America East Basketball: Vermont, Stony Brook, 2019 conference tournament favorites
By Cody Gerena
Semifinal Predictions
(4) Hartford Hawks at (1) Vermont Catacombs
TBD Tuesday, March 12 on ESPN+
Even though the Hawks may have more experience, the Catacombs have more talent, so expect a closer matchup that Vermont will still win. It should be noted that Vermont beat Hartford at home by 19, but I don’t see another blow-out.
Vermont moves on to the finals for fourth straight year
(3) UMBC Retrievers at (2) Stony Brook Seawolves
TBD Tuesday, March 12 on ESPN+
Another rubber matchup, this time for the a spot in the finals. This is a toss-up for me but I’ll take the Retrievers just so we could get an upset once before the finals as it’s unlikely according to statistics that all six games leading up to the finals are won by the home team. So, I guess Joe Sherburne will have a great game.
UMBC advances = Finals Rematch
Finals
(2) UMBC Retrievers at (1) Vermont Catacombs
Saturday, March 16 at 11 am EST on ESPN 2
Vermont has beat every team in this conference, except for the Retrievers. Vermont lost both times to them, with UMBC handing the their second of two home losses this whole season. Were those games flukes? Well, yes and no as UMBC did win twice, but one win was against a Lamb-less Vermont. Also this is the same game/stadium where UMBC beat Vermont with a buzzer-beater.
Next. Predicting the top four seeds in each region. dark
In the end, I see Vermont using their past failures against UMBC to motivate themselves to beat them.