Salle coach John Giannini's 400th coaching victory against Bucknell on Saturday and what it means to him personally, check out this article from Philly.com.
Missed out on coverage of Xavier's improbable comeback against Purdue? Click here.
The Buffalo News does a great job recapping a game senior forward Andew Nicholson called a "Must Win" in this article.
For the stat lover, Kenpom is a must read website that will keep you busy for hours digging to find your team's strengths and weaknesses.
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Power Rankings
(Power Rankings are a list of the top five teams in the league not solely according to record, but rather a combination of record, talent, momentum and other intangibles.)
1. Xavier (6-0)Xavier went 2-0 this week, winning down at
Vanderbilt on Monday in overtime before beating Purdue on
Saturday afternoon at home in a wild comeback affair fueled by Tu
Holloway. Xavier will be tested again this week, playing at
Butler (4-4) on Tuesday before hosting rival Cincinnati
(5-2) on Saturday in what should be one of the
best match-ups in the history of the series. If you missed it,
Tu Holloway showed why he's a National Player of the Year candidate
in both games, scoring 24 points against Vandy and 21 against
Purdue including late three pointers to bring the Musketeers back
in both games.
2. Saint Louis (7-1)After garnering a top 25 ranking, the
Billikens dropped a tough road game at Loyola Marymount, but
bounced back quickly in beating Portland by 20 on Saturday. Saint
Louis ranks 16th in the nation in field goal percentage (.497%) and
did nothing to jeopardize that number vs. Portland shooting 52%
from the field; Brian Conklin was a perfect 7-7. Cody Ellis
continues to be a weapon off the bench for SLU, scoring 16 points
on Saturday, averaging 12.3 points on the season.
3. Temple (4-2) After their three point loss to Bowling
Green it seemed like a solid bet that the Owls would take
out some anger on Central Michigan; TU did just that.
Temple will now begin life without center Michael Eric, who was
leading the league in rebounding (11.3) before being declared out
for six weeks with a knee injury. Fran Dunphy will look to Rahlir
Jefferson and freshman center Anthony Lee to grab those rebounds
that Eric provided. Temple moves up this week due in large part to
Saint Joseph's loss on Sunday night.
4. Saint Joseph's (5-3) After beating Penn State and
Drexel, Saint Joseph's looked for a third straight win but came up
empty against American University down in D.C. on Sunday night.
Free throws were the difference in this contest, as the Hawks made
just one of their final five from the line while American knocked
down 14 of 16 and 10 of their last 12 to seal a 66-60 victory in
what was the the seventh straight victory for the 7-2 Eagles. Saint
Joe's next faces Boston University before playing host to #22
Creighton and then Villanova.
5. Richmond (6-2) The Spiders have won three
straight, most recently on Saturday night after downing Wake Forest
70-62 and appear here for the first time this season. Richmond is
starting to round into form, and has been led by freshman Kendall
Anthony, who averages 15.4 points, and junior Darien Brothers
with 11.3 points. Richmond plays cross-town rival VCU Friday before
facing Iona on the 14th in a terrific match-up.
First Out -
Dayton (5-3) Dayton drops from the top five
after an 0-2 week. The Flyers were simply pummeled at
home by Buffalo on Wednesday 84-55 and lost yesterday on the road
against 9-0 Murray State. UD was outrebounded by 19 against the
Bulls, and permitted 14 offensive boards. The Flyers knew their
frontcourt and size would be an issue and anytime you give up 46
rebounds, it's difficult to win; allowing Buffalo to connect
on 10 three pointers didn't help either.
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What I should have known
I should have known not to overvalue the league's stock last weekend, despite the excellent showing of Atlantic 10 clubs (Dayton and Saint Louis in particular). Last Sunday, Xavier, Saint Louis, Dayton were all flying high. A week later, Saint Louis dropped a road game to Loyola Marymount, Dayton has been spanked twice in a row and St. Bonaventure dropped a home game to Arkansas State. Although the losses to LMU and Murray State aren't "bad losses" by any means, they do break some of the momentum built up, most specifically Dayton's. St. Bonaventure recovered to down Buffalo on the road on Saturday, but it would've been nice for that group of teams to keep the ball rolling as we head towards the middle of December.
What I knew
I knew that Ramon Galloway would provide La Salle a big time scoring punch from beyond the three point arc this year. Galloway scored 20 points during La Salle's win over Bucknell (their third straight) and has scored at least 14 in each of his last three games. The South Carolina transfer is shooting 41% from three and has teamed with Tyreek Duren, Sam Mills and Earl Pettis to give the Explorers a formidable guard corps. Galloway will continue to stretch defenses for the Explorers and the importance of that cannot be overstated given the young and inexperienced front line that La Salle runs out each night.
Stat of the Week
Temple's Aaron Brown had scored just four points this season before Saturday's game against Central Michigan. But the sophomore woke up in a big way this weekend scoring 21 points off the bench. Brown shot 4-7 from three and 7-11 from the floor in his biggest game since coming to Broad Street. Brown did average 11.5 points in the Atlantic 10 Tournament last season, so he's shown flashes, though hadn't yet this year before the outburst. With Michael Eric out, the Browns of the world should see more time and Fran Dunphy knows he has another potential scorer and blue collar rebounder at his disposal.
Nolan's Take
Entering the season I knew that the expectations being placed on
the St. Bonaventure team were simply unrealistic. Many thought this
team was destined for a place in the NCAA Tournament and would be
challenging the likes of Xavier and Temple for the league title
this year. While I did expect them to be a good team, say
19-20 wins, I never expected them to challenge for a league
championship. Andrew Nicholson is a fantastic player, but he cannot
challenge for a championship alone.
Through the first six games of the season, not only have the Bonnies not looked like a NCAA Tournament team, they hardly even look the part of an NIT team. SBU has struggled mightily to score the ball and is 11th in the league in field goal percentage defense. Schmidt's club was outscored 39-20 this week at home in the second half against a horrible Arkansas State team, and went the final 10 minutes of the contest without making a field goal, watching a 47-32 lead vanish.
Put simply, the Bonnies have been among the disappointments of the Atlantic 10 through early December with a 3-3 record. They have not been awful nor great, but mediocre, something their fans won't accept this season.
While it is still early, there is growing concern in Olean. Mark Schmidt has rolled out some head scratching substitution patterns, and his penchant for yanking players after a single missed shot or turnover is alarming.
The time is now. The Bonnies need to start racking up some wins not only for postseason chances, but also for confidence. This team needs to be reminded that it has the potential to be a dangerous club. With Nicholson and a supporting cast of Conger, Wright, Davenport and a solid bench, this is a team that should make waves in the Atlantic 10.
Their next game is on the road at Illinois (8-0), a place where the Illini rarely lose a game (they just beat 18th ranked Gonzaga on Saturday). A loss would certainly be expected at this point, but a win would have the potential to turn the entire season around and give this team a huge momentum boost.
We'll see if SBU can pull itself out of this rough stretch of play and look like the team many thought they were before we tipped off over a month ago.
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Photos courtesy of La Salle Athletics, Richmond Athletics & Duquesne Athletics.
Correction: We previously noted that Purdue was undefeated, when in fact they had one loss entering the Xavier game to Alabama. Thanks to our readers for letting us know when we miss one; your feedback is always appreciated.
