http://www.cbssports.com/collegebas...g-of-every-college-basketball-team-from-1-351
CBS Sports ranked
all 351 college teams. Here are the rankings of the teams on our schedule, including the A-10. I love the plug for the A-10 as a major basketball conference.
177. George Mason: The Paul Hewitt experiment failed. Now GMU has Dave Paulsen, who got the job done at Bucknell multiple times. Good fit. Expect Mason to be at least 30 spots higher a year from now.
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34.
Rhode Island: The Rams bring back most of their roster from a top-10 defense last year, including two potential eventual NBA picks in E.C. Matthews and Hassan Martin. They might not be the favorite in the A-10, but they're certainly near the top.
35.
Dayton: The Flyers would be higher if not for the suspension of Dyshawn Pierre, which will keep him out through at least the December. Still, theres a lot to like here, starting with Scoochie Smith and Kendall Pollard.
45.
Davidson: When in doubt, never doubt Davidson. Bob McKillop's team won the Atlantic 10 last season but loses league POY Tyler Kalinoski. Jack Gibbs is back, though, and so is that sweet, fluid offense.
56. vcu: Yeah, anytime you lose a coach who goes only by his first name, it's a problem. But the Rams shouldn't miss a beat stylistically without Shaka, as Will Wade was an assistant there for four years. The real question will be who replaces departed seniors Treveon Graham and Briante Weber, as well as transfer Terry Larrier.
57. George Washington: Mike Lonergan returns basically everyone from a sneaky-good A-10 team last year. Kethan Savage, Kevin Larsen and Pato Garino are a heck of an experienced triumvirate that could lead to an
NCAA Tournament bid.
64. Richmond: The Spiders will rely on Terry Allen and ShawnDre' Jones to keep them in the running in the A-10. Losing Kendall Anthony puts a clear void in the picture for now.
68. Ole Miss: Don't know what to expect outside of Stefan Moody but ... Stefan Moody! G-R-E-E-N L-I-G-H-T.
POTENTIAL GAME -
76. Oklahoma State: Travis Ford is on the hot seat this year, and could be gone if they end up finishing this low. They'll need to replace all of Le'Bryan Nash, Anthony Hickey and Michael Cobbins, which will be no easy feat.
83. Northern Iowa: No denying how this team is going to take a big drop. Seth Tuttle was the MVP, but remember last season's 31-4 club also had Deon Mitchell (great player), Nate Buss and Marving Singleton. We like Ben Jacobson's coaching acumen, so that's basically the only reason why UNI isn't sub-100.
86. Saint Joseph's: DeAndre Bembry's talent alone warrant the Hawks a top-90 placement. Expect this team to see improvement from Aaron Brown, too. The offense has to be better. Has to.
93. La Salle: The Explorers lose Jerrell Wright, Steve Zack and Khalid Lewis, but return their best player in Jordan Price and he will likely be an all-league player. Mid-league A-10 team.
105. St. Bonavanture: Mark Schmidt continues to prove his prowess as a coach by keeping the Bonnies competitive in what's one of the hardest spots to recruit to in major-conference basketball. (And yes, the A-10 is a major conference.) Marcus Posley is going to have a great senior season.
131. UMass: Losing Maxie Esho and NBA draft pick Cady Lalanne won't be easy, but the returns of guards Trey Davis, Donte Clark, and Jabarie Hinds should help stem the tide and make the Minutemen a bit more steady.
144. James Madison: And the Dukes could be notably better than 144th. One of our biggest pump-fakes in the rankings. Not totally sure where to slot this team, which won 19 games last season and should hit at least 20 this one.
152. Wright State: Biggie Minnis transferred in from Rhode Island, and will replace Chrishawn Hopkins and Reggie Arceneaux in the backcourt. That, along with a returning backcourt, should make Wright State a tough out in the Horizon.
160. Manhattan: Steve Masiello's group had a strange year last season, going from favorite in the league, to underperformer, to
NCAA Tournament appearance. They have to replace both Emmy Andujar and Ashton Pankey, but the backcourt should be solid.
166. Duquesne: Slowly but surely for Jim Ferry in Pittsburgh. Senior Micah Mason is probably going to set national 3-point records.
172. Saint Louis: Jim Crews' team was 298th in KenPom last season. Simply put, we don't think there's any way SLU finishes that poorly again with him as coach.
185. Pennsylvania: Steve Donahue is the hire that has a lot of people at Penn believing the Quakers will rightfully rule the Ivy League again in about three years.
201. Longwood: Going to be much improved. We've boosted them more than 100 spots from where the Lancers finished last season. The group only loses one player of importance.
217. Towson: Pat Skerry's probably going through a two-year dip here. Give the Tigers a year to strengthen the roster. It could be a top-four team in the CAA a year from now.
228. Mercer: The Bears figured to have most of their roster back, but then their best player, Ike Nwamu decided to transfer to UNLV. Without him, Bob Hoffman will rely heavily on an experienced backcourt of seniors.
281. Wagner: The Seahawks will probably be better, but doing that is going to be very interesting because Marcus Burton is gone. He was a do-it-all guy for Bashir Mason's program.
291. Colgate: Good staff working up at the C'gate, but the team loses so much production from last year's team. There will be a vicious drop
303. Fordham: The Rams are starting over; the school hired Jeff Neubauer away from Eastern Kentucky. Some have questioned the fit, but it came after Robert Morris' Andy Toole turned the job down.