America East Men’s Basketball Championship Matchups Set After Thrilling Final Day of Season
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The matchups and seeds for the 2013 America East Men’s Basketball Championship presented by SEFCU are set as the regular-season schedule concluded with a thrilling final day Sunday.
Stony Brook, already the league’s regular-season champion and top seed for the tournament coming into the day’s action, beat Albany, 75-70, while Hartford upended Vermont, 61-58, on Nate Sikma’s buzzer-beating three pointer. The Hawks’ win paired with the Great Danes’ loss gives Hartford the No. 3 seed and Albany the No. 4 seed. Vermont had already secured the No. 2 seed earlier in the week. UMBC toppled Binghamton, 59-49, to lock up the No. 6 seed, while Binghamton is the No. 8 seed. New Hampshire outlasted Maine, 79-74, but lost the tiebreaker to UMBC and is the No. 7 seed. Maine will be the No. 5 seed.
The 2013 America East Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship presented by SEFCU will be held March 8-10 in Albany, N.Y., at the University at Albany’s SEFCU Arena. The men’s quarterfinal games take place Saturday, March 9 with the first game tipping off at noon. The four winners will advance to the semifinals on Sunday, March 10. The two semifinal winners will play for the America East title and an automatic NCAA bid on Saturday, March 16 at 11:30 a.m. at the highest remaining seed’s home court.
Saturday’s men’s quarterfinals will kick off with second-seeded Vermont (19-10, 11-5 AE) taking on seventh-seeded New Hampshire (9-19, 5-11) at 12 p.m. The Catamounts are seeded second or better for the ninth time in 11 years and will be seeking their second-straight league crown. The Wildcats, winners of two of their last three, are seeking their first league title and championship game appearance.
Third-seeded Hartford (17-12, 10-6 AE) will face sixth-seeded UMBC (7-22, 5-11 AE) at approximately 2 p.m. in a matchup of teams that split their regular-season series. The Hawks, who have their best seed and record since the 2007-08 season, come in having won three straight and six of eight, while the Retrievers have their most wins since the 2008-09 campaign when they reached the league title game.
In the night session, top-seeded Stony Brook (23-6, 14-2 AE) faces eighth-seeded Binghamton (3-26, 1-15 AE) at 6 p.m. in a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal matchup. The Seawolves, who captured their third America East regular-season crown in four years and have their most-ever wins as a Division I program, will try to get to their third-straight championship game and take home their first league crown. The Bearcats will try to win at least one tournament game for the fourth-straight time.
Fourth-seeded Albany (21-10, 9-7 AE) and fifth-seeded Maine (11-18, 6-10 AE) will wrap up the quarterfinal action at approximately 8 p.m. The Great Danes, who carry their most-ever wins into the tournament, will try to get to the semifinals for the second straight year and reach their first championship game since 2007. The Black Bears are aiming to snap a seven-game tournament losing skid.
The Vermont-New Hampshire winner will take on the Hartford-UMBC winner in Sunday’s first semifinal at 5 p.m., while the Stony Brook-Binghamton winner will face the Albany-Maine winner in the second semifinal at approximately 7 p.m.
The semifinal winners will then meet for the America East title on Saturday, March 16 at the highest remaining seed. Game time is 11:30 a.m.
All-session ticket packages for the first two rounds of 2013 America East Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship presented by SEFCU are already on sale. Single-session tickets championship will go on sale Monday, March 4, at 9 a.m. For more information on how to purchase tickets and the championship, visit Championship Central.
Fans who can’t make it to Albany will still be able to catch all the action. For the first time in league history, all early round games of the 2013 Championship will be broadcast live on ESPN3 and available via WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app on smartphones and tablets. ESPN2 will televise the championship game nationally on March 16. Postgame press conferences will air on AmericaEast.com approximately 10 minutes after each game.
Stay up-to-date through March 16 by visiting America East Championship Central for all the latest tournament news and information.
2013 America East Men’s Basketball Championship presented by SEFCU
Quarterfinal and Semifinal Rounds held at University at Albany’s SEFCU Arena, Albany, N.Y.
Title Game at Highest Remaining Seed
Saturday, March 9 – Quarterfinals
#2 Vermont vs. #7 New Hampshire, 12 p.m. (ESPN3/WatchESPN)
#3 Hartford vs. #6 UMBC, 2 p.m.* (ESPN3/WatchESPN)
#1 Stony Brook vs. #8 Binghamton, 6 p.m. (ESPN3/WatchESPN)
#4 Albany vs. #5 Maine, 8 p.m.* (ESPN3/WatchESPN)
Sunday, March 10 – Semifinals
Vermont-New Hampshire Winner vs. Hartford-UMBC Winner, 5 p.m. – (ESPN3/WatchESPN)
Stony Brook-Binghamton Winner vs. Albany-Maine winner, 7 p.m.* – (ESPN3/WatchESPN)
Saturday, March 16 – Title Game
Semifinal Winners, 11:30 a.m. – (ESPN2/WatchESPN)
*time approximate. Second game of session will begin 30 minutes following the conclusion of the prior game.
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