INDIANAPOLIS - America East men's basketball champion UMBC will start its NCAA journey in Dayton on Tuesday when it faces Howard in the NCAA First Four. Tip time is at 6:40 p.m. and the game will be televised on TruTV.
A No. 16 seed, UMBC (24-8) fought back from a first-half deficit to take control over the final 10 minutes of action and capture the 2026 Air Force Reserve Men’s Basketball Championship with a 74-59 victory over second-.seeded Vermont on Saturday. The Retrievers are riding a program-record 12-game win streak entering the tournament.
This will be the first time America East's automatic qualifier will appear in the First Four since 2014 and just the second time ever. Vermont (2012) and UAlbany (2014) were both victorious in Dayton. The Retrievers are making their third NCAA appearance. They were seeded No. 15 in 2008 and No. 16 in 2018 when they famously beat Virginia to become the first No. 16 seed to knock off a No. 1 seed.
Howard (23-10) won its third MEAC title in four years with a win over North Carolina Central on Saturday.
America East teams have won nine NCAA games all-time, including UMBC’s historic upset of Virginia in 2018.
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.
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