Four marquis America East basketball matchups that will close out the regular season have been added to the conference's television package for ESPN and will air on ESPN3 as wildcard selections, it was announced Thursday. The four matchups feature teams currently in the top four of the men's or women's basketball standings:
- MBB: Wednesday, February 25, 7 PM: New Hampshire at Vermont
- WBB: Thursday, February 26, 7PM: Albany at Hartford
- MBB: Saturday, February 28, 2PM: Vermont at Albany
- WBB: Sunday, March 1, 2PM: Maine at New Hampshire
"These late-season matchups will offer basketball fans the opportunity to watch some of our best teams face off against each other on ESPN3 as they battle for playoff and championship positioning," said America East Commissioner Amy Huchthausen.
New Hampshire men are in the midst of a turnaround season and sit in fourth place in the league standings after finishing eighth last year while Vermont is alone in second place. The Wildcats dealt the Catamounts their lone conference loss on Jan. 22, a 73-68 victory.
Albany women sit in a tie for first place in the league standings with Maine while Hartford is third. The two teams have combined to win the last four America East women's basketball titles.
Vermont trails only Albany, the first team to start league play 10-0 in 10 seasons, atop the men's basketball standings. The matchup on the final day of the regular season could have major implications in seeding for the men's basketball playoffs.
Maine and New Hampshire women will meet for the 76th time on March 1, the final day of the regular season. The Black Bears are currently tied for first place after knocking off previously unbeaten Albany Sunday, while UNH is tied for fourth.
ESPN platforms are the conference’s exclusive home for basketball action for the fourth-straight year and will carry 25 regular-season games, the most in conference history. Additionally, every game of the 2015 America East Women’s Basketball Championship will air on ESPN networks, including the championship game on ESPNU for the second-straight year, while the semifinals of the Men’s Basketball Playoffs will be carried on ESPN3 and the championship game will continue to air on ESPN2.
ESPN3 is ESPN’s live multi-screen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of global sports events annually. It is available at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider.
Ross Video’s mobile production unit, Ross Mobile Productions (Ross MP), is in its first year as the packager and producer for all of America East’s ESPN3 games this year.