Ken Davis

Getting noticed has always been difficult for the Atlantic 10 Conference. It starts with the enormous shadow cast by the Big East Conference, a regional and national giant on the college basketball scene. It carries over to the television networks, the power brokers that determine who will — and won’t — be seen.

But most often, the conference’s sales pitch simply wasn’t strong enough. The league’s most prominent teams would go out and win games, but against unimpressive opposition. The victories seemed inconsistent. Respect came in small doses and never flourished.

All of that may be changing — if the A-10 can build on its accomplishments through the first two months of this season.

“[Last season] we didn’t do a good enough job of creating a sense of how good our league was,” Dayton coach Brian Gregory says. “We won some games in the non-conference but we weren’t consistent enough as individual teams overall. We’ve done that this year and it is gratifying to see all the teams in our league, not only improving, but going out there and getting the job done during those 40 minutes you can show what you’ve got. It speaks volumes for the league.”

Here’s the biggest bonus: Gregory’s Flyers and the Rhode Island Rams got to share the spotlight on Wednesday. An up-and-down, high-scoring Dayton victory helped show that the league has arrived.

It ended a nine-game winning streak for the Rams (14-1), who entered No. 22 in the AP rankings with victories over South Florida, UAB, Providence and Syracuse, their best start since 1946-47. 

Dayton (13-1) is even better, ranked 17^th in this week’s Associated Press poll with victories over Louisville and Pittsburgh. The Flyers have won 12 consecutive games, their last loss coming Nov. 17 at George Mason.

Before the game, Gregory compared the showdown to Sunday’s night Atlantic Coast Conference opener between No. 1 North Carolina and No. 18 Clemson. For a conference like the A-10, it may have been even bigger. An entertaining game like that gives fans a reason to tune in to the A-10 again.

“If we aspire to be one of those leagues that have four teams in the NCAA and three or four teams in the NIT, year-in and year-out, you’re going to have these type of games,” Gregory said. “It’s just another step in our league, solidifying itself as one of the best in the country.”

Dayton and Rhode Island aren’t alone. The Xavier Musketeers, who came close to upsetting Ohio State in the second round of last year’s NCAA Tournament, are back in this week’s AP rankings at No. 24. Xavier (13-3), led by point guard Drew Lavender, is building another impressive résumé with consecutive victories over Kansas State, Virginia and Auburn. Earlier in the season, the Musketeers defeated Indiana, Creighton and Cincinnati before losing to Arizona State and Tennessee.

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“There’s just a buzz around the country,” says Dayton guard Brian Roberts. “People are looking toward the teams in the A-10, wondering what they are really about and if they can really compete. I think we’ve shown that [we can] this year, so far.”

If the NCAA Tournament were to start tomorrow, the A-10 would deserve to be represented by four teams — with UMass (11-4) joining the three ranked teams. The Minutemen, revitalized by third-year coach Travis Ford, are unranked but received more points in this week’s AP ballot than Cal, Louisville, Southern Cal, Connecticut, Ohio State or Florida. UMass has victories over Syracuse, Boston College and Houston. Last Saturday, the Minutemen battled No. 13 Vanderbilt on the road before losing 97-88.

“I think the league is as good as it’s ever been right now,” URI coach Jim Baron said. “The coaches have done an outstanding job and the players have gotten better. The coaches have done a great job of recruiting as well. I think the non-conference record [of 113-65 vs. D-I schools] speaks for itself. You can put it against any conference in the country. It’s good to be part of.”

The last time the A-10 sent four teams to the NCAA Tournament was 2004 when Saint Joseph’s and Xavier both advanced to regional finals before losing.

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