America East's men's basketball teams will take a break from conference play this weekend as all nine will play a non-league game this weekend as a result of the entire league being in the Sears BracketBusters pool for the first time. Eight of those games take place Saturday with Albany, Maine, UNH and Vermont hosting games, while Binghamton, Hartford, UMBC and Stony Brook hit the road.
Stony Brook (17-8) kicks the day off by facing old conference foe Northeastern at 1 p.m. The Seawolves have won 14 of their last 16 games while Northeastern (12-14) has dropped four straight, but is 6-3 all-time against the Seawolves and have won five straight in the series.
Vermont (18-10) faces another former America East member when Niagara (12-16) visits Patrick Gym for a 2 p.m. contest. The Catamounts have won nine in a row while the Purple Eagles have won three straight. Niagara leads the all-time series, 15-2.
Hartford (7-19) seeks its fourth straight as it visits St. Peter's (5-22) at 2 p.m. Nate Sikma is averaging 16.5 points per game over his last three games and will try to help the Hawks improved on their 1-4 all-time mark against the Peacocks.
UMBC (4-22) heads to Canisius (4-22) for a 2 p.m. matchup and goes for its second straight win after knocking off Binghamton, 70-56, on Thursday. It will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
Maine (11-14) will try to stop its four-game losing skid when it takes on Marist (12-16) for the first time since 1984 at 2 p.m. The Red Foxes have won three of their last four.
New Hampshire (11-14), winner of three straight and four of its last five, goes for its first four-game win streak since the 2005-06 season against former conference-rival Towson (1-27) at 3 p.m. The Tigers hold a 9-4 all-time series edge.
Binghamton (0-25) visits Radford (5-23) in search of its first win. Tip time is 4 p.m. The two programs will be meeting for the first time.
Albany (16-13) closes out the day's action against Rider (11-17) at 7 p.m. The Great Danes will try to snap a four-game losing skid against the Broncs, who sit in fifth place in the MAAC standings at 8-8. It will be the first get together between the two teams since 1958.