BOSTON – An exciting regular season ended Saturday with Vermont becoming just the third America East men's basketball team ever, and first in 25 seasons, to complete conference play unbeaten setting the stage for the 2017 #AEPlayoffs, which begin next week.
For the third-straight year, the excitement of postseason basketball will take place on 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.
- Vermont (26-5, 16-0 AE) – Regular-season champion for the 7th time; Riding 18-game win streak;3rd #AEHoops team to finish conference play unbeaten, 1st to go 16-0
- Stony Brook (17-12, 12-4 AE) – 5th time in 6 seasons seeded 2nd or better; Picked 7th in preseason poll
- Albany (19-12, 10-6 AE) – Earned #3 seed with win over Hartford Saturday; Seeded 3rd or better for 3rd-straight year year; Wins tiebreak over UNH due to 2-0 record vs. UMBC
- New Hampshire (19-11, 10-6 AE) – #4 seed for 3rd straight year; Winners of 5 straight; Most regular-season wins in program history
- UMBC (18-11, 9-7 AE) – Most wins since 2008-09 season; Best seed since 2009; 11-win improvement from last season
- Hartford (9-22, 4-12 AE) – Secured #6 seed with win over Binghamton Wednesday and Binghamton's loss to Maine Saturday
- Binghamton (12-19, 3-13 AE) – Sealed the #7 seed with loss to Maine; Most wins since 2009-10
- Maine (7-24, 3-13 AE) – Will seek to become just the third No. 8 seed to upset the top seed
The 2017 #AEPlayoffs start Wednesday, March 1 with quarterfinal action at each of the top four seeds. Two contests will start at 7 p.m. and two will start at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be obtained by contacting each host's ticket office. More information can be found at Playoffs Central.
#8 Maine at #1 Vermont, 7 p.m. – Patrick Gym
#7 Binghamton at #2 Stony Brook, 7 p.– Island FCU Arena
#6 Hartford at #3 Albany, 7:30 p.m. – SEFCU Arena
#5 UMBC at #4 New Hampshire, 7:30 p.m. - Lundholm Gym
The four quarterfinal winners will square off in the semifinals on Monday, March 6 at the two highest remaining seeds. The bracket will be re-seeded with the highest remaining seed hosting the lowest remaining seed at 7 p.m. and the second-highest remaining seed hosting the second-lowest remaining seed at 7:30 p.m.
The two semifinal winners will play for the America East title and an automatic NCAA bid on Saturday, March 11 at 11 a.m. at the highest remaining seed’s home court.
All 2017 #AEPlayoffs action can be watched on ESPN networks. The quarter and semifinals will air on ESPN3 as part of The AE on ESPN3, while the championship game will be nationally televised on ESPN2. All three rounds will also be available via WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app on smartphones and tablets.
Nearly 43,000 fans have attended the #AEPlayoffs each of the last two seasons with home teams going 12-2 over that span.
2017 America East Men's Basketball Playoffs
March 1, 6, 11 - Highest Seed in Each Round
Wednesday, March 1 - Quarterfinals
#8 Maine at #1 Vermont, 7 p.m. – ESPN3
#7 Binghamton at #2 Stony Brook, 7 p.m. – ESPN3
#6 Hartford at #3 Albany, 7:30 p.m. – ESPN3
#5 UMBC at #4 New Hampshire, 7:30 p.m. – ESPN3
Monday, March 6 - Semifinals
Lowest Remaining Seed at Highest Remaining Seed, 7 p.m. – ESPN3
Second-Lowest Remaining Seed at Second-Highest Remaining Seed, 7:30 – ESPN3
Saturday, March 11 - Title Game
Semifinal Winners - 11 a.m. – ESPN2