The bracket and schedule are set for the 2011 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship, with Xavier earning the No. 1 seed and with it, a first-round bye. The Musketeers (26-6, 15-1), who were ranked No. 23 in the most recent AP Top-25 Poll, will face either No. 8 Massachusetts or No. 9 Dayton on Friday, March 11, (12 p.m. EST) at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.
Temple (24-6, 14-2) earned the tournament's No. 2 seed, with Richmond (24-7, 13-3) getting the No. 3 seed and Duquesne (18-11, 10-6) the No. 4 seed. The top four seeds all have first round byes and won't play until the quarterfinals, on Mar. 11.
Massachusetts (15-14, 7-9) ended the regular season having lost three straight, and seven of their past nine. The Minutemen will play in the fourth and final game on the tournament's opening day (Tuesday, Mar. 8), and will do so on their home court: the first round of the A-10 Tournament is played at campus sites. In addition to UMass, No. 5 George Washington, No. 6 Rhode Island and No. 7 St. Bonaventure will all host opening round games.
Massachusetts earned the tiebreaker over Dayton with a head-to-head victory on Jan. 9 (UMass 55-50).
2011 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship
Tuesday, March 8 - First Round - Campus Sites
#10 La Salle at #7 St. Bonaventure - 5:00 p.m. (CBS College Sports Network)
#12 Saint Joseph's at #5 George Washington - 7:00 p.m. (CBS College Sports Network)
#11 Saint Louis at #6 Rhode Island - 7:00 p.m.
#9 Dayton at #8 Massachusetts - 9:00 p.m. (CBS College Sports Network)
Friday, March 11- Quarterfinals - Boardwalk Hall - Atlantic City, N.J.
Game 5 - #1 Xavier vs. #8/#9 winner - 12:00 p.m. (CBSC Syndication)*
Game 6 - #4 Duquesne vs. #5/#12 winner - 2:30 p.m. (CBSC Syndication)*
Game 7 - #2 Temple vs. #7/#10 winner - 6:30 p.m. (CBSC Syndication)*
Game 8 - #3 Richmond vs. #6/#11 winner - 9:00 p.m. (CBSC Syndication)*
Saturday, March 12 - Semifinals - Boardwalk Hall - Atlantic City, N.J.
Game 9 - Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner - 1:00 p.m. (CBS College Sports Network)
Game 10 - Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner - 3:30 p.m. (CBS College Sports Network)
Sunday, March 14 - Finals - Boardwalk Hall - Atlantic City, N.J.
Game 11 - Winner of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 10 - 1:00 p.m. (CBS)