My, how the mighty have fallen.

This season, predicting the outcome of an Atlantic 10 game has been about as certain as making profits at a Savings & Loan. The A-10 standings were once again thrown out of focus Tuesday night.

The Owls fell from their perch atop the A-10 following a 63-62 setback at the hands of Rhode Island. The lowly Rams are eighth in the A-10 with a 6-10 mark.

The game sent shock waves throughout the A-10. But as another giant was slain, another sleeper may have received a wake-up call.

"That one really surprised me," Coach Bruce Parkhill said yesterday. "The first thing I was thinking was 'Oh man, now Rhode Island's got it going again.' "

Not only did Temple lose on its home floor, but All-America guard Mark Macon left McGonigle Hall on crutches after twisting his ankle on the final play. Ram star Eric Leslie also was absent, missing his seventh game with a virus.

In this week's Sagarin's computer rankings, seven teams placed in the nation's top 100. Temple is ranked 24th, while Penn State checks in at No. 67. Only Rhode Island, St. Joe's and winless St. Bonaventure did not place in the top 100. The conference was also given a boost placing out as the ninth-toughest in the nation.

Despite these numbers, most coaches, including John Griffin of St. Joe's and Temple's John Chaney, think only the tournament champion will be invited to the NCAA Tournament's 64-team field. The tight conference standings have humbled overall records and will hurt the teams in the tournament selection, the coaches agreed.

All this makes for an unpredictable A-10 tournament, which begins in Philadelphia on March 3. It takes on added significance given the competitiveness of the league. The tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

"I feel people in Philadelphia could be in for some surprises -- I think it's going to be a hell of a tournament," first-year George Washington coach Mike Jarvis said. "I'm looking forward to going up there with our sling shot and rocks and see if we can slay the big boys."

As events have shown in the conference this season, nothing is certain.

George Washington, 1-26 two years ago, is now 15-10 and 9-8 in the conference. The Colonials have jumped from the basement to seventh place.

Rutgers, 11-7 in conference play last year, is now in first at 12-3 and rolling.

After Temple (11-4), Massachusetts is third with a 9-6 mark. Penn State (9-7) and WVU (8-7) have fallen two spots since last year, holding down the fourth and fifth positions, respectively. Rhode Island has fallen from fourth to eighth.

Ninth-place St. Joe's (9-15, 5-10), the Lions' opponent tonight, knocked off the Owls, 66-60, earlier this season. The Hawks' freshman guard tandem is maturing down the stretch and the Hawks may be ready to pull an upset or two in the postseason.

Duquesne, which finished in ninth place last year, has beaten Penn State and Temple this season and now occupies a share of the fifth position with the Mountaineers.

In fact, with only two regular-season games remaining, Penn State, now fourth, can jump into third or fall to the seventh position. Only three games separate second from seventh place.

"Things are really crazy this year. I can't remember being in this situation before," Parkhill said. "It's really tight."