Today's Action
NCAA Men's Basketball Championship
at RBC Center (Raleigh, N.C.)
First Round: Friday, March 21
No. 15 UMBC vs No. 2 Georgetown (CBS), approx. 2:55 p.m.
The Retrievers are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 22 years as a Division I program... UMBC has won a school-record 24 games and 12 of its last 13 overall... The Retrievers rank first nationally in team assist-to-turnover ratio (1.62) and are second in fewest turnovers per game (9.5).
America East Championship Recap
America East Championship
First Three Rounds at Binghamton's Events Center (Vestal, N.Y.)
Title Game at RAC Arena (Baltimore, Md.)
Title Game: Saturday, March 15
at No. 1 UMBC 82, No. 2 Hartford 65
The Retrievers set a conference championship game record by shooting 59.3 percent from the field en route to their first-ever league title... Junior Darryl Proctor led the way with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting... Junior Jay Greene added 12 points, eight assists, six rebounds and committed just one turnover.
Semifinals: Sunday, March 9
No. 2 Hartford 59, No. 6 Boston University 52
The Hawks held the Terriers to 34 percent shooting to advance to their first conference championship tilt in 20 years... Sophomore Joe Zeglinski scored a team-high 16 points... Junior Warren McLendon recorded a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.
No. 1 UMBC 73, No. 4 Vermont 64
The Retrievers outscored the Catamounts 18-4 in the final four minutes of the contest to advance to their first-ever America East title game... Senior Ray Barbosa scored a game-high 29 points and set a tournament record for most free throws made without a miss, going 15-of-15 from the line.
Quarterfinals: Saturday, March 8
No. 6 Boston University 68, No. 3 Albany 64 (OT)
Ther Terriers battled back from a 10-point deficit to reach the semifinals... Carlos Strong led Boston U. with 17 points, while John Holland added 16.
No. 2 Hartford 68, No. 7 New Hampshire 65
Joe Zeglinski scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Hawks... His jumper with 54 seconds remaining gave Hartford the lead for good.
No. 4 Vermont 65, at No. 5 Binghamton 57
The Catamounts held the Bearcats to 26 percent shooting in the second half to help overcome a 30-23 halftime deficit... America East Player of the Year Marqus Blakely provided 18 points and nine rebounds to lead UVM.
No. 1 UMBC 76, No. 8 Stony Brook 60
Jay Greene led the Retrievers to the semifinals with nine points and 12 assists... Darryl Proctor was one of four UMBC players in twin figures with 17 points.
First Round: Friday, March 7
No. 8 Stony Brook 73, No. 9 Maine 65 (OT)
Maine's Mark Socoby forced overtime with a three-pointer with 1.4 second left, but the Seawolves outscored the Black Bears 14-7 in the extra session.
NCAA Notebook
Fine Fifteen
UMBC is the fourth America East program to earn a No. 15 seed for the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. Boston University earned a 15 seed in 1988 and fell to No. 2 Duke, 85-69, in the first round. Delaware received a 15 a decade later and lost to No. 2 Purdue, 95-56, in the first round. Vermont also earned a 15 in 2004, falling to Connecticut 70-53.
First Time, Long Time
UMBC has been a Division I program for over 22 years and is making its first NCAA Tournament apperance. The Retrievers, who have been a member of the East Coast, Big South, Northeast and America East Conferences, won their first league title with an 82-65 win over Hartford on March 15.
Storied History
Several former America East Champions are still coaching at the collegiate level. Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun won five titles (1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986) while at Northeastern; Mike Brey won back-to-back titles at Delaware (1998, 1999) before moving to Notre Dame and passing the baton to Villanova’s Jay Wright, who was a back-to-back champion at Hofstra in 2000 and 2001. In addition, Louisville head coach Rick Pitino guided Boston University to an America East title in 1983.
Reggie Lewis Award
Jay Greene became the first UMBC Retriever to recieve the Reggie Lewis Award, given each year to the most outstanding player in the America East Men’s Basketball Championship. He averaged 8.0 points, 8.3 assists, 4.7 rebounds and just one turnover in three games. The award was named in memory of Lewis, the former Northeastern star, prior to the 1993-94 season. Lewis was drafted in the first round of the 1987 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics.
NCAA Championship
America East has never sent more than one team to the NCAA Championship since its inception as a basketball conference in 1980.
America East in NCAA's
Albany became the fourth America East champion to earn a No. 13 in the NCAA tourament last season. The Great Danes fell to No. 4 seed Virginia in the first round, 84-57. In 2006, Albany nearly became the first 16 seed in the history of the NCAA to knock off a No. 1 seed as the Great Danes led top-ranked Connecticut by 12 points in the second half before the Huskies battled back, to earn a 72-59 win. Vermont earned a No. 13 seed in 2005 and knocked off No. 4 Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. America East Champions also received a No. 13 seed in 2001 and 1999 and received a 12 seed in both 1996 and 1997 (Boston University).
Greene is a Giant
UMBC's Jay Greene (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) may only be 5-foot-8, but plays much bigger. The junior point guard, a first-team all-conference selection, ranks second in the nation with a 7.3 per game average. His 234 assists set a new school record and rank third on the conference's single-season list. For as well as he dishes it out, he protects it just as well. Greene also ranks second the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.60), while his team ranks second in the country in fewest turnovers, committing just 9.5 turnovers per game.
Turning it Around
America East Coach of the Year Randy Monroe led the Retrievers to a Division I school record 24 wins and the prrogram's first conference titel and subsequent NCAA appearance. Monroe, who became the head coach full-time prior to the 2004-05 season, took over a program that won just seven games the previous year. He led UMBC to a No. 5 seed in last year's conferenec tournament, the first time the program had ever been seeded higher than No. 8. The Retrievers are also one of just two teams (Vermont) to win a game in the conference tournament each of the last four seasons.