As January comes to an end and college students all across America wrap up winter break, the NCAA men’s basketball polls begin to take form. With March Madness less than two months away, each game takes on more importance than the last.
In years past, the Atlantic 10 has been left out of the mix when tournament talk would come up; however this year the A-10 is right in the thick of things. As of Jan. 14 the Dayton Flyers, Xavier Musketeers and Rhode Island Rams were all nationally ranked.
Individual play in the A-10 has also been recognized throughout the league. Coaches and players were honored throughout January for their performances this season.
A-10 presence felt in polls
The A-10 started the season off strong going 57-30 in non-conference play. Given the conferences’ play in years past, this impressive start was particularly eye-popping.
Currently boasting a record of 120-66 (.645) in non-conference play, the A-10 is ranked seventh among the 31 Division I conferences in the NCAA. The last time the A-10 was winning at this rate, gasoline cost a buck per gallon, Bill Clinton was sitting in the White House, and Tom Brady was fighting for a starting quarterback position at Michigan.
The Jan. 7 poll marked the first time three A-10 teams were ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 since the Mar. 10-16 2003 poll, when the Xavier Musketeers came in at No. 10; the Dayton Flyers were ranked No. 22, and the Saint Joseph’s Hawks No. 25.
In the most recent poll released on Jan. 28, only Xavier remained in the Top 25, but both Dayton and URI are still receiving votes.
Xavier leading the pack
As a result of overall strong play, particularly in a Nov. 24 upset over then No. 8 Indiana, the Musketeers found themselves in the national polls yet again, this time standing at No. 23. Xavier would continue to drift from spot to spot in the back end of the polls and also got some A-10 company along the way.
Currently, the Musketeers stand at No. 15 in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today national polls. Although the Rams and Flyers have both fallen from both polls, Saint Joseph’s and UMass are receiving votes.
The A-10’s impressive play doesn’t stop there; just 19 teams in the nation have six victories against teams ranked in the top 100 of the RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) through Jan. 27. Among them are A-10ers UMass (six), Xavier (six) and the Charlotte 49ers (seven).
Dayton’s Gregory recognized
Dayton coach Brian Gregory earned the Jim Phelan mid-season coaching honor in January for his work so far this season. The Flyers stand at 14-2 and are No. 16/19 in the national rankings.
At one point this season, Dayton had won 10 straight games, including impressive victories over Rick Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals (70-65) and a route over the No. 6 ranked Pittsburgh Panthers (80-55), which was the Panther’s first lost of the season.
Gregory, who played for former Jim Phelan Award winner Greg Kampe at Oakland University (1999-2000), narrowly beat out Vanderbilt’s Kevin Stallings by two votes to receive the honor. Rhode Island’s Jim Barron came in at fifth in the voting, finishing two first place votes behind Gregory. Former UMass head coach and current No. 1-ranked Memphis Tigers head coach Jim Calipari finished in third, trailing the Flyers’ coach by 10 votes.
The Jim Phelan Award is named after the legendary Mount St. Mary’s head coach Jim Phelan who won more than 800 games and coached in the most college basketball games in history, the award is presented annually by CollegeInsider.com to the top coach in America. Washington State’s Tony Bennett was the recipient of the award last season, which was presented at the Final Four in Atlanta.
Roberts on Wooden list
The Los Angeles Athletic Club’s John R. Wooden Award Committee announced the 30 NCAA players named to the John R. Wooden Award midseason list ,and the Dayton Flyers’ senior guard Brian Roberts was among them. The John R. Wooden Award is considered the most prestigious individual award in all of college basketball.
Former notable recipients include Larry Bird (’79), Michael Jordan (’84), Tim Duncan (’97) and last year’s recipients, Kevin Durant of Texas and Candace Parker of Tennessee.
Should Roberts win the award he will join the likes of former A-10 winners Mark Macon of Temple (1988), Massachusetts’ Lou Roe (1995) and Marcus Camby (1996), David West of Xavier (2003) and Saint Joseph’s Jameer Nelson (2004).
Mike Barba can be reached at [email protected]
