American East Conference

Adeleke led the Hawks to two key conference victories on the week while averaging 19.5 ppg and 14.5 rpg and shooting a blistering 73 percent (16-of-22) from the field. The 6-9 forward recorded double-doubles in wins over UMBC and Binghamton. He scored a game-high 23 points and added 12 rebounds in a 75-69 victory over the Retrievers, and followed that effort with a team-best 16 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks in a 52-46 victory against the Bearcats.

Carter averaged a near double-double on the week as well with 9.0 ppg and 10.0 rpg. The 6-4 guard recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds in a 75-69 win over UMBC, including pulling down five-straight Hartford defensive rebounds in the final minutes. He also added six points and nine rebounds at Binghamton in a 52-46 win.

AMERICA EAST NOTES:

Playoff picture comes into focus: Entering the final week of the 2005-06 regular season, the seeds for the 2006 America East Men’s Basketball Championship are beginning to take form. Albany (11-2 America East) can clinch the No. 1 seed and at least a share of the regular season title with one more victory or a Binghamton (10-4) loss. The Great Danes swept the regular-season series over the Bearcats, thus holding the tie-breaker if the two ended up knotted in the conference standings. If Albany defeats Vermont on Monday night or one more victory by Binghamton, then the Bearcats will be either the No.2 or No. 3 seed. A log-jam then ensues in the league standings as only three games separate Hartford (8-6), Vermont (7-6), Boston University (7-7), New Hampshire (7-8), UMBC (5-8) and Maine (5-9). Stony Brook (2-12) will be the No. 9 seed for the upcoming tournament and will play the eighth-ranked team in the first round game on March 3. The pile-up in the middle of the pack will begin to sort itself out following Monday night’s games. Be sure to stay tuned to AmericaEast.com all week long for the latest updates on playoff scenarios.

Postseason Potential: Not only would Albany clinch the No. 1 seed for the upcoming conference tournament and at least a share of the regular-season title with one more victory or a Binghamton loss, the Great Danes would also punch their postseason ticket. On Thursday, February 16, the National Invitation Tournament Selection Committee announced that regular-season conference champions (or the top-seed in the event of a share of the league crown) are guaranteed a spot in the 40-team NIT field.

Double the fun: With 16 points and 17 rebounds in Hartford’s 52-46 win at Binghamton, Kenny Adeleke (Queens, N.Y./Paul Robeson/Hofstra) now sits in third place on the America East single-season double-doubles list with 21. Adeleke trails only Drexel’s Malik Rose who tallied 23 in 1994-95 and 22 in 1995-96. Earlier this year, Adeleke, who has led the Hawks to victories in five of their last six games, broke Vin Baker’s school record for most double-doubles in a season and the senior forward currently leads the league in scoring (20.5 ppg), rebounding (12.8 rpg) and field goal percentage (58.2 percent) and ranks second in blocks (1.80 bpg). If Adeleke maintains his 12.8 rpg, his single-season average will be the third-highest in conference history with only Rose topping his single-season effort (13.2 in 1995-96 and 13.6 rpg in 1994-95).

Danes hang tough in BracketBusters: Albany had its six-game win streak ended in its 70-67 loss at Virginia Commonwealth in the fourth-annual BracketBusters presented by eBay on Friday, February 17. Playing in their first-ever nationally televised game (ESPNU), the Great Danes put up a strong showing in front of the 6,684 in attendance at the Alltel Pavilion.