With a 13-3 record, Temple won the 2012 Atlantic-10 regular season championship. Saint Louis finished in second place with a 12-4 record, followed by Xavier and St. Bonaventure at 10-6 apiece.

How did the conference rank in terms of our Floor Impact Counter statistical rankings?

In order to determine our team rankings, we calculate the difference between a team's own FIC per game and their opponents' FIC for the entire conference season.

The FIC is a single statistical measurement that encompasses things such as scoring efficiency, rebounding, blocked shots, etc. Its purpose is to combine the box score into one statistic, both on a team level and for players.

1. Temple: 16.27  
2. Saint Louis: 12.43  
3. St. Bonaventure: 11.73  
4. Saint Joseph's: 6.02  
5. Dayton: 5.23  
6. Xavier: 5.00  
7. Massachusetts: 0.92  
8. La Salle: -0.28  
9. Richmond: -0.56  
10. George Washington: -4.59  
11. Duquesne: -7.73  
12. Charlotte: -7.97  
13. Rhode Island: -13.34  
14. Fordham: -23.12

When John Calipari’s Memphis team first went undefeated in Conference-USA, you could count me among the skeptics. How could a CUSA team deserve a one-seed in the NCAA tournament? Weren’t there a bunch of 11-5 teams in the SEC and ACC that were more deserving? If you put Memphis in the Big 12, they certainly were not going to go undefeated. But over time my opinion changed. There were a number of reasons.

First, I started to watch Memphis play more often. There’s nothing like seeing a team’s athleticism on TV to change your impression. Plus, the Sagarin and Pomeroy ratings actually believed in Memphis. The Tigers weren’t just winning in CUSA, they were beating teams by such an impressive margin that they looked every bit like one of the top teams in the country. And when I saw John Calipari guide that Derrick Rose, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Joey Dorsey, etc. Memphis team to the national title game, I was fully convinced. A team could legitimately be a national title favorite even in a smaller conference. 

With Murray St. undefeated this season, you might expect me to be on the Racers' bandwagon. But something has been holding me back. Unlike some of the other impressive mid-major squads in recent years, Murray St.’s Pomeroy ranking is a pedestrian 47th.

The fact that a team could be ranked 47th and not have lost a game is actually fairly impressive. But if you look at the recently released team sheets on NCAA.com, the answer hits you square in the face. The left hand columns of the Murray St. team sheet are nearly empty. Despite the fancy zero next to Murray St.’s name, they haven’t really played anyone of any substance.

But I’m not here to tell you to disrespect a group of kids from a mid-major school who, even after their coach left this offseason, are taking the program to new heights. No, I’m here to tell you to look a little more closely. The margin-of-victory stats don’t hate Murray St. as much as you might think. The key is that Murray St.’s least impressive performances of the season happened while Ivan Aska was out with a broken right hand. (Aska returned this last weekend.) Aska is a 6’7” forward who averages 12 points and six rebounds a game and provides the key inside balance for star guards Isaiah Canaan and Donte Pool. And the numbers reflect his importance to the team. Here are Murray St.’s splits with and without Aska in the lineup:

With Aska in the lineup, Murray St. has played like the 25th best team in the nation. That’s not quite elite, but it also feels about right. Murray St. might not be a legitimate post-season favorite, but with an undefeated record on the season, there is no reason to believe this team is a pushover either.

Speaking of surprise mid-majors, if you woke up this morning and saw that La Salle was leading the A-10, I’ll forgive you if you don’t know much about the team. (If you want something to be excited about, La Salle is 10th in the nation in 3-point percentage.) And given the craziness of the A-10 this season, I’m not sure the Explorers can stay on top. But if La Salle can stay near the top of the A10, the NCAA committee will be made aware of one key fact. Ramon Galloway, who averages 15 PPG was missing in La Salle’s early season losses at Villanova and at Pittsburgh. While I think the NCAA committee puts less weight on injuries than I would like, Galloway is too important a piece in La Salle’s lineup to ignore the fact that he was missing in those games. And La Salle only lost by four points and seven points in those games. La Salle certainly doesn’t have enough quality wins to get a lot of respect right now, but don’t sleep on the Explorers.

Speaking of Pittsburgh, a popular story this week has been how the return of the injured Tray Woodall has saved Pitt’s season. The experts have been saying that not only does Woodall add a star point guard who can bring the offense back to life, he allows Ashton Gibbs to return to his natural position at shooting guard. And the full-season numbers confirm the story. Both early and recently, Pitt has been a much better team, and particularly a much better offensive team, with Woodall in the lineup.

Overall, Pittsburgh has played like the 110th best team in the country with Woodall out, and the 33rd best team with Woodall in the lineup. I know there will be some who are skeptical that one player can make that big a difference. But last year’s Gopher squad showed how critical a PG can be. With Al Nolen running the show, Minnesota beat North Carolina and Purdue and looked like a strong NCAA team. But with Al Nolen injured, Blake Hoffarber had to play out of position and Minnesota won only one Big Ten game in the final eleven.

For those of you who want extra details on Pitt’s season, the team’s Pythag. rating in November (with Woodall) was 0.8642, Woodall came back too soon and played a horrible game in a loss to Notre Dame, but since his Jan 21 return Pitt’s Pythag. rating is 0.8844 and the team is 3-1. So while Pitt has been playing shockingly well lately, it isn’t necessarily out of character with the early season form.

I’m growing to love what Tony Bennett has done at Virginia this year, but they desperately need Assane Sene back. Without their shot-blocking center, Virginia’s defense has been substantially worse. This Tuesday they barely beat a Clemson team playing without Milton Jennings. Virginia has mostly been surviving, but they are not going to make a deep run in March without Sene in the lineup.

But not all player changes make a difference. Keep in mind that for the NCAA to take an injury into consideration, the player must have a large impact on the team when healthy. A player not only has to impact the team’s wins, he also must put up meaningful statistics. I have no doubt that California misses Richard Solomon. There are definitely times when the other forwards get in foul trouble when it when it would be nice to have him available. But Solomon was in and out of the lineup all season, and he never really had the kind of statistical production to impact his team. Not surprisingly, California looks almost identical with or without him in the lineup:

Similarly Andrew Steele has provided some nice scoring at the guard position for Alabama, and shown a propensity for getting to the line. But Alabama’s defense has been slightly worse since Steele debuted, and he hasn’t had the impact on the team that some people had hoped.

Chris Gaston: Gaston is an intriguing prospect with a lot of room for growth. While he has carried his Fordham squad over the past two seasons, he must demonstrate a refined perimeter shot to be considered at the next level. As it currently stands, he has the requisite athleticism to crash the boards (34^th in the nation in Defensive Rebounding %) and attack the basket. At this stage, Gaston gets to the line very often (6^th in the A-10 in Fouls Drawn), but rarely converts on these opportunities. (51.7% FT% a year ago)  If he can develop some semblance of an outside shot and simultaneously improve his free throw shooting, Gaston has a chance to make the jump to the professional level. With that said, it will be an uphill battle.

Terrell Vinson: After suffering through foot injuries in his sophomore campaign, Terrell Vinson is looking to bounce back and lead his UMass club to a top 5 finish in conference play. With the loss of offensive focal point Anthony Gurley, the Minutemen are going to lean on the efforts of Vinson and wing Freddie Riley to provide the brunt of UMass’s scoring attack. And, the wiry Vinson has responded to this need by putting in the effort in the offseason to add girth. When the season begins, look for him to be featured as UMass’s top post weapon, and for him to regain the speed that he once had prior to his injury.

TJ McConnell: After an impressive showing in the Green Tree Summer League, McConnell is poised for a breakout season on a national scale. He is already one of the top true point guards in his conference, finishing 5^th in the A-10 in Assist Rate as a freshman. Further, he was efficient on the offensive end, holding the 6^th best Offensive Rating in the conference, while shooting a blistering 57.2% Effective Field Goal % from the floor. On the defensive end, McConnell was the 7^th best in the nation at Steals %. All in all, look for McConnell to earn All-Conference honors in his second season with Duquesne.

Andrew Nicholson: After an extremely impressive junior season, Nicholson has firmly positioned himself on the NBA draft radar for this coming season. This lengthy forward is an impressive athlete that got to the line at will a season ago, finishing 1^st in the A-10 in Fouls Drawn. Further, Nicholson was efficient from the field and finished 4^th in his conference in Effective Field Goal %. Nicholson is also a fairly effective shot blocker and defensive rebounder. He should be on scouts’ radars all season long and will likely hear his name called on draft night.

Tu Holloway: Holloway is one of the best returning point guards in the country. He ranked 4^th in his conference in Assist Rate and provided the necessary leadership for his squad. Further, he shot a 60.2% True Shooting %, while being forced to take roughly a fourth of his team’s shots. Moreover, he was 2^nd in the A-10 (behind Nicholson) in Fouls Drawn. All in all, he must prove to scouts that he can hit the long ball (34.5% from beyond the arc last season) in order to receive more serious NBA consideration.

Mark Lyons: Holloway’s backcourt counterpart Lyons has made some noticeable strides over the summer, and appears poised for a big season in his own right. Look for him to improve on his shooting percentages and for him to attack more off the dribble. Lyons is also an underrated passer, and he will have ample opportunity to demonstrate this aspect of his game in front of scouts, as his Xavier team is one of the ten best programs in the country entering the year.

Ramone Moore: Moore is a fairly efficient scoring guard that plays an unselfish brand of basketball. While he finished 7^th in the A-10 in Offensive Rating amongst players with at least a 24% usage, he also was able to find his teammates at the right moments. Therein, he ranked 23^rd in the conference in Assist Rate and will probably function as more of a distributor this coming season. 

Juan Fernandez: Fernandez is a big lead guard that is capable of hitting clutch shots for his team. He was rated very highly in the preseason polls, and for good reason. Fernandez is a willing passer and an efficient offensive threat despite the fact that he hit a shooting slump last year after sitting out due to some injuries. He finished 8^th in the A-10 in Assist Rate a season ago. Defensively, he has the size, but lacks the lateral quickness to defend elite level guards. This will limit his long run potential.

Tony Taylor: Taylor quietly had one of the best seasons in the A-10 last year as the lead guard for the George Washington Colonials. He distributed the ball very well, finishing 50^th in the country (and 2^nd in the A-10) in Assist Rate. Further, in doing this, he was able to get to the basket and draw contact. Look for him to excel in this area once again and to have an excellent senior season overall. And, if he can lead his team towards the top half of the standings, he should earn All Conference nominations.

Carl Jones: Jones is one of the best up and coming players in the A-10. After not receiving much hype entering his college career, Jones has managed to generate considerable buzz as the leader of his St. Joes’ squad. In his second season, Jones improved in virtually every area, becoming much more consistent from behind the arc and looking for his teammates more often. Jones shot a 48% Effective Field Goal % last season, while managing to take 27% of his team’s shots. Look for Jones to step up once again this year and to be one of the few bright spots on a depleted St. Joes roster.

Chris Johnson: With the loss of world class athlete Chris Wright, Johnson is ready to embrace a position of leadership on his Flyers squad. Functioning as a secondary option at times, Johnson was able to score the basketball efficiently, hitting a 52.0% Effective Field Goal % and earning the 3^rd best Offensive Rating overall in the conference. Further, the loss of Wright should open the door for him to become more of a rebounding presence. He was the 25^th best Defensive Rebounder in the A-10 last season, and he should only improve in this capacity this coming year. All in all, Johnson is one of the more interesting players to keep an eye on, as he appears ready to break out as Dayton’s top weapon.

Kwamain Mitchell: After a breakout sophomore campaign, Mitchell redshirted this past season because of a suspension that was levied just prior to the start of the Fall Semester. Now he is back to lead his St. Louis squad to a potential NCAA Tournament appearance. In 2010, Mitchell was very efficient at the point guard position, posting a 52.3% Effective Field Goal %. Moreover, he was a willing passer, as evinced by his 11^th best Assist Rate in the A-10. Expect him to immediately become St. Louis’s go-to option.

Mike McCall Jr.: With Mitchell redshirting in 2010-2011, McCall emerged as an intriguing point guard prospect. He finished 10^th in the A-10 in Assist Rate as a freshman. This season he will look to take some of the ball pressure off of Mitchell, and will likely play off the ball at times. Look for him to score more efficiently this season and to demonstrate his long run potential as a professional prospect.

Tyreek Duren: While Duren was fairly turnover prone in his first season, he was saddled with most of the ball handling responsibilities. Look for his decision making to improve considerably in his sophomore year, and expect him to make more of an impact on the offensive end. From the get-go, he was able to distribute the ball to his teammates, as demonstrated by his 12^th ranked Assist Rate amongst A-10 players. Duren will likely continue to develop as a facilitator, but should also look to shoot more often with the departures of Williams and Aaric Murray, both of which commanded most of the offensive touches.

Chris Braswell: The 6’9 Braswell is one of the more intriguing forward prospects in the A-10 this season. He is a capable athlete that is aggressive on both ends of the floor. Further, he is one of the better returning rebounders in the conference, finishing 11^th in the A-10 in Offensive Rebounding % and 7^th in Defensive Rebounding %. Braswell is very aggressive inside and is able to draw fouls fairly frequently. If he can convert on a higher percentage of his free throws, Braswell could be in for a breakout year.