Make sure you check out our first Bracket Racket of the season: https://hoopshd.com/2014/11/10/hoops-hd-bracket-racket-11092014/
Dayton’s magical run to the Elite Eight last season certainly captured the attention of the nation and once again put the Atlantic Ten in the spotlight as a top level college basketball conference. This is even more accentuated by the often-forgotten fact that Dayton finished the regular season all the way down in a tie for fifth place in the conference regular season standings. The Atlantic Ten had a very solid six entrants into the 2014 Big Dance with VCU, George Washington, Massachusetts, St. Joseph’s and Saint Louis all joining the Flyers, though noone else made it beyond the Round of 32.
This season, four of last year’s NCAA participants will be among the contenders for the league title — namely VCU, Dayton, George Washington and Massachusetts. Joining these teams in the battle for the league’s top spot and at-large consideration should be an up and coming Rhode Island team and one of our dark horse teams in the entire country, perennial A10 doormat Fordham. St. Joe’s and Saint Louis both look like they will slide back into the pack this year. The newest A10 member, Davidson, looks like they will struggle as well despite having gone 15-1 in the SoCon last season and playing in the NIT. In the end, it will be very difficult for the Atlantic Ten to match last season’s six bids, with three or four appearing much more likely this year.
Predicted Order of Finish:
1. VCU: The Rams are our pick to win the regular season title with Treveon Graham, Briante Weber and Melvin Johnson, plus some key frontcourt recruits including Terry Larrier and Mike Gilmore.
2. Dayton: The Flyers should be even better than last year (in the regular season at least) with the returns of Dyshawn Pierre and Jordan Sibert as well as having Scoochie Smith take over as the starting point guard.
3. George Washington: The Colonials will need a healthy Kethan Savage and Joe McDonald to contend for the league crown.
4. Rhode Island: Dan Hurley is on the verge of turning the Rams into an NCAA tournament team. With Xavier Munford gone, they will rely on E.C. Matthews to lead the scoring. If Matthews gets help from the rest of the roster, this could be a fun season.
5. Massachusetts: It could be tough for the Minutemen to replace Chaz Williams, but if they do there is no reason they will not be in the hunt for another bid. Derrick Gordon will be a key player on the roster, and we can only hope there is no negative feedback against him after he came out during the offseason as the first openly gay player in Division I.
6. Fordham: One of our picks as a surprise team this year, Tom Pecora’s squad may finally be ready to turn things around in the Bronx. Jon Severe, Mandell Thomas, Serbian import Nemanja Zarkovic and freshman Eric Paschall could all be key pieces for the Rams.
7. La Salle: The Explorers have a solid frontcourt with Steve Zack and Jerrell Wright. If Auburn transfer Jordan Price and Georgia Southern transfer Cleon Roberts can step in and play, they may end up even better than this pick.
8. Richmond: Kendall Anthony and Terry Allen should both have very good years, but there may not be enough other pieces here to challenge for an at-large bid.
9. St. Joseph’s: DeAndre’ Bembry will be the star of this team, but losing three of their top four scorers from last season probably pushes an NCAA tournament bid beyond their grasp.
10. Saint Louis: Jim Crews has had a ton of success in his first two seasons leading the Billikens, but all five starters are gone and this will be a rebuilding year. The good news is that there is some very strong talent coming into the program and it won’t be long before they are back near the top.
11. St. Bonaventure: The Bonnies could pull off a few upsets with Youssou Ndoye anchoring a solid frontcourt and a pair of players with the same name in the backcourt (Jalen Adams and Jaylen Adams).
12. Davidson: Brian Sullivan is a solid player that can shoot the three, but with three starters gone from last season and a major step up in class from the Southern to the A10, this could be a tough season.
13. Duquesne: Micah Mason led the nation in 3 point percentage last season — but there just does not seem to be enough other pieces around him for the Dukes to avoid finishing near the bottom of the league.
14. George Mason: Jalen Jenkins and Patrick Holloway will need to become legitimate stars for this team to have any success, but right now it looks like this may be Paul Hewitt’s final season as head coach for the struggling Patriots.