A month in review...November in Atlantic 10 women's basketball

Photo courtesy of URI Athletics

In a world where madness at the mid-major level runs rampant through the non-conference schedule, upsets and surprises have been prevalent all over the Atlantic 10 conference.

Through the first month of the season we have seen programs drop buy-games, take down power-four programs and defy preseason expectations. Here are some of the headlines from the month of November inside the A-10.

Winners keep on winning: Richmond Spiders

Richmond won the A-10 a season ago and have followed that up with an 8-0 start to the 2024-25 season. They haven't faltered no matter the location of the matchup with three home wins, three away wins and two victories at a neutral site in Daytona Beach, Florida. The second win in Florida was a big one for the Spiders, a 57-53 win over Oklahoma State.  

The Spiders are scoring 76.8 points per game, fourth in the conference, while allowing just 50.5 points per contest which is first in the A-10 by over three points. The Spiders can both score and play outstanding defense, the reason they are the favorites to go back-to-back. 

Underdogs off to a strong start: George Washington Revolutionaries

GW was picked to finish 12th of 15 in the A-10 preseason poll, and although their schedule has not been the toughest it has opened up to a 5-2 start with an opening day win over Delaware. 

The team has already gotten to half of its win total from a season ago while being undefeated on home court. The Revs are shooting 41% from the field while opponents are making just 33.2% of their field goals against them. GW have also out-rebounded teams by a margin of 13 per game, as they continue to keep possessions alive.

The kicker for the Revs is their play away from home, they’re currently 0-2 outside of the Charles E. Smith Center, and they went 3-9 when not playing in the nation's capital a season ago. 

The disappointments: Saint Louis Billikens and Rhode Island Rams

 SLU and Rhody were picked to finish seventh and eighth in the conference, now both squads have five losses while the Rams have four wins and Saint Louis have three. 

The Rams defense has been as good as advertised, allowing the third fewest points per game in the A-10. The issue for Rhody is the scoring, the Rams are 10th in total points and dead last in free throw percentage.

Saint Louis is the opposite of URI, it can score but cannot defend. The team has allowed over 87 points per game, over 14 points worse than Duquesne who's allowed 72.7. Although the team scores over 70 points per contest they are not making up on offense for what they lack on defense.