Atlantic 10 Releases Men’s Basketball Pairings

INDIANAPOLIS, IND. -- The Atlantic 10 Conference released a breakdown of men’s basketball home and away pairings for 2012-13, and Butler fans will have a chance to see several top teams in the Bulldogs’ inaugural season in the league.  The top four squads in the final 2011-12 A-10 standings will be coming to Hinkle Fieldhouse during the upcoming season.

Butler, which announced in late May that it would be joining the Atlantic 10 Conference for the 2012-13 season, will have home conference games against Temple, Xavier, Saint Louis, St. Bonaventure, Charlotte, Duquesne, Rhode Island and Richmond.  Temple won the A-10 regular season title a year ago, while Saint Louis finished second and Xavier came in third.  St. Bonaventure placed fourth in the regular season, before winning the league tournament title.

The A-10 road schedule will send the Bulldogs to Dayton, Fordham, George Washington, La Salle, Massachusetts, Saint Joseph’s, Saint Louis and VCU.  Saint Louis will be the lone team that Butler will face twice during the conference’s 16-game regular season.

Butler also will have an unusual non-conference game against a conference foe.  The Bulldogs’ had previously scheduled a game at Xavier on November 13, and that contest, which will be televised by ESPN, will be played as a non-conference game.

The full Butler schedule with dates/times and television appearances will be released in late summer/early fall.