BOSTON - Poised to take place on campus sites for the first time in 20 years, the America East tournament, the #AEPlayoffs, begin in just four days and will bring the excitement of postseason basketball to a minimum of four America East campuses. Playoff seeding and matchups for Wednesday's quarterfinals were finalized on Saturday, the final day of the regular season.The top six seeds for the playoffs had been known since Wednesday and the final two seeds were decided Saturday:
- Albany (21-10, 15-1 AE) - Regular-season champion and the tournament's top seed for the first time since the 2005-06 season
- Vermont (17-12, 12-4 AE) - Seeded second or better for the 12th time in the last 14 years
- No. 3 Stony Brook (21-10, 12-4 AE) - Fifth 20-win season in the last six years; winners of six in a row
- New Hampshire (18-11, 11-5 AE) - Best seed since the 2008-09 season; most wins (18) since the 1994-95 campaign
- Hartford (14-15, 7-9 AE) - Seeded fifth for the first time since 2010
- Binghamton (6-25, 5-11 AE) - Won its most conference games (5) since the 2009-10 season
- UMBC (4-25, 2-14 AE) - Sealed the #7 seed with Maine's loss to UNH
- Maine (3-25, 2-14 AE) - Will seek to become just the third No. 8 seed to upset the top seed
The 2015 #AEPlayoffs start Wednesday, March 4 with quarterfinal action at each of the top four seeds. All four contests will begin at 7 p.m. and can be watched at AmericaEast.TV. Tickets can be obtained by contacting each host's ticket office. More information can be found at Playoff Central.
#8 Maine at #1 Albany - SEFCU Arena
#7 UMBC at #2 Vermont - Patrick Gym
#6 Binghamton at #3 Stony Brook - Island FCU Arena
#5 Hartford at #4 New Hampshire - Lundholm Gym
The four quarterfinal winners will square off in the semifinals on Sunday, March 8 at the two highest remaining seeds. The bracket will be re-seeded with the highest remaining seed hosting the lowest remaining seed and the second-highest remaining seed hosting the second-lowest remaining seed.
The two semifinal winners will play for the America East title and an automatic NCAA bid on Saturday, March 14 at 11 a.m. at the highest remaining seed’s home court.
Quarterfinal action can be watched for free at AmericaEast.TV, which is available on mobile devices, while the semifinals will air live on ESPN3. The championship game being nationally televised on ESPN2. The semifinals and final will also be available via WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app on smartphones and tablets.
2015 America East Men's Basketball Playoffs
March 4, 8, 14 - Highest Seed in Each Round
Wednesday, March 4 - Quarterfinals
#8 Maine at #1 Albany, 7 p.m. - AmericaEast.TV
#7 UMBC at #2 Vermont, 7 p.m. - AmericaEast.TV
#6 Binghamton at #3 Stony Brook, 7 - AmericaEast.TV
#5 Hartford at #4 New Hampshire, 7 - AmericaEast.TV
Sunday, March 8 - Semifinals
Lowest Remaining Seed at Highest Remaining Seed, TBD - ESPN3
Second-Lowest Remaining Seed at Second-Highest Remaining Seed, TBD, ESPN3
Saturday, March 14 - Title Game
Semifinal Winners - 11 a.m. - ESPN2