Men's Basketball

Men's #AEHoops Preview: Jan. 29-31

BOSTON – The top two teams in the league battle on Thursday night at 7 p.m. as Vermont hosts UMBC with sole possession of first place on the line. Elsewhere, NJIT looks to stay in the top half of the standings, while New Hampshire looks to make it four straight wins.
 
UMass Lowell (3-3) at New Hampshire (3-3) – 6 PM
  • The Wildcats have won three straight to get back to .500 in conference play and move into a tie for fourth. The River Hawks, meanwhile, has lost three straight after a 3-0 start to league play. A win for either would put them on the track for a home quarterfinal contest 1/3 of the way through league play.
  • New Hampshire is 5-4 against UMass Lowell over the past four seasons and has won 2 of 3. Last year the Wildcats earned an 80-79 win at home and lose 97-80 on the road.
  • The River Hawks are 4th in the league in scoring in #AEHoops action (70.2) and 7th in scoring defense (71.8). New Hampshire is 8th in scoring defense (72.8) and now third in scoring (74.0).
 
Bryant (2-4) at Binghamton (0-7) – 6:07 PM
  • The Bulldogs have dropped 4 of 5 conference games, with the lone win coming in OT against first place UMBC. They’ve scored over 55 points just one in their past four contests, while Binghamton has scored more than 60 points in regulation just once in seven conference losses.
  • Bryant has won four straight against the Bearcats and five of the last six. Binghamton didn’t score over 71 in any of the four matchups.
  • Binghamton owns the worst scoring defense in the league (74.3) and the 7th best offense (64.3). Bryant is last in the conference play in scoring (58.5) but 5th in scoring defense (69.0) The two teams are both losing by 10+ points per game in league play, while now other team has a scoring margin worse than -2.0.
 
NJIT (4-2) at UAlbany (3-3) at – 6:30 PM
  • The Great Danes have lost two straight after taking down first place Vermont last Monday. They are 3-0 at home in league play, scoring 69+ points in all three games. NJIT has scored 70+ in all six league games this year, but is coming off an 87-74 defeat at UMBC in its lone game last week.
  • UAlbany has won five straight games against the Highlanders and 14 of 15 overall. All five were decided by at least six points, including an 86-59 win in the final week of the regular season last year.
  • NJIT is the 2nd best offense in the league (74.8) and ranks 6th in scoring defense (70.2), while UAlbany is 3rd in scoring defense (63.7) and 6th in offense in conference action (67.8).
 
UMBC (5-1) at Vermont (5-1) – 7 PM
  • First place is on the line tonight as UMBC hosts UVM. The Retrievers are 5-1 in league play, with the only loss coming in OT on the road, while Vermont has had 4 of 6 games decided by 10 points or less, including a 62-52 victory over Bryant on Saturday.
  • UVM and UMBC split the season series last year, though Vermont on the previous seven meetings. Last year UMBC won 80-63 on the road and then lost 79-69 at home.
  • UMBC is the top scoring offense in league play at 77.0 ppg, while Vermont is fifth at 69.0 ppg. Defensively, the Catamounts are 2nd (62.8) while UMBC is 4th (67.5). The Retrievers do have the best scoring differential (9.5), followed by UVM (6.2)
 
Saturday, Jan. 31
  • Maine at UMass Lowell – 2 PM
  • New Hampshire at Bryant – 4PM
  • NJIT at Vermont – 4:30 PM
  • UMBC at UAlbany – 7 PM
 
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