November 25, 2008 by John Lamb | A10Collegehoops

In the era of Power Conferences and Mid-Majors a basketball team can measure its success with signature wins against BCS schools. Although it is very early in the ‘08-’09 season, as of Tuesday evening, the Atlantic 10 is 4-9 versus BCS teams. Xavier has two wins over Missouri and Virginia Tech. St. Bonaventure beat Rutgers in overtime and St. Louis knocked off 53-50. So just where does the A-10 stand on the college basketball landscape?

There is no question that the conference has seen marked improvement in the past few years. Last season the league sent three teams (Saint Joseph’s, Temple and Xavier) to the NCAA Tournament, another four teams (Charlotte, Dayton, UMass and Rhode Island) to the NIT and one team to the inaugural College Basketball Invitational (Richmond).

At one point last season it was feasible that the A10 was going to send five teams to the Big Dance. Then the war of attrition that was last year’s conference slate occurred. Dayton was one of the chief victims of the league’s parity as the Flyers raced out to a 14-1 record and a top 25 ranking before limping to the finish line with an 8-8 conference record. Injuries to freshman sensation Chris Wright and junior Charles Little certainly did not help but even if those two were healthy it is hard to forecast where they would have ended up in the final standings.

A year ago, a conference record 11 of the 14 teams had at least 15 wins. The difference between the A10 then and now is that last year the league had signature wins against the big boys across the board. The conference was a mediocre 17-28 against BCS schools but 7 of the 14 teams in the league notched at least one victory against a power conference foe. Xavier led the way with a 5-2 record against the BCS. When conference play opened up the teams beat up on each other but the ones who made statements early in the year were sitting pretty for post season play.

This year the A10 has come very close on many occasions but has yet to seal the deal. Rhode Island came within seconds of knocking off perennial powerhouse Duke. George Washington fell apart against Auburn after racing out to a 44-29 lead at halftime. Charlotte lost in the final minute against Clemson a week after Temple ran out of gas against the Tigers at the Charleston Classic.

LaSalle had not one but two chances to knock off a big name team. Poor execution down the stretch by the Explorers allowed Florida State to eek out a victory at the Tom Gola Arena. LaSalle gave UConn all they could handle but a team can’t expect to win when their opponent makes 19 more foul shots than  they attempted (LaSalle 9-10 from the line; UConn 29-40).

The good news is that there are still plenty of opportunities for the A10 to make some noise on the national scene. All three Philly schools have Villanova to play as per the Big 5. December is a big month for Temple as the Owls will go on the road to play Penn State, Kansas and ‘Nova while welcoming Tennessee to the Liacouras Center.  Duquesne has games against Pittsburgh and West Virginia.

Xavier has a chance to solidify its status as a true powerhouse in college basketball. Games against Auburn,  Cincinnati, Duke, Virginia and LSU highlight the Musketeers upcoming non-conference schedule. A winning record in these five games would cement Xavier’s national status and finally put to bed any doubts whether or not they are a mid-major.

A successful rest of the non-conference schedule is essential for the league on two levels. First, if the A10 is going to claim the mantle once more of premier non-BCS basketball conference then its teams must improve their OOC records. Damaging losses to the likes of Jacksonville State by UMass do nothing to help the national profile of the conference. Secondly, a solid OOC record will get the national pundits talking about the league. Everyone knows that the Big East is the best and deepest conference in college basketball but, in terms of parity, the A10 is right there as well. Right now, however, the league is viewed as Xavier and a bunch of other teams.

Can it be done? It is possible, even though the conference has started out behind the 8-ball. While a winning record against the BCS is probably out of the question at this point there is no doubt the a few wins here and there will go a long way in establishing the A10 as a source of quality basketball this season.

team-win-loss

John Lamb can be reached at Johnlamb@A10collegehoops.com