The Atlantic 10 continues to earn national attention with three more wins over top conference opponents over the weekend.

In addition to the University of Massachusetts upsetting Memphis 73-72, Temple beat Seton Hall and Richmond defeated Florida. The A-10 is ranked No. 5 among all conferences ahead of both the Big Ten and Pacific-10.

Fueling some of the A-10's success is the emergence of new standout young players who could impact the league for quite some time. Some of the best of those include:

Jordan Crawford, Xavier G - To nobody's surprise, the 6-foot-4 sophomore transfer from Indiana has made an instant impact. His 18.4 points per game has him just off the league lead.

Juan Fernandez, Temple G - The sophomore from Argentina, who became eligible last year at midseason, showed flashes of promise last year and is fulfilling them this year. Fernandez averaged 27 points in Temple's wins over Villanova and Seton Hall, and overall he is averaging 13.5 points and 3.8 assists per game.

Shamari Spears, Charlotte F - The transfer from Boston College has been better as a 49er than he was as an Eagle. The 6-foot-6 junior was tied for the league scoring lead at 18.5 points per game after the weekend.

Willie Reed, Saint Louis F - Reed is showing that last year's flashes of potential were no fluke. His 14.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game have made him one of the conference's top big men.

Terrell Vinson, UMass F - While Saturday's 21-point, nine-rebound effort on national television - including the game-winning shot - introduced Vinson to a lot of people, the Minuteman freshman has been good all season and is steadily getting better.

Chris Gaston, Fordham, F - In a chaotic year in the Bronx, the 6-foot-7 freshman forward has been a bright spot for the Rams. He's averaging 18.3 points and 11.1 points per game and will likely be the centerpiece of the program's rebuilding.

B.J. Monteiro, Duquesne G/F - A year ago, the 6-foot-5 sophomore swingman averaged fewer than 10 minutes per game. So far this season he's at 13.4 points and 5.7 boards per game and has been a critical part of the Dukes.

Chris Braswell, Charlotte F - The highly touted 6-foot-8 freshman is one of the league's best rebounders at 9.6 per game.

Lasan Kromah, George Washington G - After going 10-18 last year, the Colonials' 7-2 start is been one of the A-10's most surprising stories. The 6-foot-5 freshman from Maryland has been a big part of the early success, averaging 13.4 points per game.

GAME OF THE WEEK: UMass at Boston College, Wednesday, 7 p.m. - The inconsistent Eagles are 7-4 and 0-2 against Atlantic 10 teams. A win for the Minutemen would be a huge momentum lift after Saturday's upset of Memphis.

BOLDING EYING RETURN - Duquesne guard Melquan Bolding, who has been out with a wrist injury, hopes to return for conference play according to the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. Bolding, who has a screw in his wrist will be examined shortly after New Year's.

FONTAN TO USC - Fordham freshman star Jio Fontan will continue his career at a school which is literally and figuratively about as far away from Fordham as he could get. Fontan announced Monday he's transferring to Southern California.

POLL POSITIONING - After beating previously undefeated Villanova and Seton Hall, Temple entered both top-25 polls, landing 21st in the Associated Press poll, and 25th in the coaches Poll. It's the Owls first time in either top-25 since 2001.

More importantly, Temple is currently No. 3 in the Ratings Percentage Index (according to RealTimeRPI.com) that the NCAA Tournament committee uses as a tool to help select and seed the 65-team field. The RPI features four Atlantic 10 teams in its top 40, with No. 22 Richmond, No. 24 Rhode Island and No. 32 Dayton all joining Temple. UMass is currently No. 132.

Information from personal interviews, newspaper articles and sports information releases was used in this report.

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. For more UMass coverage, including a UMass sports blog, go to http://www.gazettenet.com/category/sports/umass-sports.