A-10 Tempo Thursday: January 13, 2022

By Ray Floriani (@rfloriani)

Heading into mid-January, the small sample sizes are still in effect. Due to COVID a number of Atlantic 10 teams have weathered through postponements, forcing a change in scheduling.

On January 11, St. Bonaventure played its first conference game after four prior games were postponed. On January 17, George Mason will be the final A-10 team to get into conference action, as the Patriots venture into our nation’s capital to face George Washington.

Small samples aside, VCU and Davidson are out of the gate fast. Another group of Rams, Fordham, has also caught attention. Dayton has looked good early on. With a number of postponements, it will be interesting to watch how teams handle busy, makeup-filled schedules in the coming weeks.

Starting off the return of Tempo Thursday is a look at efficiency margin (offensive minus defensive efficiency) and win-loss records in conference play. As always, all numbers are courtesy of KenPom.

1) VCU (+23, 3-0)

2) Dayton (+15, 2-1)

3) Davidson (+14, 3-0)

4) Fordham (+7, 2-0)

T-5) St. Bonaventure (+5, 1-0)

T-5) Rhode Island (+5, 1-1)

7) Duquesne (+2, 1-1)

T-8) Saint Joseph’s (+1, 1-2)

T-8) Saint Louis (+1, 1-1)

10) George Mason (0, 0-0)

11) UMass (-10, 0-3)

12) Richmond (-12, 1-2)

13) La Salle (-15, 0-3)

14) George Washington (-36, 0-2)

OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY

1) Davidson 118

T-2) VCU 109 

T-2) St. Bonaventure 109 

T-4) Rhode Island 104 

T-4) Duquesne 104

Given the numbers, it comes as little surprise that Bob McKillop’s Wildcats are undefeated in A-10 play, and have not lost a game since mid-November.

DEFENSIVE EFFICIENCY

1) VCU 86

2) Dayton 90

3) Fordham 94

T-4) Saint Joseph’s 99

T-4) Rhode Island 99

VCU is turning opponents over at a 26 percent rate. The Rams’ effective field goal percentage defense is 44 percent, second in the conference behind Fordham’s 43 percent. The Bronx Rams deserve a mention with an unblemished 2-0 mark in A-10 action, plus their non-conference record was an encouraging 7-5, with an overall season defensive efficiency of 99. Fordham’s days of an easy out are arguably over. Definitely worth the while to see how Kyle Neptune’s team progresses as the conference season moves on.

PACE — FASTEST AND SLOWEST

Saint Joseph’s, Duquesne, Richmond: 73 possessions per game

George Washington 70

UMass 69

MOST DELIBERATE

Rhode Island 63 

Dayton 64 

St. Bonaventure 65 

Davidson 67 

VCU 68

Defending conference and postseason tournament champion St. Bonaventure came off a long layoff. The Bonnies were inactive for 25 days after losing to Virginia Tech on December 17, losing their first four conference games due to COVID. Mark Schmidt’s group finally got back in action on January 11, visiting La Salle at Tom Gola Arena, a virtual house of horrors for the Bonnies, who have struggled to win there in recent seasons. On this night, the Bonnies allowed an uncharacteristic 104 efficiency. They were able to weather that storm and exit with an 80-76 overtime victory. The next ten days see the Bonnies play three games, certain to give us a better look regarding their adjustment over the long hiatus from competition.

To date, UMass is shooting better from beyond the arc 44 percent than inside (40 percent). In fact, the top six teams in 3-point shooting are shooting 40 percent or better: UMass (44 percent), and VCU, St. Bonaventure, Rhode Island, Saint Louis, and Fordham all connecting at a 40 percent clip.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

January 14

VCU at St. Bonaventure, Davidson at Richmond

January 15

Dayton at Duquesne, Fordham at Saint Louis, Rhode Island at UMass

January 17

George Mason at George Washington, La Salle at Saint Joseph’s

January 18 

Davidson at VCU, St. Bonaventure at Dayton

January 19

La Salle at Rhode Island, George Washington at Saint Joseph’s

Davidson takes to the road for two challenging games. George Mason, as noted, will play its first conference game on Monday. The Patriots have been inactive since a competitive 76-67 loss at Kansas on New Year’s Day. Dayton’s visit to Duquesne is one to watch.

This week alone, St. Bonaventure has two demanding matchups, hosting VCU in a repeat of last year’s conference championship, followed by a visit to Dayton. With two contests at Hawk Hill this week, coach Billy Lange’s Saint Joseph’s team has a chance to get another pair of conference wins in the books. Fordham’s visit to Saint Louis is also another one of interest.

All-KenPom Team

Hyunjung Lee, Davidson 

Josh Oduro, George Mason 

Jaren Holmes, St. Bonaventure 

Tyler Burton, Richmond 

Luke Brakovic, Davidson

The selections can change week to week. They are made considering the body of work a player has produced from the start of the season to present date.

AGGREGATE STATS (Conference games only)

Efficiency 102

Tempo 69 possessions

eFG% 50

Turnover % 18 

Home Win % 43

The home court results are an eye-opener. Teams coming off layoffs, not at full strength, a host of factors enter into the equation. Last season, the home team was victorious 62 percent of the time. Last season was by no means an ordinary one, but at any rate, expect that home court figure to climb over 50 percent, as it still should be interesting to see how this campaign pans out in that category.