WASHINGTON – George Mason and VCU both finished at 15-3 and are Atlantic 10 men’s basketball co-regular season champions. The Rams will be the No. 1 seed for next week’s A-10 Men’s Basketball Championship at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. The 15-team tournament begins Wednesday with the championship final set for Sunday, March 16.
 
NBC Sports will carry the first three days of the championship on USA Network and Peacock. CBS Sports Network will air the semifinals Saturday at 1:00 and 3:30 pm. The championship final is set for 1:00 pm on CBS as part of their annual Selection Sunday coverage.
 
The Rams receive the top seed by virtue of a head-to-head win over No. 2 George Mason. Both VCU and the Patriots earned double byes into the quarterfinals. Third-seeded Dayton (12-6) and No. 4 Loyola Chicago (12-6) also receive the double byes. Dayton earned the three seed over the Ramblers due to its combined record over George Mason  and VCU, bolstered by the Flyers win at VCU Friday.
 
The black and gold Rams play at 11:30 am on Thursday, followed by Loyola Chicago at 2:00 pm. George Mason opens the evening session at 5:00 pm and Dayton will play in the last quarterfinal at 7:30 pm, which will air exclusively on Peacock.
 
Seeds five through nine earn byes into the second round and will play Thursday on USA Network. Saint Louis is seeded fifth and will play the winner of No. 12 Davidson (6-12) and No. 13 Richmond (5-13) at 2:00 pm Thursday. The Wildcats and Spiders meet Wednesday in the first round opening game at 11:30 am on USA Network. Richmond is the 13 seed by virtue of a head-to-head tiebreaker with No. 14 La Salle.
 
No. 6 Saint Joseph’s (11-7) will open play Thursday at 7:30 pm against the winner of the late first-round game between No. 11 Massachusetts (7-11) and No. 14 La Salle (5-13). The game between UMass and the Explorers will tip off at 4:30 pm on Wednesday on USA.
 
Seventh-seeded George Washington (9-9) will play the winner between 10th-seeded Rhode Island (7-11) and No. 15 Fordham (3-15) at 5:00 pm on Thursday in the second round. The game between Rhody and Fordham will tip off Wednesday at 2:00 pm on USA. Rhode Island is the 10 seed, having won the tiebreaker with No. 11 UMass due to Rhody’s record versus George Mason and VCU.
 
No. 8 St. Bonaventure (9-9) faces No. 9 Duquesne (8-10) at 11:30 am on Thursday for the right to play VCU in the quarterfinals.
 
The championship returns to a five-day format with the first round on Wednesday, second round Thursday, quarterfinals on Friday, semifinals Saturday and championship Sunday.
 
The winner of the Atlantic 10 Championship will receive the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
 
Tickets for the championship can be purchased online through A-10 schools’ box offices or via TicketMaster. Information on tickets, schedules and more can be found at the Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Championship Page on Atlantic 10.com.