2012 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament

2012 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament
Classification	Division I
Season	2011–12
Teams	12
Site	Boardwalk Hall Atlantic City, New Jersey
Champions	St. Bonaventure (1st title)
Winning coach	Mark Schmidt (1st title)
MVP	Andrew Nicholson (St. Bonaventure)
Attendance	6,101
Television	CBSSR, CBSSN, CBS
Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournaments «2011  2013»

2011–12 Atlantic 10 men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Temple	13	–	3		.813			24	–	8		.750
Saint Louis	12	–	4		.750			26	–	8		.765
Xavier	10	–	6		.625			23	–	13		.639
St. Bonaventure†	10	–	6		.625			20	–	12		.625
UMass	9	–	7		.563			26	–	11		.703
La Salle	9	–	7		.563			21	–	13		.618
Dayton	9	–	7		.563			20	–	13		.606
Saint Joseph's	9	–	7		.563			20	–	14		.588
Duquesne	7	–	9		.438			16	–	15		.516
Richmond	7	–	9		.438			16	–	16		.500
Charlotte	5	–	11		.313			13	–	17		.433
George Washington	5	–	11		.313			10	–	21		.323
Rhode Island	4	–	12		.250			7	–	24		.226
Fordham	3	–	13		.188			10	–	19		.345
† 2012 Atlantic 10 Tournament winner As of March 13, 2012; Rankings from AP Poll

The 2012 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament was played initially at campus sites for the opening round on March 6, 2012 and subsequently at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey from March 9 through March 11, 2012.^[1] It was the sixth consecutive year that the tournament was hosted in Boardwalk Hall, matching the longest streak at one site since the tournament was held at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1997–2002. However, it was the tournament's final year in the run at Boardwalk Hall, as the event will move to Brooklyn's new Barclays Center in 2013. The 2012 tournament will also be the last to use campus sites for the opening round, as all tournament games will be played in Brooklyn under the new deal.^[2]

The tournament champion will receive an automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA Tournament. Seeding for the tournament is determined by the conference standings at the end of the regular season.^[3] The last two teams in the standings do not qualify for the tournament. Opening round games are played at the home of the higher (lower number) seed.

The championship game was nationally televised on CBS.^[4]

Tie-breakers

• Xavier earned the 3rd seed over St. Bonaventure with a 1–0 record in head-to-head games.
• Four teams (Dayton, La Salle, Massachusetts, and Saint Joseph's) broke a tie for 5th place with a 9–7 conference record, which was done by comparing the composite head-to-head records of all tied teams.^[5] Saint Joseph's earned the 5th seed, as they went 3–1 (.750) in games against the other three schools. Dayton earned the 6th seed with a 2–1 (.667) record, La Salle the 7th seed with a 2–2 (.500) record, and Massachusetts the 8th with a 1–4 (.200) record.
• Duquesne earned the 9th seed over Richmond with a 1–0 record in head-to-head games.
• George Washington and Charlotte split their season series 1–1. However, George Washington earned the 11th seed over Charlotte by virtue of an 0–1 mark against Xavier (Charlotte went 0–2 against Xavier).^[6]

Notes

2012 marks the first year when Rhode Island did not qualify for the tournament, since the league adopted the current format in 2006. Fordham did not qualify for the fourth consecutive year.

Bracket

	First Round Campus Sites March 6, 2012					Quarterfinals Boardwalk Hall March 9, 2012					Semifinals Boardwalk Hall March 10, 2012					Championship Game Boardwalk Hall March 11, 2012
						1	Temple	71
						8	Massachusetts	77
	8	Massachusetts	92
	9	Duquesne	83
											8	Massachusetts	80
										4	St. Bonaventure	84
						4	St. Bonaventure	71
						5	Saint Joseph's	68
	5	Saint Joseph's	80
	12	Charlotte	64
																4	St. Bonaventure	67
																3	Xavier	56
						2	Saint Louis	78
						7	La Salle	71
	7	La Salle	80
	10	Richmond	72
											2	Saint Louis	64
										3	Xavier	71
						3	Xavier	70
						6	Dayton	69
	6	Dayton	67
	11	George Washington	50

References

1. "A-10 To Hold 2010, 2011, 2012 Men's Basketball Championships At Boardwalk Hall In Atlantic City". Atlantic 10 Conference.
2. "A-10, Barclays Center Form Partnership; Bring A-10 Championship To Brooklyn". Atlantic 10 Conference. September 28, 2011. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
3. "2012 Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Tie‐Breaking Scenarios" (PDF). atlantic10 conferebce. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
4. "A-10 Men's Basketball Championship To Be Aired On CBS Sports Beginning In 2010; New Championship Format Unveiled". Atlantic 10.
5. "Temple Claims Top Seed for 2012 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship". Atlantic 10 Conference. March 3, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
6. "GW Men's Hoops Falls at Dayton, Will Face Flyers in A-10 First Round". George Washington Athletics. March 3, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2012.