Temple

When looking at a map of the Division I college basketball programs, the East Coast is peppered with the vast majority of the schools who belong amongst the nation's elite. Smaller conferences with smaller rivalries abound out East. One league reigns supreme in terms of consistent production, and that’s the Atlantic-10. This season, five bids is not only a distinct possibility, at this junction in the season, it’s almost likely.

Saturday will feature one of the game's biggest rivalries when Louisville visits Kentucky in Lexington. The two fan bases are at each other's throats for 365 days a year with the winners owning bragging rights for the following year. Expect Rick Pitino, who's been a polarizing figure in the state ever since he took the Louisville job following a tough time with the Celtics which was preceded by an outstanding run in Lexington, to get an earful at Rupp Arena.

Sunday turned out to be a very good day for the Atlantic 10 and that all began with a Big 5 showdown at the Liacouras Center between third-ranked Villanova and Temple. It's always been said that you never know what to expect from a Big 5 meeting and the Owls showed just that in their 75-65 win over the Wildcats in front of a frenzied crowd. Juan Fernandez put on a show for Fran Dunphy's club, scoring a game-high 33 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the field (7-of-9 from three).

Dayton and Xavier have legitimate Top 25 hopes, while usual standard-bearers like St. Joseph's and Temple may have to make way for up-and-coming programs like Duquesne, La Salle, and Richmond.

Dayton

Duquesne

La Salle

Richmond

Temple

Xavier

Other (Charlotte, St Joe's, UMASS, URI, etc)

Following last weekend's results the thought of many was that the top three teams in the polls (Florida, Alabama and Texas) were far and away the best teams in the country. But if there was any need for clarification, we learned on Saturday that the college football season is a fluid situation and anything can happen on any given week. Texas was impressive in their dominance of Missouri on the road but it wouldn't be a surprise if they were to have a dogfight on their hands next week in Stillwater.

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