Atlantic 10 Notebook: Hits and misses, reviewing the preseason position rankings
Ian Nolan, Columnist
Leading Off
Temple, Saint Louis at the top as expected
After over a month of watching team after team wrestle for the top spots in the standings, Temple and Saint Louis stand at one and two respectively, just as many thought the top of the table would look a few months ago.
At least, to some extent.
Xavier, picked to win the league, occupies fifth place, but like Temple and Saint Louis, has six wins to their credit on this Monday morning.
While the league may not be done throwing its fans for loops just yet, it does seem that as February moves along, the league's cream may finally rise to the top.
Temple has won its last six games and the only so called bad loss would be a road defeat at the hands of Richmond back on January 14th. The Owls only other loss was a home defeat against Dayton in the first week of the conference season.
Saint Louis took care of business again at home this week downing St. Bonaventure and Dayton, two competitive programs in this competitive league. SLU is proving it can win at home at the pace of Xavier, and that development could ultimately make Majerus' team the regular season champs come a month from now.
Xavier may not be firing on all cylinders like the Owls and Billikens, but that may be the scariest aspect to ponder for the rest of the league. At 6-3, X is just a game behind the 6-2 Owls, and clearly has not played to its potential during league play. Could Xavier be just one hot streak away from regaining its confidence?
It seems the customary powers in the league are starting to answer the bell with March right around the corner.
Required Reading
In a year when it seems that half the league could make a run at the Atlantic 10 crown, Fox Sports Midwest says Saint Louis is asking themselves the question, "Why not us?"
Despite dropping its road game to Rhode Island mid-week, UMass was able to make a "Capitol Gain" against GW in our nations' capitol says Boston.com
As Fordham vies to earn a place in the league's top 12 teams, it lost a critical home game against Charlotte says the Ram Online.
La Salle was flying high heading into its match-up with Saint Joseph's but the Hawks slowed down the Explorers with the help of a big double-double effort from Halil Kanavecic, Philly.com has the story.
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Power Rankings
(Power Rankings are a list of the top five teams in the league, not only based only on record, but on talent, momentum and other intangibles)
1. Temple (17-5, 6-2) It has taken over three
months, but the the Owls, which have won three of the last four
Atlantic 10 titles, have finally arrived atop the Power Rankings.
Temple has raced out to their six win total due in large part
because of their ability to take care of lesser foes of late.
Temple has beat up on the likes of Fordham, Charlotte and Rhode
Island in three of their last four games. After they face George
Washington on Wednesday, Fran Dunphy's club will get a true test
when they square off against Xavier on the 11th in Philadelphia.
The return of Michael Eric is only another reason to start buying
stock in the Owls right now. They can also lay claim to the
league's best scoring back court duo with Ramone Moore (18.0 ppg)
and Khalif Wyatt (16.4 pgg) who rank one and two in scoring.
2. Saint Louis (18-5, 6-3) The Billikens were faced
with a pair of home tests this week as St. Bonaventure and Dayton
rolled into town, but Rick Majerus' club ran the Bonnies out of the
gym in a 24 point win before downing the Flyers by eight points
over the weekend. Though SLU hit on just four three pointers
against the Bonnies, they went to the line 31 times and knocked
down 26 of those freebies to earn the lopsided victory. Against the
Flyers it was more of the same. A 4-17 shooting effort from three,
but the Billikens connected on 18 of their 31 free throws to make
up for their poor shooting efforts. Saint Louis is rolling now, and
because it ranks fourth in the league in three point field goal
percentage, we can write off this week as simply a bad case of
shooting in a long season.
3. La Salle (17-7, 6-3) As expected, La Salle
easily downed Charlotte at home before falling to Saint Joseph's at
the Palestra on Saturday in a battle for Philadelphia bragging
rights (at least between these two schools). Against the Hawks, La
Salle did a great job shutting down SJU's long distance shooting
including Langston Galloway (holding them to 1-10 from deep) but
allowed 29 free throws attempts, which ultimately did in the
Explorers who shot the ball well themselves from long range
(11-25). Having won four of their last five, La Salle is still a
hot team and will be tested in each of the next two games: On the
road against Richmond before coming home to play Saint Louis next
weekend in a match-up of two of the league's best teams.
4. UMass (17-6, 6-3) We mentioned last week that
UMass was going to have to be on their toes against an improving
Rhode Island team on the road, and despite a good effort, the
Minutemen came away empty handed at the Ryan Center on Wednesday
night. UMass struggled with Rhode Island's size and active bodies
down low, as they were outrebounded 41-27; a rare sight this season
given UMass' great rebounding totals overall. However, Kellogg's
club did rebound well against GW down in D.C. with an 11 point win.
Down in Foggy Bottom, Terrell Vinson and Chaz Williams combined to
score 36 points. Fans around the league seem to be
waiting for the other shoe to drop as far as UMass is concerned,
but so far it hasn't happened.
5. Xavier (15-8, 6-3) Still lurking just a game behind
league leading Temple is the always dangerous, and this season
unpredictable, Xavier Musketeers. Losers of three of their last
five, Xavier escaped a one point win on the road against GW on
Wednesday before losing to Memphis in a non-conference road game by
four on Saturday. On Wednesday, GW had a pair of lay-ups rim out in
the closing seconds that would have sent Chris Mack's club reeling
in a major way heading back to Cincinnati. Instead, Xavier survived
the close call and is certainly within range to make a move for the
top of the standings in the coming weeks. Xavier will get URI first
up, before facing three of the league's top teams: Temple (away),
Dayton and UMass (away) in their most critical stretch of the
season.
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Review the Position Rankings
Back in October, I ranked what I projected to be the top five players at each respective position. Now, with roughly a month remaining in the season, it seems like a perfect time to re-visit those selections. Here, each pick is either labeled a hit or a miss based on that players performance thus far this season. Next week, we'll take a look at the remaining guard positions as well as the center spot.
Point Guards
1. Tu Holloway, Xavier - Holloway entered the season as the league's marquee player on its flagship team. While his play hasn't been poor by any means, it's fair to say he has underachieved a bit this season, much like the Xavier team. Holloway ranks third in the league at 16.1 points per game, and third in assists at 5.8. While the numbers are solid, Holloway takes some of the fall for a Xavier team that has not lived up to expectations. Still, his spot at number 1 is solid. VERDICT: HIT
2. Tony Taylor, George Washington - 14.1 points and 4.3 assists from the senior play caller is just what GW fans expected entering the season. Mike Lonergan's club has not played or lived up to expectations this season for a number of reasons, but Taylor's play is not one of them. He is one of the top three point guards in the league, yet most people forget to mention him in those conversations. No one on this list plays with less talent than Taylor, which makes his game and numbers all that more impressive. VERDICT: HIT
3. Kwamain Mitchell, Saint Louis - Mitchell returned to the Billikens line-up to provide them with a true point guard capable of scoring the ball when needed. Many thought Mitchell would score slightly more than his current average of 12 points a game, but he's facilitated the offense extremely well and with Jordair Jett and Mike McCall on the bench, Mitchell can receive rest when he needs it. Overall, he's been solid, but could move down this list a spot because of the man sitting in the number four spot. VERDICT: Slight Miss
4. Carl Jones, Saint Joseph's -Jones started out the
season like a man possessed, leading the league in scoring for a
time, and seemingly carrying Saint Joseph's on his back with
monster efforts. As the season has worn on, Jones has come down to
Earth a bit, as have his Hawks. Jones is averaging 16 points on 41%
shooting with 3.4 assists per game, making him the league's sixth
best scorer. Right now, I'd take Jones over Mitchell and consider
putting him ahead of Taylor in the two spot. Dayton's
Kevin Dillard needs to be in these
five as well -- and was not on my preseason list. Still, as
for Jones... VERDICT: HIT
5. Juan Fernandez, Temple - Fernandez is, in many ways, a forgotten player in the league because of his steady play and calm leadership qualities. To some, it seems Juan Fernandez has been around forever. Fernandez is averaging 11.5 points and 4.0 assists, ranking eighth in the league in helpers. Maybe the most important stat is that Fernandez's teammates Ramone Moore and Khalif Wyatt are one and two in scoring. Fernandez has been getting his shooting guards the rock in a position to score, and running the offense perfectly to fit their games. He would be fifth here again, but his value to Temple cannot be understated. VERDICT: HIT
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Shooting Guards
1. Ramone Moore, Temple - Moore was expected to shoulder a huge scoring load this year and he has done that and much more for the Owls. Moore leads the league in scoring at 18.0 points a game and has given Temple the scoring punch they so desperately needed with center Michael Eric and Scootie Randall sidelines with injuries (Eric is now back, Randall is redshirting). Moore was ranked one before, he's staying put for now. VERDICT: HIT
2. Mark Lyons, Xavier - Lyons ranks third in the league in scoring at 16.1 points, tied with teammate Holloway. Lyons has not disappointed as a primary scoring option. He's scored over 20 points four times in league play and five times since league play began if you toss in the Memphis game. Lyons has played like a top three shooting guard, which is what was expected. VERDICT: HIT
3. Langston Galloway, Saint Joseph's - Galloway entered the season a marked man for his shooting ability. He hasn't slowed down this season, shooting 45% from three point land which is good enough for third in the league. A sophomore, Galloway is averaging 15.5 points and pairs with Carl Jones to give Saint Joseph's a top five backcourt in the Atlantic 10. VERDICT: HIT
4. Ramon Galloway, La Salle - The South Carolina transfer may be the biggest surprise in the Atlantic 10 this season. Galloway's sharp shooting has propelled La Salle to the top of the league's standings and given the program new life. Galloway's shooting form isn't textbook, but the results are unquestioned. He's knocking 'em down at 47% from three point range (second in the league) and his 15.1 points rank ninth in the league. A shooter who can get hotter than any player in the league, this Galloway would leap Langston in an updated rankings by the slightest of margins and you could argue he could sit as high as number 2. VERDICT: Hit
5. Derrio Green, Charlotte - The top four of this list is solid but here is where a change has to be made. Green has simply had a poor season for Charlotte, averaging just seven points on 31% shooting. Green hasn't scored in double figures since December 31st, and has seen his playing time decrease as the year as worn on, playing no more than 21 minutes in any conference game. Swap out Green with Temple's Khalif Wyatt (16.4 points per game, second in the league in scoring, third in steals, ninth in three pointers made) who could instantly be placed ahead of everyone on this last save his Cherry and White teammate Moore. VERDICT: Big Miss
Heat Check: Who's Hot around the Atlantic 10
Hofstra transfer and now Saint Joseph's forward Halil Kanacevic posted his best game as a Hawk against city rival La Salle on Saturday scoring 18 points and hauling in 15 rebounds in the four point victory. Terrell Vinson scored 21 points, a career high on Saturday against GW. Duquesne's Eric Evans scored 17 points during the Dukes' win over Richmond. Chris Braswell scored 20 points and collected 12 rebounds and DeMario Mayfield chipped in 17 and 14 during Charlotte's seven point win over Fordham. Xavier's Dez Wells scored 19 points in a losing effort against Memphis on Saturday while Rhode Island's Jonathan Holton continues to rack up the double doubles, scoring 13 points and pulling down 13 rebounds against Temple over the weekend. Speaking of Temple, Ramone Moore scored 22 and Khalif Wyatt added 15 in that same game that saw the Owls cruise to a 17 point victory against Rhody. On Wednesday, Tu Holloway scored 21 points against GW in a road win while Tony Taylor scored 20 for the Colonials who failed to secure the close contest. Rhode Island's Orion Outerbridge scored a career high 29 points and pulled down 11 rebounds during the Rams' victory against UMass.
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Photos courtesy of Saint Joseph's
University Athletic Communications
and Temple University Sports Information.
