Men's Basketball

Air Force Reserve Men’s Basketball Playoffs Start Saturday

BOSTON – The 2026 Air Force Reserve America East Men’s Basketball Playoffs commence on Saturday afternoon with a pair of contests at 1 p.m., followed by games at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
 
All games will be on ESPN+ and for the complete bracket visit Championship Central.
 
No. 1 UMBC vs. No. 8 New Hampshire – 1 PM
  • The top seeded Retrievers have won nine straight games and over the past month are beating teams more than 18 points per game. They lead the league over that span in both scoring offense (78 ppg) and scoring defense (60 ppg).
  • The Retrievers this season have been led by a trio of all-conference guards. Jah’Likai King is averaging a team-high 14 points with 3.5 rebounds per game, while Ace Valentine does a bit of everything with 11.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. DJ Armstrong Jr. is second on the team in scoring at 12.8 ppg and has 76 threes.
  • New Hampshire snapped an eight-game losing streak in its regular season finale with an 88-83 double overtime win against Bryant. The Wildcats got a game-tying three in the final seconds of regulation to force OT. UNH has surpassed 70 points just once in the last month.
  • All-Conference selection Belal El Shakery has been consistent for UNH this year, putting up 11.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. KiJan Robinson is second on the team in scoring at 11.0, while Jack Graham is averaging 10.8 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.
  • UNH lost twice to UMBC earlier this year, falling 75-74 on the road in January and then 85-63 at home three weeks ago.
 
No. 2 Vermont vs. No. 7 Bryant – 2 PM
  • Vermont reached the 20-win plateau once again and won 6 of 7 to conclude the regular season. The team’s lone defeat over that span was a 75-62 defeat at UMBC. The Catamounts are coming off a 69-56 victory over UAlbany to conclude the regular season.
  • America East Player of the Year TJ Hurley has been steady for the Catamounts all season, averaging 14.7 points and 3.5 rebounds per game while making 71 threes. Newcomer of the Year Gus Yalden is supplying 16.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, with Sean Blake putting up 9.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.
  • Bryant lost 5 of 6 to conclude the regular season, including a 88-82 defeat in double overtime to New Hampshire. The team hasn’t scored 70 points in regulation since Feb. 7 and four of their five losses in the last month were by 12 points or more.
  • Freshman Timofei Rudovskii is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 12.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, while Keegan Harvey has been strong over the last month, averaging 16.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while shooting 61.6 percent from the floor with 13 threes.
  • Vermont has won three straight against Bryant and 3-0 all-time against the Bulldogs in Patrick Gym. This year UVM won 62-52 on the road in January and then 90-63 at home just three weeks ago.
 
No. 3 NJIT vs. No. 6 Maine – 4 PM
  • NJIT concluded the regular season with a four-game losing streak to drop from 1st to 3rd in the standings. After scoring 70+ points in each of their first 11 conference games, they failed to reach 70 points in their final five games (1-4), including a 91-52 loss against UMBC to close the season.
  • Second-Team All-Conference selection Sebastian Robinson is averaging 14.4 points and 3.0 rebounds per game while fellow second-team honoree Ari Fulton is putting up 11.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Rookie of the Year David Bolden is averaging 11.9 points and 2.7 assists per game with 65 triples.
  • Maine is 2-5 over its last seven games and reached just 70 points once over that span. Four of the Black Bears’ losses were by nine points or less and they’re coming off a 67-56 defeat against UMass Lowell.
  • TJ Biel has been a force all season, averaging 11.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game as a second-team all-conference selection. Over the last month, guard Mekhi Gray has been the team’s leading scorer, averaging 12.9 points per game while Logan Carey is at 11.3 ppg.
  • NJIT and Maine each won once versus each other on the road this season. The Black Bears won 74-70 in January and the Highlanders earned the 67-58 win on Feb. 14, they last conference win of the regular season.
 
No. 4 UMass Lowell vs. No. 5 UAlbany – 1 PM
  • UMass Lowell went 5-2 over its final seven games of the regular season, with its only two losses to Vermont and UMBC. The River Hawks concluded the regular season win a 67-56 win over Maine and surpassed 80 points five times in 16 conference games.
  • First-Team All-Conference selection Angel Montas Jr. averaged 15.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, while Austin Green is second on the team in scoring with 13.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Xavier Spencer, meanwhile, averaged 11.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game with 46 threes.
  • The Great Danes went 3-3 to conclude the regular season, including an 84-61 win over UNH and then a 69-55 loss to Vermont on the final day of the regular season. They are 5-3 in league play when they score 70+ points.
  • Sophomore Amir Lindsey earned First-Team All-Conference honors after averaging 17.5 points, 4.9 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game. Defensive Player of the Year Okechukwu Okeke is averaging a league-best 1.9 blocks per game and shooting 68.5 percent from the floor while averaging 10.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.
  • UMass Lowell has won 5 of 6 against UAlbany, including both matchups this season. In the conference opener the River Hawks took down the Great Danes 83-71 and then beat them 89-79 on the road a month later.
 
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 -