History lesson: A-10 tournament gives teams a ‘chance to catch fire’ in March

The Atlantic 10 Conference entered the world under a different name: the Eastern Collegiate Basketball League. The first ECBL tournament took place in Philadelphia at the Spectrum in 1977.

“Togetherness was the theme as the infant league gathered here today for its first tournament ever,” wrote Gary Tuma in the Centre Daily Times on March 2 that year.

Still, there were disputes about the format of the eight-team tournament. Some wanted only the four top seeds to qualify. Others wanted the first-round games to be played at campus sites. Penn State coach John Bach liked having all eight teams play at one site with a NCAA tournament berth on the line.

“It gives a team a chance to catch fire, get hot in the tournament,” he said.

That’s still the the case 46 years later. The conference, known as the Atlantic 10 since 1982, will hold its tournament at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., from March 7-12, with 15 teams hoping to get hot and claim a spot in March Madness on Selection Sunday.

None of the league’s top teams — the Dayton Flyers included — did enough in non-conference play to earn an at-large bid, so this likely will be the first time since 2005 only the A-10 tournament champion gets to play in the NCAA tournament. That raises the stakes for an event with a rich history.

Dayton fans may not want to read about that history. Their history in this tournament is a sad one. In 26 A-10 tournament appearances, Dayton has won only one championship: in 2003.

Ten different programs, including former A-10 members Temple and Xavier, have won the tournament since Dayton’s last championship 20 years ago. They Flyers won their championship on their home court at UD Arena and have never won it away from home. That’s a storyline that comes up every year at this time.

Explore» TWENTY YEARS LATER: Looking back on 2003 A-10 champion Dayton Flyers

Nine days before the 2023 tournament, this is a good time for an A-10 tournament history lesson.

• Most championships by a current A-10 member: Massachusetts (5)

The Minutemen won five straight tournaments from 1992-96 under coach John Calipari and have not won the tournament since then. They won 15 straight tournament games during those five seasons and won a 16th straight game in 1997 under first-year coach Bruiser Flint before losing a quarterfinal game to George Washington.

• Most championships won by a former A-10 member: Temple, 9

The Owls, who left the A-10 in 2013 for the American Athletic Conference, won three straight A-10 tournaments from 2008-10 under coach Fran Dunphy and won six championships (1985, 1987, 1988, 1990, 2000 and 2001) with John Chaney.

• Most consecutive seasons with a different champion: 7 (2015-22)

Starting with Virginia Commonwealth in 2015, a different team has won every tournament. Saint Joseph’s, Rhode Island, Davidson, Saint Louis, St. Bonaventure and Richmond last year have followed.

• Best winning percentage by a current member: Davidson (.667)

The Wildcats, who joined the league in the 2014-15 season, are 12-6 in seven tournament appearances. They won the championship in 2018 by beating Rhode Island in the final and lost to Richmond in the final last season.

VCU had the best winning percentage until losing in the quarterfinals to Richmond last season. It’s 15-8 in nine appearances.

Dayton is 26-25 (.510) in 26 appearances. Saint Louis (17-14, .548, in 15 appearances) is the only other current A-10 member with a winning record in the tournament.

• Best finish in championship game: Only once has the A-10 championship been decided by a game-winning shot at the buzzer.

In 1999, Rhode Island’s Lamar Odom got the ball near halfcourt with 6.1 seconds to play after a timeout. He dribbled down the left sideline and made a shot from about 22 feet to give the Rams a 62-59 victory against Temple at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. He had 22 points and 10 rebounds and was named the tournament MVP.

Rhode Island won the first of two A-10 tournament titles. It won again in 2017. It had to win in 1999 to make the tournament.

“We weren’t in,” coach Jim Harrick said. “We didn’t deserve (to be). Now we are.”

• Second-best memorable finish: St. Bonaventure’s Nelson Kaputo missed what would have been a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer in the 2019 championship game as the Bonnies lost 55-53 to Saint Louis.

• Highest-scoring A-10 tournament game: Massachusetts 106, Rutgers 94 (1992)

On its way to its first A-10 tournament title, UMass won this quarterfinal game with what remains the highest points total by one team in the history of the tournament. Jim McCoy led the Minutemen with 24 points, and Tony Barbee scored 21.

• Lowest-scoring A-10 tournament game: Fordham 45, Richmond 37 (2006)

No. 6 seed Fordham beat No. 11 Richmond in the opening round. Fordham then upset La Salle before losing to Xavier in the semifinals.

• Lowest seed to win the championship: No. 10 Xavier (2006)

The Musketeers lost three of their last four regular-season games and entered the tournament with a 17-10 record. They had the advantage of playing close to home at U.S. Bank Arena, formerly known as Riverfront Coliseum and now known as the Heritage Bank Center. They beat No. 7 seed UMass, No. 2 Charlotte, No. 6 Fordham and No. 5 Saint Joseph’s to win the championship.

Tournament MVP Justin Cage blocked a shot in the final seconds to preserve the victory. Xavier earned a surprise NCAA bid in coach Sean Miller’s second season. It would be the first of seven straight NCAA appearances for Xavier, which missed the tournament in 2005 after four straight appearances.

• Most all-tournament team honors: Lou Roe, UMass (4)

Roe helped lead the Minutemen to four straight championships and is the only player in league history to be named to the all-tournament team four times. He was named tournament MVP as a senior in 1996. He ranks fourth in school history with 1,905 points in his career.

• Double award winner: Nine players have won the A-10 tournament MVP award and the A-10 player of the year award in the same season: Peyton Aldridge (Davidson, 2018); Andrew Nicholson (St. Bonaventure, 2012); David West (Xavier, 2002); Lou Roe (Massachusetts, 1995); Harper Williams (Massachusetts, 1992); Nate Blackwell (Temple, 1987); Granger Hall (Temple, 1985); James Bailey (Rutgers, 1979); and Norm Nixon (Duquesne, 1977).

• Most points in a game (1980s): Tom Garrick, Rhode Island (50)

A 6-foot-2 senior guard, Garrick led No. 2 seed Rhode Island to a 104-73 victory against No. 10 Rutgers in the quarterfinals on March 7, 1988, in Morgantown, W.Va. He averaged 20.3 points that season and scored 1,573 points in his career, the 15th-best total in school history. This was his career high. It remains the all-time Rhode Island single-game record. He broke the previous tournament record of 34 points set by James Bailey, of Rutgers in 1978.

“Tom Garrick is a super athlete,” Rhode Island coach Tom Penders said then. “I think he’s been overlooked all year. He’s a great all-around basketball player. That was a super performance by Tommy.”

Rhode Island beat West Virginia in the semifinals before losing to No. 1 seed Temple in the championship game. Rhode Island then beat Missouri and Syracuse in the NCAA tournament before losing to Duke in the Sweet 16.

Garrick played four seasons in the NBA. He later coached the Rhode Island women’s team. He’s now the associate head coach at Vanderbilt.

• Most points in a game (1990s): Mark Stevenson, Duquesne (44)

A 6-6 senior forward who played three seasons at Notre Dame before transferring to Duquesne, Stevenson hit his career high in a 96-70 victory against Saint Joseph’s on March 3, 1990, in the first round at the Palestra in his hometown of Philadelphia. His total is tied for the sixth-best single-game scoring performance in Duquesne history. He made 15 of 20 field goals and 10 of 10 free throws.

“I thought Mark Stevenson’s performance was one of the best I’ve seen in this building in 30 years,” Saint Joseph’s coach Jim Boyle said. “He played as well as any kid who’s ever come in here.”

Stevenson averaged 27.2 points that season. That remains a school record. He scored 1,609 points in his career.

• Most points in a game (2000s): Jameer Nelson, Saint Joseph’s (39)

A 6-0 junior guard, Nelson helped the Hawks rally from a 19-point deficit in the final 16 minutes, but they lost 76-73 to Dayton in the semifinals on March 14, 2003, at UD Arena. The Flyers won their first (and so far only) A-10 tournament championship a day later by beating Temple.

Nelson made 11 of 19 field goals and 14 of 16 free throws. He averaged 19.6 points per game that season and 20.6 a year later when he led Saint Joseph’s to a 27-0 regular season and was the consensus national player of the year.

Nelson’s 39-point performance is tied for sixth in Saint Joseph’s history. He’s the program’s all-time leading scorer with 2,094 points. He averaged 11.3 points in a NBA career that stretched from 2004-18.

• Most points in a game (2010-present): Jordan Price, La Salle (36)

A 6-5 junior guard, Price reached what was then his career high in an 88-73 victory against Duquesne in the first round on March 9, 2016, at the Barclays Center.

• Most career points in the tournament: Marc Macon, Temple (207)

From 1988-91, Macon, a 6-4 guard, scored 207 points in 10 tournament games. He scored 2,609 points in his college career. He remains Temple’s all-time leading scorer. He’s now an assistant to Temple head coach Aaron McKie, who also owns an A-10 tournament record for most points scored in a championship game (33 against UMass in 1994).

• Only triple-double: Rodney Blake, Saint Josephs (1986)

Blake, a 6-8 sophomore center, had 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 blocked shots in a 59-51 quarterfinal victory against Penn State. Blake scored 1,680 points in his career. He’s the school’s all-time leader with 419 blocked shots.

• Most rebounds in a game: Marcus Santos-Silva, VCU, 22 (2019)

Santos-Silva, a 6-7 forward, also had 26 points in this game, but No. 1 seed VCU lost 75-70 to No. 8 Rhode Island in the quarterfinals.

• Most 3-pointers made in a game: Matt Mobley, Saint Bonaventure (9)

The 6-3 senior guard made 9 of 13 3-pointers in an 83-77 quarterfinal victory against Richmond on March 9, 2018. He averaged 18.1 points that season and scored 1,946 points in two seasons at Central Connecticut and two at St. Bonaventure.

• Most assists in a game: Ellis McKennie, George Washington, 15 (1990)

A 6-3 guard, McKennie carried No. 7 seed GW to an 85-77 victory against No. 10 St. Bonaventure in the first round.

2023 A-10 TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

FIRST ROUND

Tuesday, March 7

(LIVE on ESPN+)

Game 1: No. 12 Seed vs. No. 13 Seed

Game 2: No. 10 Seed vs. No. 15 Seed

Game 3: No 11 Seed vs. No. 14 Seed

SECOND ROUND

Wednesday, March 8

(LIVE on USA Network)