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AP Photo Xavier guard Mark Lyons, center, splits Southern Illinois defenders Kendal Brown-Surles, left, and forward Antonio Bryer on the way to the basket Sunday in Honolulu. Xavier, which won that game 87-77, is still ranked at the top of the Atlantic 10 by media members polled last week.

The Atlantic 10 still has a handful of games left before conference play begins Jan. 4. But with the league's 14 teams wrapping up their nonconference slates, there have been some impressive surprises and some disappointments so far.

With conference play starting shortly, a panel of media members who cover the conference were asked to submit a new ballot last week. The results show how expectations have changed for how the teams will perform in A-10 play based on how they fared outside of it.

The results are below. Each team's place in the preseason poll (which came out in October and includes coaches and media votes) is in parentheses. Only No. 1 Xavier is in the same spot it was picked to finish in October.

1. Xavier (1) - The Musketeers' suspensions cost them a few games in Hawaii last week, but that didn't dampen the long-term optimism for Xavier (9-3).

2. Saint Louis (3) - Coach Rick Majerus' Billikens (11-1) have lived up to preseason hype.

3. Temple (2) - Owls (7-3) play Duke next week with a chance to raise the bar.

4. Saint Joseph's (7) - The Hawks (9-3) figured to be better, but this much better?

5. Dayton (6) - The Flyers (9-4) have won five of six including an upset of No. 15 Alabama and every day in new coach Archie Miller's system should make them more experienced and confident.

6. Saint Bonaventure (4) - The Bonnies (6-5) may have overscheduled, but should be battle-tested for league play.

7. Richmond (5) - Losses in four of their last five has shaken faith in the Spiders (7-6).

T8. UMass (12) - The Minutemen (10-3) still have something to prove to people despite a 10-3 record. Beating Davidson was a good start.

T8. La Salle (13) - Six wins in their last seven games has raised voters' esteem of the Explorers (8-4).

10. Charlotte (11) The 49ers (7-3) have a similar resume to UMass. Both lost to Miami, but Charlotte's other two losses (Lamar, East Tennessee) are worse.

11. Duquesne (9) - The Dukes (7-5) haven't gotten any consistency going.

12. George Washington (8) - The transition to new coach Mike Lonergan has been bumpy for the Colonials (4-7).

13. Fordham (14) - There have been some bright spots and anything above last is progress for the Rams (5-6).

14. Rhode Island (10) - The Rams (1-11) should be helped by the addition of two transfers, but eight straight losses have left little reason for optimism and coach Jim Baron on the hot seat.

GAMES OF THE WEEK: BYU at St. Mary's, Thursday 11 p.m. (ESPN2) - The Cougars are an immediate contender in their first year in the West Coast Conference. They meet another annual league heavyweight right away.

Louisville at Kentucky, Saturday, noon (CBS) - The dislike factor between John Calipari and Rick Pitino makes this a fun game in any year, but the Wildcats are No. 3 and the Cardinals are No. 4. From the opening tip to the awkward postgame handshake, this is not to be missed.

TOUGHEST WEEK: Indiana - The undefeated Hoosiers (12-0) could stake a claim to being ranked No. 1 in the country if they're still undefeated at this point next week. Indiana is at No. 16 Michigan State on Wednesday and host No. 2 Ohio State at 6 p.m. on Saturday as Big Ten plays starts this week.

ATLANTIC 10 GAME OF THE WEEK: Saint Joseph's at Harvard, Saturday 4 p.m. - This is almost like a Bracket Buster game. Two teams that have played themselves into contention for NCAA Tournament at-large berths will meet in Cambridge with an opportunity for a resume win.

YULETIDE TRADITION - It's a pretty reliable annual occurrence. In the days leading up to Christmas, there will almost always be an odd upset. Some ranked team will have enough players who have just finished finals and have early flights home the next morning that aren't entirely focused on beating an anonymous opponent on its schedule. That dubious distinction in 2011 belongs to No. 13 Pittsburgh as the Panthers fell to Wagner, 59-54, Friday.

Pittsburgh might have been a good bet to be that team this year. The Panthers had already fallen to Long Beach State earlier this season and Wagner is pretty good. Two years after going 5-26, Danny Hurley has put the Seahawks in contention to be among the favorites in the Northeast Conference.

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

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Follow UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at http://www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.