2008 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament

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2008 Atlantic 10 Men's
Basketball Tournament
Teams 12
Site Boardwalk Hall
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Champions Temple (7th title)
Winning Coach Fran Dunphy (1st title)
MVP Dionte Christmas[1] Temple
Atlantic 10 Men's
Basketball Tournaments
«2007  2009»

The 2008 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament was played at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey from March 12 through March 15, 2008. By winning the tournament, Temple received an automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament and was crowned Atlantic 10 Conference champion. Xavier and Saint Joseph's also received at-large bids to the NCAA tournament. Dionte Christmas of Temple was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

[edit] Seeding

The seeding for the tournament is based on regular-season record during Atlantic 10 Conference play. Each team played a 16 game schedule. Charlotte, Richmond, and Saint Joseph's all finished with records of 9-7. Richmond won the tiebreaker by having a 2-1 record among the tied schools. Saint Joseph's came second from the tiebreaker with a record of 1-1. Also, La Salle and Dayton both finished with 8-8 records. La Salle won the tiebreaker by having beaten Dayton during the regular season. Lastly, Duquesne, Rhode Island, and Saint Louis all finished with records of 7-9. Because the teams were all 1-1 in games amongst each other, the tie was broken by record against the highest ranked teams in the conference. In the end, Saint Louis won the tiebreaker as a result of a 1-1 record vs. Massachusetts. Duquesne (0-1 vs. Massachusetts) then got the tiebreaker over Rhode Island (0-2).

The top four teams receive byes to the second round of the tournament. Because they did not finish in the top 12 in the Atlantic 10, George Washington and St. Bonaventure did not qualify for the tournament.

[edit] Bracket

  First round
March 12
Second round
March 13
Semifinals
March 14
Championship Game
March 15
                                     
8  Dayton 63*  
9  Saint Louis 62  
  1  Xavier 74  
    8  Dayton 65  
      
        
  1  Xavier 53  
  5  St. Joseph's 61  
        
        
  4  Richmond 47
    5  St. Joseph's 61  
5  Saint Joseph's 80
12  Fordham 62  
  5  St. Joseph's 64
  2  Temple 69
7  La Salle 82  
10  Duquesne 79  
  2  Temple 84
    7  La Salle 75  
      
        
  2  Temple 60
  6  Charlotte 45  
        
        
  3  Massachusetts 65
    6  Charlotte 69  
6  Charlotte 75
11  Rhode Island 73  

Asterisk denotes game ended in overtime.