Joe Dzuback is the RTC correspondent for the Atlantic 10 Conference. You can also find his musings online at Villanova by the Numbers or on Twitter @vtbnblog.

Teams on the Rise… Teams on the Slide

Just over 38 percent of the conference schedule is in the books and two teams — Saint Louis and Virginia Commonwealth — have emerged as the teams to catch. Three other teams — George Mason, Duquesne and Dayton (!) — are falling out of contact with the rest of the conference.

Shaka Smart and company are once again right in the mix for the A10 crown. (AP)

Rising – Teams that are finding their groove

• Saint Louis — Skeptics who groused that the Billikens’ early conference success came compliments of an easy draw have to pause for reflection after this week. Wins over Dayton, a rallying St. Bonaventure, and most recently Richmond (by 20 points) confirm that the Billikens are unlikely to slip against the conference’s middling teams and will continue to set the pace in the conference race for at least the next two weeks. A good deal of ink has extolled and analyzed Virginia Commonwealth’s HAVOC, but Jim Crews’ smothering defense — ranked #1 nationally by Ken Pomeroy (and a runaway #1 in conference play, over eight points per 100 possessions better than #2 VCU) — that provides the winning edge for the Bills. A combination of consistent two- and three-point field goal defense and strong defensive rebounding has powered Saint Louis’ defense in sharp contrast to VCU’s gambling, steal-oriented, press-and-trap approach that tolerates fouls as a byproduct. Saint Louis by contrast does not foul. Jordair Jett, the Bills’ thick but quick point guard, combines with undersized forward Dwayne Evans to provide the Billikens with an adequate, but hardly prolific, offense. The defense — for now — is enough. Their February 15 date with Virginia Commonwealth, the first of two games they will play with the Rams in the final three weeks of the regular season, is the opening shot in what may well become a three-game set that will be decided in the conference championship game at the Barclays Center. Read the rest of this entry »

John Wooden might have said it best. The legendary former UCLA coach once described Thomas Joseph Gola as the “greatest all-round basketball player” he had ever seen. That seems an apt characterization for a player who won championships at every level of the sport before pursuing a coaching and political career. The basketball world lost a true legend when Gola died on Sunday just outside Philadelphia. He was 81.

Former La Salle legend Tom Gola passed away Sunday. (Photo courtesy of philadelphia.cbslocal.com)

Gola set a standard for excellence that may never be surpassed. Standing at just 6’6″, he played much bigger than his frame would suggest, still holding the NCAA record for career rebounds with 2,201; only one other player (George Washington’s Joe Holup) has even eclipsed the 2,000-rebound plateau. Gola dominated the competition during his four-year career at La Salle, averaging 20.9 points and 19.0 rebounds per game over 121 games with the Explorers. A three-time All-American, Gola led La Salle to the 1952 NIT title, the 1954 NCAA championship (including the Final Four Most Outstanding Player award), and an NCAA runner-up placement in 1955. He was also the Helms Foundation National Player of the Year in 1954 and the UPI National Player of the Year in 1955.

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