BOSTON – The regular season title and No. 1 overall seed was up for grabs on the final day of the regular season, but Maine left no doubt with an impressive win over UAlbany to claim its fifth regular season crown in the last seven years. Quarterfinal action in the #AEPlayoffs gets underway on Friday.
Once again, the excitement of postseason basketball will take place on a minimum of four America East campuses with the higher seeds hosting each round. Regular season champion Maine claimed the top seed once again, followed by UAlbany at #2. #3 Vermont and #4 Bryant will serve as the other two quarterfinal hosts.
- Maine (21-9, 14-2 AE) – Fifth #AEHoops Title in the last seven seasons, but the Black Bears are looking for their first Tournament Championship since 2019.
- UAlbany (24-5, 13-3 AE) – A top three seed for the third straight year, looking to reach the #AEPlayoffs Championship game for a third consecutive season.
- Vermont (19-10, 12-4 AE) – The defending champions are a top four seed for the third straight year as they look to go back-to-back for the first time since 2009-10.
- Bryant (15-14, 8-8 AE) – Most wins for the Bulldogs since 2017 and secured five more wins in #AEHoops action than last season.
- Binghamton (13-16, 8-8 AE) – Highest #AEHoops win total since 2020 as Bearcats won 3 of 4 games to conclude the regular season.
- UMBC (10-18, 6-10 AE) – Third straight playoff appearance as Retrievers seek to advance to the Semifinals for a second straight year.
- NJIT (12-17, 4-12 AE) – Won three of the team’s final four games to reach the playoffs for the fourth straight season.
- UMass Lowell (4-23, 4-12 AE) – Clinched fifth straight #AEPlayoffs appearance.
On the final day of the regular season, Maine and UAlbany battled for the No. 1 seed up in Orono and it was the Black Bears who came out on top with an impressive 63-46 victory, getting 48 points, 19 rebounds and 12 assists from Anne Simon and Adrianna Smith.
NJIT won for the third time in its last four games to go from last place just a week ago to clinching the No. 7 seed thanks to a 64-38 victory against Bryant. The Highlanders win, combined with UMass Lowell’s loss to put them both at 4-12, though NJIT’s clinched the tiebreak with its win over Bryant.
Quarterfinal action begins at 5 p.m. on Friday as Maine hosts UMass Lowell and continues with Vermont and Bryant hosting matchups at 6 p.m. UAlbany will tip off at 7 p.m. against NJIT.
The four quarterfinal winners will square off in the semifinals on Monday, March 11 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 Friday, March 15 at 5 p.m. at the highest remaining seed’s home court. The game will be nationally televised on ESPNU.
All 2024 #AEPlayoffs action can be watched on ESPN networks. The quarter and semifinals will air on ESPN+ as part of The AE on ESPN with a simulcast for international viewers on AmericaEast.TV. The championship game will be nationally televised on ESPNU. All three rounds will also be available via the ESPN app.
Complete postseason information can be found at the 2024 Women's #AEPlayoffs Central.
ABOUT AMERICA EAST
Founded in 1979, the America East Conference is an elite NCAA Division I athletic conference that fosters an environment for student-athletes to become champions. Comprised of academically renowned, like-minded member institutions located in the Northeast region of the United States, America East is committed to broad-based excellence and progressive in its approach to supporting its more than 3,500 student-athletes across 18 sponsored sports. For more information, visit www.AmericaEast.com and follow the America East Conference its social media channels, @AmericaEast.
- America East Conference – Where Champions Rise -