Men's Basketball

Men’s #AEHoops Preview: Jan. 15-17

BOSTON – UMass Lowell, Vermont and UMBC all look to stay unbeaten in a quartet of great matchups on Thursday. The teams then return to play on Monday with a quartet of games on Martin Luther King Day. UAlbany will host Vermont on ESPNU to cap off Monday’s action.
 
NJIT (7-11, 2-1) at UMass Lowell (8-10, 3-0) – 6 PM
  • The River Hawks are unbeaten in league play after a pair of dominant wins while NJIT is a surprising 2-1 and looks to a signature victory on Thursday.
  • NJIT and UMass Lowell have split each of their last four matchups, with each team going 2-0 on its home floor.
  • UMass Lowell leads the league in scoring at 77.1 ppg, while ranking last in scoring defense (78.3). NJIT is 8th in scoring defense (77.0) and seventh in scoring offense (66.0)
 
UMBC (9-6, 2-0) at Bryant (5-12, 1-2) – 6 PM
  • UMBC is 2-0 in conference play after taking down Maine by seven and New Hampshire by one points last week. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, are 1-2 and dropped their last two conference games by 14+ points.
  • Bryant has won five straight matchups in the series and 5 of 7 overall. The Bulldogs scored 80+ in each of the wins.
  • The Retrievers rank 3rd in the league in both scoring (74.7) and scoring defense (71.2). The Bulldogs are 2nd in scoring defense (71.1), but are 8th in scoring at 62.9 ppg.
 
Binghamton (4-14, 0-3) at UAlbany (5-12, 1-1) – 6 PM
  • UAlbany earned its first conference win, 71-46, over Bryant this past Saturday to improve to 1-1 in league play. Binghamton, meanwhile, came up just shot against Vermont 60-59, missing a shot in the final seconds.
  • Binghamton is 4-3 against UAlbany over the past three seasons. Last season they played three times and each games was decided by five points or less.
  • The Great Danes are 4th in the conference in scoring (74.5) and 7th in scoring defense (76.4), while Binghamton is 6th in both scoring (67.9) and scoring defense (75.3).
 
Maine (3-15, 1-2) at Vermont (10-7, 2-0) – 7 PM
  • Vermont improved to 2-0 in league play on Thursday with a 60-59 win against Binghamton, while Maine went 1-1 last week, highlighted by a four-point win at NJIT.
  • Maine beat the Catamounts in the #AEHoops Semifinals 57-42 to end the Catamounts’ season. It snapped a 30-game losing streak to Vermont, the longest active streak in the league.
  • The Catamounts are 2nd in scoring (76.6) and 4th in scoring defense (72.6), while Maine leads the league in scoring defense (69.4) but last in scoring (61.6).
 
Monday, Jan. 19
  • Vermont at UAlbany – 1 PM (ESPNU)
  • Bryant at NJIT – 2 PM
  • New Hampshire at Maine – 2 PM
  • UMBC at Binghamton – 2 PM
 
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 and its social media channels, @AmericaEast.
 
- America East Conference – Where Champions Rise -