With one of the best non-conference starts in recent memory nearly completed, America East men's basketball will tip-off the league portion of the 2006-07 schedule in style tonight (January 3).
An evening that features four conference tilts and one in-state showdown, America East Opening Night will boast championship ticket and "Every Game Matters" t-shirt giveaways on the five campuses that host games.
The night also marks the debut of the 2006-07 America East Television package as Eric Frede (play-by-play) and Nate Ross (color analyst) call the action live from SEFCU Arena when the defending champion Albany Great Danes host New Hampshire at 7:30 p.m. That game can be seen live on NESN and Time Warner Cable (TW1) in Albany and also online via The America East Zone.
In all, two of the evenings' contests will be televised live over the air, while three games will be available online via video streaming. All five outings can be followed with live audio and stats as well. Links are posted below for all live action along with game previews.
AMERICA EAST OPENING NIGHT MATCHUPS
*New Hampshire at Albany, 7:30 p.m. (AETV: NESN/TW1) :: Stats :: Audio :: Video ::
The 2006-07 America East Television package gets underway as Eric Frede (play-by-play) and Nate Ross (color analyst) will call the action when the defending champion Great Danes host the Wildcats... Last season UNH swept the regular-season series over Albany with two overtime victories... The Great Danes, however, had the last laugh with a win over New Hampshire in the conference semifinals... The game will be see live on NESN and Time Warner Cable in Albany.
*UMBC at Binghamton, 7 p.m. :: Stats :: Audio ::
The Retrievers and Bearcats tip-off the conference portion of their 2006-07 seasons in one of four league games featured as part of America East Opening Night... UMBC and Binghamton split their regular-season series a season ago with the home team winning each contest... The Bearcats have won four of their last five games, while UMBC is on a four-game skid.
*Stony Brook at Vermont, 7 p.m. :: Stats :: Audio :: Video ::
The Catamounts host the Seawolves in the conference opener for both squads... Last season SBU and UVM each won at home in the regular-season series between the two... Vermont has won three-straight and five of their last six on the season... Newcomers Ricky Lucas (15.6 ppg) of Stony Brook and Joe Trapani (15.1) of Vermont lead their squads in scoring and rank second and third in America East in scoring, respectively.
*Hartford at Maine, 7 p.m. :: Stats :: Audio ::
The Black Bears welcome the Hawks to Alfond Arena in the league lid-lifter for both teams... First-year head coach Dan Leibovitz makes his America East debut as his Hawks are off to a surprising 6-6 start to the 2006-07 season... Hartford swept the regular-season series over the Black Bears last season.
Holy Cross at Boston U., 7 p.m. (CN8) :: Stats :: Audio ::
The Terriers host in-state foe Holy Cross in a game that can be seen on Comcast’s CN8 in the Boston market... Redshirt freshman Tyler Morris leads the Terriers and ranks sixth in America East in scoring with a 14.4 ppg average.
*America East Conference game