A-10 basketball shines in the NCAA’s first NET Ranking.
The state of A-10 basketball
Feast Week was good to A-10 basketball, as many teams from the conference battled with Power Five opponents. While not every squad picked up a statement win, the close battles helped to elevate the conference’s prestige in the NET Rankings. As it stands right now, A-10 basketball has eight teams in the top 100, with five of those teams in the top 65.
A-10 Basketball NET Rankings:
- #45: George Mason
- #47: George Washington
- #49: Saint Louis
- #57: VCU
- #65: Rhode Island
- #88: Dayton
- #91: St. Bonaventure
- #97: Davidson
George Mason, George Washington, and Saint Louis are currently positioned in a place to make a run at an at-large bid. While it is only the first edition of the NET Rankings, this also puts an enormous amount of value into the conference schedule. This is because of the Quad system in college basketball. A road game at any of the top 75 teams in the NET Rankings will count as a Quad 1 game. Which, for the A-10, means that a road game at any of the top five-ranked teams now would count as such. This helps to elevate A-10 basketball’s chances of getting more than one team in the NCAA Tournament.
The biggest surprise, however, is that Dayton sits at #88 in the rankings. Last week, the Flyers had the opportunity to go up against two Power Five opponents, highlighted by an offensive shootout against #9 BYU. Dayton split these games, beating Georgetown, then falling to BYU 83-79. But Dayton was not the only team that had opportunities against big-name squads.
VCU dominated Virginia Tech in the Battle 4 Atlantis after falling to a top-25 team, Vanderbilt, by double digits. Saint Louis also faced an ACC opponent, but it was Stanford who pulled off what might go down as the most miraculous win of the season. St. Bonaventure battled with UNC and only trailed by 2 at halftime before the Tar Heels pulled away in the second half. While it was not a remarkable week in terms of wins for A-10 basketball, close battles with top teams have certainly elevated A-10 respect around the country.
Team of the Week: George Mason
At 8-0, George Mason is off to the best start in program history. While the road to this historic start has not been extremely challenging, the Patriots continued their success this weekend by defeating their in-state rival, James Madison, 82-66. Even though George Mason is not the highest scoring team in the conference, strong defense has led the Patriots to the best scoring margin in the A-10. In the first eight games of the season, George Mason’s defense is averaging 62 points per game, which ranks 14th in college basketball.
After trailing JMU 35-32 at halftime, the Patriots dominated the second half to pull away. George Mason shot 54.5% from the field while also using a healthy balance of three-point shooting and points in the paint to extend the winning streak. Before that, they travelled to the Sunshine Slam, where the Patriots faced Ohio and Florida Atlantic to bring the trophy back to Fairfax.
Even though George Mason is A-10 basketball’s highest-ranked team in the NCAA’s NET ranking, two solid performances this week against Cornell and Virginia Tech could place GMU in a great place heading into conference play.
Player of the Week:
Frank Mitchell: St. Bonaventure
This week, the Bonnies had the opportunity to face off against UNC, East Carolina, and FAU. In each of those games, Mitchell scored in double figures, including 18 points against the premier bigs at North Carolina. He also picked up his fourth and fifth double-doubles of the season. In those three games, the senior averaged 16 points and 9.6 rebounds. In a league packed with talented big men, Frank Mitchell has begun to separate himself from the pack.
A-10 Basketball Upcoming Games to Watch
Rhode Island at Providence – Sat., Dec. 6, 12 p.m.
Dayton vs Virginia – Sat., Dec 6, 12 p.m.
George Mason at Virginia Tech – Sat., Dec. 6, 6 p.m.
Saint Mary’s at Davidson – Sun., Dec. 7, 2 p.m.