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2009 America East Conference Tournament Predictions

Written by Jimmy Boyd

america-east-3609 The 9-team America East Conference gets underway on Friday, March 6th and the winner will receive a highly coveted NCAA Tournament bid. Only No. 9 seed Hartford and No. 8 seed Maine will play on the first day of action. The other 7 teams tip it off on Saturday. The tournament setting is the University of Albany’s SEFCU Arena for the preliminary rounds with the championship game being played March 14th on the home floor of the highest remaining seed. Binghamton and Vermont tied at 13-3 in conference play but Binghamton earned the No. 1 seed via the tiebreak. Jimmy Boyd breaks down the favorite and another team with a great shot at winning it all in this conference tournament predictions article. Bet the 2009 America East Conference Tournament at BetUS.

The Favorite: Binghamton Bearcats
Teams who enter the postseason running are always a good bet and the Bearcats are doing just that. They come in having won 8 straight conference games. Furthermore, what makes them the favorite is that they were the only conference team not to lose to Vermont this season. But it wasn’t like they dominated the Catamounts. They won at home in overtime back in January and then by 2 on the road last month. I suspect it will be very difficult to beat the Catmounts a third straight time so the Bearcats might want to start praying that someone else knocks them off. Forward D.J. Rivera leads the way with 20.2 points per game, but this is a very balanced team with four other players averaging in double digits. Guard Emmanuel Mayben was huge with a 31 point performance in the Bearcats’ final win over Vermont and they will need him playing at a high level to win this tournament.

Another Team That Can Win: Vermont Catamounts
While Binghamton is the No. 1 seed via the tiebreaker, I really like Vermont to win this tournament as I don’t think the Bearcats can squeak out a third straight victory over the Catamounts this season even on their home floor. Vermont comes in having won 13 of its last 14 games and will be very hungry to get its revenge over Binghamton. Vermont has three guys that can fill it up, led by guard Mike Trimboli and his 16.3 points per game. Marqus Blakely and Colin McIntosh are the other two guys to watch on this team. Vermont knocked Binghamton out of the 2008 tournament in a No. 4 versus No. 5 seed matchup, before losing to eventual champ UMBC, and I look for that to be a bit of foreshadowing.

2008 America East Conference Tournament Recap:
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County Retrievers fetched the tournament title last season, running away with it as the No. 1 seed. They defeated Stony Brook in round one, then Vermont, and then No. 2 seed Hartford in the championship game. UMBC earned a No. 15 seed in the Big Dance and was taken out in the first round by No. 2 seed Georgetown.

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