The Atlantic 10 Conference might become a victim of its own success and improvement when the selection committee hands out bids to the NCAA men's tournament Sunday.

Just a couple months ago, the league was the talk of the college basketball world and the buzz was it could get as many as five teams into the tournament. Marquee non-conference victories against Indiana, Louisville, Pitt, Clemson, Wake Forest, Syracuse, Villanova, and Kansas State enhanced the A-10's reputation and vaulted the league into seventh place in the RPI, highest for a non-BCS conference.

With each headline victory, word spread even louder about the rejuvenation of the Atlantic 10. The league became the darling of the media and was heading into conference play with soaring expectations.

But now it's March and Xavier (26-5), which has maintained a Top 20 ranking, is the only team assured of a bid to the NCAA tournament even if it doesn't win the A-10 tournament that starts tomorrow at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.

The glorious starts for Dayton, Rhode Island and Massachusetts have been dulled by a series of losses in the league, in which the second-tier teams are far better than they've been in recent years. A-10 teams have beaten up each other so often you can't call anything an upset anymore. Parity, with the exception of Xavier, rules in the A-10, and that might not be a good thing when bids come out.

Although the league's RPI still is seventh among the 31 Division I conferences, a number of teams have fallen dramatically since glorious beginnings. Xavier's No. 9 RPI leads the pack in the A-10, followed by No. 37 Dayton (20-9), No. 41 Massachusetts (21-9), No. 54 Saint Joseph's (18-11), No. 59 Temple (18-12) and No. 66 Rhode Island (21-10).

Dayton and Massachusetts are in the best position to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament if they can win at least two games in the A-10 tournament. The others would have to reach the tournament title game to at least get some consideration.

The best-case scenario for the A-10 would be for Xavier to get upset in an early round, ensuring that another team would win the championship and receive the automatic bid. A Xavier loss could open the door for one, and possibly two, other A-10 teams to receive at-large bids.

It wasn't that long ago that Dayton and Rhode Island were ranked in the Top 20 and considered locks to play in the NCAA tournament.

But Dayton went into a tailspin after a 14-1 start that included a 25-point victory against then-No. 6 Pitt. The Flyers haven't been the same team since 6-foot-8 freshman phenom Chris Wright was diagnosed with a fractured right ankle and missed the past 15 games. Coach Brian Gregory said yesterday Wright has been practicing this past week and might be available on a limited basis for the A-10 tournament.

"Just three games ago we were sitting in a position with a chance not to make the Atlantic 10 tournament," said Gregory, whose Flyers have won three in a row to finish 8-8 in the league. "Now we're sitting in a position with a great chance to make it to the NCAA tournament. People are talking about us again."

There isn't any NCAA conversation surrounding Rhode Island, which also started 14-1 but lost six of its final seven games to drop to 7-9 in the league and is seeded 11th in the A-10 tournament.

"I don't think it's an upset if a No. 5 beats a No. 12, or a No. 6 beats a No. 11," Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz said. "It all comes down to how certain teams match up against other teams. Xavier has proven they're the No. 1 seed, and they have to be the favorite, but after that ... who knows what's going to happen."

NOTES -- Duquesne didn't have a player named to any of the first three all-conference teams selected by the coaches, but junior Shawn James is on the defensive team, Damian Saunders the rookie team and graduate student Kieron Achara is the student-athlete of the year for the second consecutive season. Achara also is on the academic team for the third time.