America East Basketball News & Notes: Two Weeks to Conference Play

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There is light at the end of the tunnel in the America East Conference. That light is the beginning of league play which is now just two weeks away. The news on the league, in general, is still pretty good. In the Small Conference Top 25, three teams from AE are there. Vermont at #6, UMass Lowell at #21, a drop of eleven spots from last week based on last Saturday’s home loss to Central Connecticut State, and Maine at #22. In the Mid-Major Top 25 Vermont is at 21. The league itself is ranked #17 in the CBB Conference Rankings. Not bad, but there is still room for improvement. Let’s see what else is going on.

The conference is still above .500 in non-league play. The record of 55-45 (.550) speaks to how well the league as a whole has played so far, and to the ability to schedule games that have helped to stabilize the position of the teams and the league. Seven of the nine schools are above .500 with their records. Another indication of how well this league is performing in the first two months of the college basketball season.

One of those teams playing well early on is the University of New Hampshire (7-4). The Wildcats have won three of their last four games. Last time out they defeated Stonehill 75-62. They are the top-scoring team in the league at 78.7 points a game. Their margin of victory is at 6.7 which is third best in the league. They are second in three-point makes at 9.9 a game (109 in 11 games) and are shooting 72% from the free throw line (161-for-222). Clarence Daniels continues to lead the league in scoring at 19.2 a game and is second in rebounding at nine a contest. He is getting some help from Ahmad Robinson who is fourth in scoring at 16.2 a night. Robinson is second in assists with five a game (55 in 11 games)

Despite losing their last two in a row, the UAlbany Great Danes (6-5) have been in most of their games to date. They are second in team offensive rebounding with 11.4 a game (125 in 11 games) and having the top rebounder in the league does not hurt. Sophomore forward Jonathan Beegle is averaging 9.1 boards a game. On offense, Sebastian Thomas is fourth in scoring at 16.2 a night. He is also third in free throw percentage at .800 (44-of-55) and fourth in minutes at 32.7 a game.

The defending champs, the Vermont Catamounts (8-4), are all over the stat pages as a team and individuals. The team is first in 3-point FG percentage at .377% (121-of-321), and first in 3-point FG made at 10.1 a game (121 in 12 games). They have the best assists/turnovers ratio at 1.45 (169 assists to 116 TO). TJ Long is the best in 3-point FG percentage at .442% (34-of-77) and averages 2.8 three-pointers per game (34 in 12 games). Aaron Deloney has the best assists/turnover ratio at 2.5 (35 assists to 14 turnovers). Vermont has played a tough non-league schedule as usual getting ready for league play.

The one team that is struggling is NJIT (2-8). A young team that is trying to find itself before the conference season gets underway. It has been tough sledding for the Highlanders They are last in offense at 66.9 a game, and next to last in defense allowing 80.5 a game. Their margin of victory is also last at -13.6. They are next to last in assists/turnover margin at 0.85 (109 assists to 127 turnovers), last in team defensive rebounding at 22.1 (221 in 10g), and last in rebounding margin at -8.4. These are numbers that will have to improve if NJIT is going to have a better conference season.

Bryant’s senior forward Earl Timberlake is this week’s AE Player of the Week. Last week he averaged 13.5 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and 2.5 blocks. In a wild win over Towson last Saturday, Timberlake had 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists. He is third in rebounding at 8.5 a game, tops in field goal percentage at .585% (68-of-114), and #1 in minutes played at 34.3 a night.

The America East Rookie of the Week is NJIT guard Tariq Francis. In a loss to Niagara on Saturday, he scored 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting and 4-of-6 from deep in 23 minutes off the Highlanders bench. The guard play of NJIT has been pretty good so far. For Francis, this is his first weekly award and it is the fourth rookie award for the team. Teammate Sebastian Robinson has won the rookie award three times already this year.

That’s all for this week. We will be back next week with more from the America East conference.