The America East tournament tipped off Wednesday with eight teams battling for the automatic NCAA Tournament bid. Here is everything you need to know.
The America East is one of the many midmajor conferences expected to get just one team into the NCAA Tournament. That adds more intrigue to the conference tournament, with eight teams fighting it out over the next week to grab that automatic bid. The tournament started Wednesday and will continue until March 14.
Stony Brook was considered the preseason favorites, but Albany stormed to the regular-season title with a 15-1 conference record. The Great Danes are looking for their third straight appearance in the NCAAs.
The Seawolves are still a dangerous team despite slipping to the No. 3 seed. They're led by junior forward Jameel Warney, who won America East Player of the Year for the second straight season and also took home Defensive Player of the Year honors. Stony Brook is sitting on a six-game winning streak and handed Albany its only loss in conference play.
Also in the running are No. 2 seed Vermont and No. 4 seed New Hampshire, which just completed its first winning record since the 1994-95 season.
The format
Although the America East has nine teams, UMass-Lowell is ineligible for postseason play due to its transition from Division II. That means this will be a straightforward eight-team tournament, with the top seeds playing the lower seeds. The games take place on campus locations, with the higher seeds hosting each round.
The teams
- Albany Great Danes
- Vermont Catamounts
- Stony Brook Seawolves
- New Hampshire Wildcats
- Hartford Hawks
- Binghamton Bearcats
- UMBC Retrievers
- Maine Black Bears
Bracket
The full America East bracket can be found here.
Schedule and results (all times Eastern)
Wednesday, March 4 (Quarterfinals)
No. 1 Albany 83, No. 8 Maine 66
No. 4 New Hampshire 67, No. 5 Hartford 63 (OT)
No. 2 Vermont 66, No. 7 UMBC 39
No. 3 Stony Brook 62, No. 6 Binghamton 57
Sunday, March 8 (Semifinals)
No. 1 Albany vs. No. 4 New Hampshire, ESPN3
No. 2 Vermont vs. No. 3 Stony Brook, ESPN3
Saturday, March 14 (Championship)
Albany/New Hampshire vs. Vermont/Stony Brook, 11 a.m., ESPN2
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