The rise of Duquesne's basketball program has coincided with the upswing of the Atlantic 10 conference, which is enjoying a banner season and has put itself in position to send three and possibly four teams to the NCAA tournament.

The league sent two teams to the tournament last season and hasn't had as many as four since 2004, when top-ranked Saint Joseph's and Xavier advanced to the Elite Eight.

The A-10's most representatives were five in 1997 and '98.

Dayton's 80-55 victory Saturday against then-No.6 Pitt was the A-10's marquee victory this season and put a national focus on the revival of the league. Some of the other signature wins are Xavier at then-No.8 Indiana, Dayton at then-No. 11 Louisville, Massachusetts at Syracuse and Boston College, and Rhode Island at Syracuse and Providence.

The A-10 is 106-61 in non-league games, including 7-10 against the Big East not counting games played yesterday.

Rhode Island is 23rd in the Associated Press poll and 22nd in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll, Dayton is 20th in the AP and 23rd in ESPN/USA Today, Xavier has been in both Top 25s earlier this season and Massachusetts has flirted with the rankings.

A number of A-10 teams are streaking into 2008 and league play:

• Dayton (11-1) is off to its best start since the Flyers were 14-0 in 1955-56.

• Duquesne (9-3) is off to its best start since 12-3 in 1979-80.

• Massachusetts (10-2) is off to its best start since the Minutemen were 26-0 en route to the Final Four in 1995-96.

• Rhode Island (13-1) is off to its best start since 1946-47.

"We're going to have to raise the level of our play in the Atlantic 10," said Duquesne coach Ron Everhart, whose Dukes take a three-game winning streak to Bowling Green (5-6) tomorrow. "I feel like we're a better team than we've shown in the past two games. We're going to have to be better if we're going to be successful in the Atlantic 10 Conference."

The Dukes have been sloppy and, at times, lackadaisical in victories against Saint Francis (99-80), Robert Morris (86-70) and South Carolina Upstate (84-66).

"We have to clean up our rebounding and we have to have five guys on the glass," Everhart said. "We're not defensive rebounding the ball like we have to. We need to rebound it a heck of a lot better."

South Carolina Upstate had 14 offensive rebounds, concerning Everhart, who continues to shorten his bench and tweak his rotation.

Duquesne's improvement this season is reflected by the fact the Dukes can equal last year's win total with a victory at Bowling Green.

"We're a much better basketball team in every phase of the game," said Everhart, whose Dukes were 10-19 in his first season as head coach. "We're more athletic, more talented and have more options at both ends of the floor than we did a year ago."

But where does that leave Duquesne in the much-improved A-10?

The league appears to have three tiers, with Dayton, Xavier, Rhode Island and Massachusetts in the top rung, followed by Duquesne, Saint Joseph's, Charlotte, Saint Louis, Richmond and Temple, and then lower echelon teams La Salle, George Washington, Fordham and St. Bonaventure.

The A-10's RealTimeRPI.com ranking among the 31 conferences has fluctuated between sixth and eighth.

"Every game in the Atlantic 10 will be a war," Everhart said. "I think the league is a lot better than a lot of people give it credit for."