Senior Curtis Withers leads the 49ers into the A-10 Tournament this week as the #2 seed. |
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Runner-up 49ers Seeded 2nd in A-10 Tourney
March 5, 2006
Philadelphia, Pa. -
A-10 Championship Bracket in PDF Format
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The pairings are set for the 2006 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship, which begins on Wednesday, March 8 at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, OH. George Washington, Charlotte, La Salle, and Saint Louis each earned opening round byes to the Championship.
George Washington enters the Championship as the top seed after posting a perfect 16-0 record in A-10 play and a 26-1 overall mark. The Colonials, who are ranked seventh by the Associated Press and sixth by USA Today/ESPN, enter the A-10 Championship with the nation's longest winning streak at 18 games (which is also the longest in school history). George Washington is just the fourth team in Atlantic 10 history to go unbeaten in league play, joining Saint Joseph's (16-0, 2003-04), Temple (18-0, 1987-88), and Temple again (18-0, 1983-84). At 26-1, the Colonials have set a school record for wins. GW previously won 24 games in 1954-55 (24-6) and 1997-98 (24-9).
Charlotte (18-11 / 11-5) is participating in its first Atlantic 10 Championship and will do so as the second seed. Charlotte's runner-up finish in the A-10 is their third straight season with at least a runner-up league finish (2004: Conference USA champs; 2005: C-USA runner-up; 2006: A-10 runner-up). Charlotte has posted a 35-13 record in league play over the last three years.
La Salle (18-9 /10-6) and Saint Louis (16-12 / 10-6) tied for third at the end of the regular season, but the Explorers earn the third seed by virtue of having beaten the Billikens in the season finale. La Salle's seed is its best since joining the A-10 in 1995-96. Saint Louis, like Charlotte, is making it's A-10 Championship debut.
The opening round of the 30th annual Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship commences on Wednesday with four games. Eighth-seeded Rhode Island (14-13 / 8-8) meets ninth-seeded Temple (15-13 / 8-8) at noon, followed by No. 5 Saint Joseph's (15-12 / 9-7) squaring off with 12th-seeded Dayton (14-16 / 6-10). The second opening round session begins at 6:30pm with Massachusetts (13-14 / 8-8), seeded seventh, taking on 10th-seeded Xavier (17-10 / 8-8). The final opening round game will pit sixth-seeded Fordham (14-15 / 9-7) and Richmond (13-16 / 6-10), seeded 11th.
The Championship continues with quarterfinal round play on Thursday, March 9. George Washington opens quarterfinal round action at 12:00pm by facing the winner of the Rhode Island-Temple game. Then it's Saint Louis squaring off with either Saint Joseph's or Dayton at 2:00pm. The evening session of the quarterfinal round begins at 6:30pm and sees Charlotte taking on the Massachusetts-Xavier winner, while La Salle faces the Fordham-Richmond victor in the nightcap.
Semifinal round play takes place on Friday, March 10, beginning at 6:30pm. The final round of the Atlantic 10 Championship will be played on Saturday, March 11. Tip-off is 6:00pm.
Tickets for the opening round Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship can be purchased at the U.S. Bank Arena box office, by calling 513-562-4949, at TicketMaster locations at select Kroger stores in the Cincinnati area, or on line at www.ticketmaster.com.
49ers In League Tourneys under Lutz (11-5):2004-05: #2 seed - C-USA Quarterfinals (0-1) 2003-04: #5 seed - C-USA Quarterfinals (1-1) 2002-03: #8 seed - C-USA First round (0-1) 2001-02: #4 seed - C-USA Semifinalist (1-1) 2000-01: #3 seed - C-USA CHAMPIONS (3-0) 1999-00: #7 seed - C-USA Semifinalist (2-1) 1998-99: #5 seed - C-USA CHAMPIONS (4-0)
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