2009 Atlantic 10 Basketball Tournament

Printable & Viewable Bracket Link: 2009 Atlantic 10 Mens Basketball Tournament Bracket

Participants/Overview: The 2009 Atlantic Ten Tournament like most standard 12 team college basketball tournaments involves all of the twelve teams from the A-10 conference. The winner of the Atlantic 10 basketball tournament is granted entry into the 2009 Mens basketball tournament during March Madness. Teams are seeded according to conference play and the top 4 records are awarded a bye into the Quarterfinals meaning teams seeded 5 or higher must win 4 games in 4 days to win the tournament championship.

For the 3rd consecutive season the Xavier Musketeers earned the number 1 seed posting a 12-4 conference record and 24-6 overall record. This was the first time that a school has entered the Atlantic Ten Tournament as number 1 seeds since the John Chaney's Temple teams pulled off the feat in the last 90's. Xavier isn't as talented as those clubs the last 2 years, but one thing has remained the same, this team defends the basketball really well.

Rhode Island, Dayton, and Temple all finished the season with identical 11-5 conference records, but with tie breaking procedures, Rhode Island earned the 2 seed, Dayton the 3 seed, and Temple earned the last of the coveted top 4 seeds.

At this point the Atlantic Ten is a multiple bid league, 2 teams are pretty much locked in (Xavier and Dayton), but Rhode Island and defending champion Temple are both poised to make a run and either one could possibly get to the finals but still get an at large bid depending on how the rest of the BCS conference tournaments play out.

Temple likely has the better shot, but Rhode Island is playing the best basketball right now. The Rams have won 6 of their last 7 conference games but that one late season loss against UMASS really hurt their chances at the at large bid.

The winner will be one of the top 4 seeds because they are clearly the better clubs but also have first round byes. Xavier is the odds and favorite and our pick. After not giving a crap about last years A-10 tournament and getting knocked out early, expect a focused Musketeers team to take home the 2009 Atlantic Conference Tournament crown.

Venue: Boardwalk Hall

Sponsors: Spalding, Gatorade, CollegeTalk.com

Dates: March 11th-March 14th

TV: TV schedule is still TBA. Normally the first 2 rounds of the tournament are only available via the Internet. The semifinals will likely be found on CSTV or ESPN2 with the A-10 championship game being televised on ESPN at 6:00 eastern time.

Atlantic Ten Tournament Schedule
March 11th - Opening Round
March 12th - Quarterfinals
March 13th - Semifinals
March 14th - Championship
Click here for the updated Atlantic 10 tournament bracket

Last Years Winner
Temple Owls. The #2 seeded Temple Owls beat Saint Joes 69-64 in the final to take the 2008 Atlantic Conference Tournament. On the way to the title game, the Owls beat Charlotte 60-45 in the semifinals, and LaSalle 84-75 in the quarterfinals. St. Joes had to play 4 games in 4 days just to have a shot at the automatic birth. After beating number 1 seeded Xavier 61-53 in the semis, the Hawks just had very few fuel in the tank.

All was not lost for St. Joes as that run to the title game earned them one of the last remaining at large bids into the 2008 NCAA tournament. They would earn an 11 seed and drew Oklahoma in the first round where their season would end. Maybe even more remarkable was the selection committee giving Temple a 12 seed for winning the tournament and beating St Joseph's yet seeding them lower. The Owls would go on to lose to the Michigan State Spartans in the opening round.

Previous Years Atlantic Ten Tournament Bracket
2008 Champion: Temple
2007 Champion: George Washington
2006 Champion: Xavier
2005 Champion: George Washington

Off Site Links
Atlantic 10 Conference Official Website
Boardwalk Hall Venue Website

2009 March Madness at Maddux Sports includes brackets, picks, and live odds. If you are betting, watching, or handicapping the tournament, keep it locked here for the entire tournament.