We’re getting into some bigger conference tournaments tomorrow with the Big East and the Atlantic 10. An automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament is on the line and there are about three evenly matched teams capable of winning it.
No. 1 seed Xavier (24-6, 15-1 A-10) is the only team from the conference ranked in the Top 25, but No. 2 Temple (24-6, 14-2) and No. 3 Richmond (24-7, 13-3) should also make it into the NCAA Tournament if they aren’t upset in Friday’s quarterfinals.
The Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament’s first round includes four games at the campus of the higher seed on Tuesday. The rest of the games will be played at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Friday includes four quarterfinal matchups with the semifinals on Saturday and the final on Sunday.
Right now, Richmond is projected as one of the last teams into the NCAA Tournament but needs to at least win its quarterfinal game to make a case for an at-large bid. Temple won the A-10 Tournament last year and have just one loss (Duke) in its last 12 regular season games. Xavier won its last nine games of the regular season and its lone conference loss came against Charlotte, which did not qualify for the tournament. Below are the games for the first two days of the A-10 Tournament:
Tuesday, March 8 – First Round
No. 10 La Salle vs. No. 7 St. Bonaventure, 5 p.m.
No. 12 Saint Joseph’s vs. No. 5 George Washington, 7 p.m.
No. 11 Saint Louis vs. No. 6 Rhode Island, 7 p.m.
No. 9 Dayton vs. No. 8 Massachusetts, 9 p.m.
Friday, March 11 – Quarterfinals
No. 1 Xavier vs. Dayton/Massachusetts winner, 12 p.m.
No. 4 Duquesne vs. Saint Joseph’s/George Washington winner, 2:30 p.m.
No. 2 Temple vs. La Salle/St. Bonaventure winner, 6:30 p.m.
No. 3 Richmond vs. Saint Louis/Rhode Island winner, 9 p.m.