America East Basketball News & Notes: Conference Play Begins

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Only two non-conference games are left before league play takes over. On Tuesday night both Vermont and UAlbany finished up the non-league portion of their schedule. The road to the America East Playoffs begins on Saturday. With that in mind., let’s take a peek at where we are. In the Small Conference Top 25, four teams from the league are in that poll. Vermont at #9, UMass Lowell at #16, New Hampshire at #21, and Bryant at #24. For both the Wildcats and Bulldogs, this is the first time they have been in the poll. In the Mid-Major Top 25 poll, the Catamounts are the only team in and they are at #24.

Seven of the nine teams are over .500. Two of them, UAlbany and Binghamton, have either matched their wins total or surpassed it from last year. The Bearcats’ eight wins are the most since the 2017-18 season. The Great Danes have matched last year’s win total. In Binghamton’s case, they have won four of their last five games. The non-league record with two games left is 67-57. The 67 wins are the most since the 2008-09 season. Last Sunday, the NJIT Highlanders got a home win over Morgan State 69-53. They ended that game with 14 blocks and a double-double from Mekhi Gray of 13 points and 10 rebounds. Kjell de Graaf had seven blocks in that game, the most since January 12, 2022, when Max Brooks of the River Hawks had 10

Four conference games kick off league play on Saturday. Highlighted in that group are two teams that met last spring in Lowell in the semifinals of the playoffs. The River Hawks will travel to Durham, NH to meet up with the Wildcats. This is also a game that pits two teams that are ranked in the small conference Top 25 poll. Maine heads to Vermont, UAlbany is at NJIT, and Bryant is at UMBC. All games take place this Saturday afternoon.

The one team that enters league play struggling is UMBC. The Retrievers host the Bulldogs hoping to snap a five-game losing streak. Being last in defense has not helped. They give up 84 points a game while scoring 79. Their offense is third in the league and they are last in margin of victory at -9 a game. They are also last in turnover margin and assist/turnover ratio and in opponent FG percentage at 0.464% (461-of-994). Those numbers will have to change in a hurry for UMBC.

The River Hawks will have to deal with the leading scorer in the league in UNH’s Clarence Daniels who is at 19.8 points a game. He also is second in rebounding at 9.2 a game. He averages 2.6 on the offensive glass and 7.5 on the defensive end. He also has six double-doubles to his credit. Daniels is getting help from guard Ahamd Robinson who is second in assists with an average of 5.2 (67 in 13 games). UMass Lowell has the best team FG Percentage at 0.495% (395-of-800) and in opponents FG percentage at 0.387% (317-for-819). They have the best offense scoring 80.8 a game. They have the best margin of victory at 15.9.

Maine at Vermont is interesting because the Catamounts are the best defense in the league at 64.5 a game and the second-best margin of victory at 8.8. They have the best three-point shooting at 0.373% (137-of-367) and assists/turnover ratio at 1.40 (192 assists to 137 turnovers). The Black Bears are the best in turnover margin at 2.53. Maine is second in steals with 8.73 a game (137 in 15 games). They are the best free-throw shooting team at 72.7% (178-of-245).

Bryant at UMBC. The Bulldogs are the best in blocked shots with .94 in 15 games (6.27 a game). They also lead in assists with 231 an average of 15.40 a game. They are second in scoring at 79.5 a game, second in opponent FG percentage at 39.3% (399-1016), second in three-pointers made at 9.9 a game, and they are second in team defensive rebounding at 29.9 a game. However, they are last in rebounding margin at -7.9.

The Highlanders host UAlbany. They are having a tough year and their numbers reflect it. They are last in assists at 12.17 a game (146 in 12 games), in team defensive rebounding at 23.3 a night (280 in 12 games), in opponent three-point FG percentage at 36.1% (86-of-238), in team FG percentage at 41.2% (291-of-707). and last in attendance averaging only 335 a game. The Great Danes lead the league in steals with 123 in 14 games an average of 8.79 a game. They are third in free-throw shooting at 70.9% (210-of-296). They have the best attendance numbers at home averaging 2,097 a game.

The America East Player of the Week is UAlbany forward Jonathan Beagle. He recorded his fifth double-double of the season on Thursday night in the win over LIU with 21 points, 12 rebounds. six assists, and two steals. For Beagle, this is his first weekly award of the year. The America East Rookie of the Week is Binghamton forward Gavin Walsh. He was a rebound shy of a double-double with 19 points and nine rebounds vs Marywood on Saturday. This is Walsh’s first career America East rookie award.

That is how the opening day shapes up. Next week we look back at those games and look ahead to next week’s slate of games.