The Atlantic 10 adjusted the dates for the men’s and women’s basketball championships due to COVID-19 schedule disruptions, the league announced in a release last week.
The men’s championship will now be played March 3 through 6, with the championship game being held March 14, the release states. The women’s championship will be played in its entirety March 10 through 14, according to the release.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the Atlantic 10 to be creative in scheduling and rescheduling throughout the regular season,” A-10 Commissioner Bernadette McGlade said in the release. “Altering our championship dates provides additional time for our student-athletes, coaches, support staff and institutions to adjust to additional COVID-19 protocols in preparation for the A-10 championships and postseason play.”
According to current schedules, A-10 men’s basketball teams have postponed 33 conference matchups this season and canceled eight contests. On the women’s side, squads have postponed 37 games and canceled five matchups. At GW, the men’s team lost 10 games due to postponements, while the women’s team pushed back five games.
Eight of those postponements on the men’s squad were a result of a 35-day COVID-19 intermission after head coach Jamion Christian tested positive for the virus. Women’s basketball postponed just two games after a positive test among a Tier 1 staff member in the program.
VCU will play host to the preliminary round and semifinals, while Richmond and VCU will host the second round and quarterfinals, the release states. The championship game will be played at Dayton.
Richmond will host the entirety of the women’s basketball tournament.
The conference also modified its seeding for the tournament. Teams above 60 percent of the median number of A-10 games played by all programs will be seeded by conference winning percentage. Teams below the 60 percent threshold will be seeded according to NCAA NET rankings relative to conference programs, the release states.
Teams below the 60 percent threshold will not be eligible to claim the regular season crown, according to the release.
Men’s basketball ends its regular season Friday for a 6 p.m. tipoff at St. Bonaventure. The women’s squad will host George Mason Sunday at 2 p.m.
