WASHINGTON — UMass will play in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

Thursday’s 83-67 loss at George Washington means the Minutemen, who fell to 3-12 (13-15 overall) can’t finish higher than 11th place in the league standings with three conference games to go.

The No. 12 and No. 13 seeds are scheduled to tip off against each other on March 8 at 6 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. The No. 11 and No. 14 teams face off at 8:30 p.m. that night.

UMass would have needed a lot to go its way even with a victory, as it started the game in 12th place, a half game ahead of Saint Joseph’s and Duquesne. All three teams are now 3-12. The Hawks and Dukes complete the regular season against each other on March 4 at Duquesne.

Because the Minutemen lost at Saint Louis, the Billikens (9-19), who are a game ahead at 4-11, would get the higher seed if the teams finished in a two-way tie. UMass loses the tie-breaker to Duquesne as well. The Minutemen could win three-way tie-breakers with either SLU or Duquesne as long Saint Joseph’s is the third team depending on how the Hawks fare in upcoming games against the Dukes and Billikens.

Junior Zach Lewis said the Minutemen aren’t watching the scoreboard.

“We’re really just trying to put it together for the A-10 Tournament,” Lewis said. “We have three games left. We’re using those game to get better going into the tournament.”

TURNOVERS – In a battle of the Atlantic 10’s two most turnovers-prone teams, UMass did a better job taking care of the ball. The Minutemen had 11 giveaways compared to 16 for the Colonials. UMass scored 25 points off of the 16 turnovers.

McLEAN, COLEMAN MISSING – Unique McLean and Zach Coleman both missed the trip. McLean, a freshman guard who is redshirting, stayed behind to avoid missing a test. Coleman, a junior forward, is scheduled to have season-ending surgery Friday morning on his right knee. Coleman has battled problems with both knees throughout his career.

He’s only appeared in 13 games this season. UMass coach Derek Kellogg said the surgery could possibly help him contribute more next year.

“We’re hoping down the line he can get back healthy,” Kellogg said. “Obviously he hasn’t played much.”

CHART CLIMBING – Junior Donte Clark’s nine points gave him 1,217 in his career passing Jim Town and Anthony Anderson, who each had 1,211 to move into the No. 25 spot on UMass’ career scoring list. Next up is

Luwane Pipkins’ three steals gave him 61 this season moving him into a tie with Tony Gaffney’s 2008-09 season for seventh best in school history.

BALDWIN ROLE EXPANDING – Chris Baldwin had 10 rebounds in a career high 21 minutes, earning praise from his coaches and teammates.

“I thought Chris was great tonight. He did a great job on Tyler Cavanaugh,” Kellogg said.

Junior Zach Lewis agreed.

“We know what he’s capable of. He works hard in practice and brings a lot of energy,” Lewis said. “I’m excited for his future.”

MISCELLANEOUS – UMass fell to 3-9 away from the Mullins Center this season and 8-22 all-time at the Smith Center. Sophomore big man Malik Hines was assessed a technical foul for saying something to GW’s Patrick Steeves, who was also given a T, following a collision between them.

Former Minuteman Javorn Farrell and Atlantic 10 commissioner Bernadette McGlade were both among the crowd of 2,654.