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 Jordan Crawford, Xavier |
March 6, 2010
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Two-time defending champion Temple is the top seed for the 2010 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship, which commences on Tuesday, Mar. 9.
Ranked 16th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and 20th in the Associated PressXavier (23-7) finished tied with TU at 14-2 in A-10 play and earned a share of the regular season title for the fourth consecutive year and the No. 2 overall seed. UMass holds the league record with five-straight titles from 1992-96. Paced by the league's leading scorer in sophomore guard Jordan Crawford (19.7 ppg.), the 25th-ranked Musketeers (AP poll) have won seven consecutive games and 11 of their last 12.
Richmond (24-7/13-3) and Saint Louis (20-10/11-5) also received first round byes after finishing third and fourth, respectively. The Spiders established program records for regular season and A-10 victories and earned their highest seed in program history. SLU recorded its second 20-win campaign since 1998 despite having the nation's youngest roster.
Beginning this season, a new format is in place for the A-10 Men's Basketball Championship as first round games will be hosted on campus sites on Tuesday, Mar. 9. No. 5 Rhode Island (21-8/9-7) hosts 12th-seeded Saint Joseph's (11-19/5-11); No. 11 Massachusetts (11-19/5-11) visits sixth-seeded Charlotte (19-11/9-7); No. 7 Dayton (19-11/8-8) hosts 10th-seeded George Washington (16-13/6-10); and ninth-seeded Duquesne (16-14/7-9) visits No. 8 St. Bonaventure (14-15/7-9), the Bonnies' highest seed since 2001.
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The setting for the Championship then shifts to Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., as the quarterfinal round commences at Noon on Friday, Mar. 12, with Temple facing the SBU-DUQ winner, followed by Saint Louis versus URI-SJU at 2:30pm. Xavier tips off at 6:30pm on Friday evening against the UD-GW winner, while Richmond plays at 9:00pm versus either Charlotte or Massachusetts.
Semifinal action will take place on Saturday, Mar. 13, with the Championship game held on Sunday, Mar. 14, and televised live nationally at 1:00pm on CBS Sports for the first time in A-10 history.
Tickets can be purchased at the Boardwalk Hall box office, all Ticketmaster locations, online at www.ticketmaster.com, or by phone at 800-736-1420.
Quarterfinal round action can be viewed live on www.atlantic10.org. Fans can subscribe beginning Wednesday, Mar. 10, for the cost of $7.95 per game. For complete coverage of the 2010 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship, log on to www.atlantic10.org
2010 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship
Tuesday, March 9
First Round - Campus Sites
#9 Duquesne at #8 St. Bonaventure - 7:00
#10 George Washington at #7 Dayton - 7:00
#11 Massachusetts at #6 Charlotte - 7:00
#12 Saint Joseph's at #5 Rhode Island - 7:00 (Cox)
Friday, March 12
Quarterfinals - Boardwalk Hall - Atlantic City, N.J.
Game 5 - #1 Temple vs. #8/#9 winner - 12:00 (CBS CS)*
Game 6 - #4 Saint Louis vs. #5/#12 winner - 2:30 (CBS CS)*
Game 7 - #2 Xavier vs. #7/#10 winner - 6:30 (CBS CS)*
Game 8 - #3 Richmond vs. #6/#11 winner - 9:00 (CBS CS)*
Saturday, March 13
Semifinals - Boardwalk Hall - Atlantic City, N.J.
Game 9 - Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner 1:00 (CBS College Sports)
Game 10 - Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner 3:30 (CBS College Sports)
Sunday, March 14
Finals - Boardwalk Hall - Atlantic City, N.J.
1:00 (CBS)
*CBS CS - regionalized coverage by CBS College Sports Network. Check local listings
