This year, the America East has not been exactly as projected preseason. Albany brought home the regular season trophy, New Hampshire is in the mix and Maine took a dip.

The conference wasn’t the most competitive, providing two clear favorites but there are a couple of teams that could prove to be surprises.

Favorites: Albany and Vermont

Albany (24-5, 14-2)

Albany has been dominant in its revenge tour this year. As last year’s two-seed, the Great Danes were upset in the semi-finals by three-seeded Vermont and were picked to finish back in second this year. Boasting the best-scoring offense with 64.6 points per game and the second-best scoring defense allowing 53.6 points per game, the Great Danes are the only team in the conference with a double-digit margin of victory.

Led by preseason All-Conference guard Kayla Cooper, the Danes have been following in her suit. With Cooper shooting 56% from the field, the team as a whole is shooting 45.7% from the field. They’ve also been great on the defensive end, allowing opponents to only shoot 39.3% from the field and forcing 16.7 turnovers per game, the most in the conference. 

Domination on both sides could lead Albany back to the tournament for the first time in three years.

Vermont (18-12, 13-3)

Two years ago the Catamounts won this tournament, last year they came up one game short and now they’re back in a position to win it again. Prior to conference play this year, Vermont was 5-9 scoring 59 points per game, but once conference play hit, it scored an extra three per game up to 62.

After a disappointing out-of-conference season, the Catamounts turned it up and earned the largest margin of victory while playing conference opponents. With senior forward Anna Olson leading the team in scoring and junior guard Catherine Gilwee facilitating the offense, this team looks to be a threat to make another tournament championship.

Contenders: Bryant and Maine

Bryant (16-13, 9-7)

A solid showing outside of the conference and an alright showing in the conference has netted the Bryant Bulldogs a three-seed in this year’s tournament. With preseason All-Conference guard Mia Mancini taking more of a facilitator role this season, a couple of Bulldogs stepped up this season. 

Guard Brielle Williams and forward Ali Brigham scored right around 10 points a game each. The Bulldogs have used those three to carry them through games, especially in their win over Vermont when Williams and Mancini both scored 12. The Bulldogs will look to make a better showing in the tournament this season after getting ousted in the first round last year.

Maine (14-15, 9-7)

The preseason projected regular season champion the Maine Black Bears have underperformed this year, to say the least. After a dominant 14-2 conference season led into a dominant postseason championship last year, the Black Bears just haven’t found any rhythm.

Now it’s not insane to say the Black Bears shouldn’t be in this position, they did lose their top two scorers in guard Anne Simon and forward Adrianna Smith, but there are still veterans on this team. Caroline Bornemann and Olivia Rockwood were both contributors last year, and Bornemann has taken that leap, but Rockwood hasn’t.

It’s still plausible that the Black Bears make a run, but it’s not looking great.

Dark Horses: New Jersey Institute of Technology and Binghamton

NJIT (11-18, 8-8)

Another team that struggled to get any momentum out of conference has had the worst scoring defense in the conference giving up 65 points per game, and 62.1 during conference play. Although offense is nice, it’s clear that defense wins championships since the Highlanders also had one of the top-scoring offenses in the conference at 64.1 points per game.

Led out by junior guard Alejandra Zuniga, the Highlanders have been solid in the turnover margin, ranking fourth in the conference compared to other teams. While the defense gives up a lot of points, if this high-powered offense can produce more than the defense, the Highlanders could find themselves playing for a national title.

Binghamton (15-14, 7-9)

Last year, Binghamton came up six points short of making the conference championship, Coach Mary Grimes and her Bearcats are back and looking for their first conference championship, regular or postseason. 

Bringing their Bearcats into this position, the guard squad of Jadyn Weltz, Yanniah Boyd, Bella Pucci, and Kaia Goode have all averaged at least one steal per game. Their efforts have helped Binghamton to be a top-three scoring defense in the conference. Defense wins championships, so can the Bearcats finish the job this time?

Cinderellas: University of Maryland Baltimore County and New Hampshire

UMBC (14-14, 7-9)

Having lost three straight, and four of their last six, the Retrievers are set to take on Vermont in the first round of the playoffs – for the second year in a row. It’s a tough draw that no one wants, especially after just having played them, a game in which UMBC lost by 20.

The Retrievers will need the defense to shift into a higher gear if they want any chance at beating the Catamounts in round one because Vermont can beat them in a shootout or in a low-scoring game, and it might be a little bit easier for them to win the defensive game.

New Hampshire (10-19, 4-12)

The preseason last-place New Hampshire found its way in after stealing wins from UMBC, NJIT, and Binghamton. While it seems as though New Hampshire might not have the best chance of taking on Albany, the Wildcats have proven they can beat tougher opponents.

With sophomore guard Ava Dechant averaging 17.9 points per game, can she will her Wildcats to run the table? Or is it time to start looking at their potentially bright future?

My Pick: Vermont

The Catamounts may have started off slow this season, but it’s been pretty much smooth sailing since they started playing their conference opponents. With the best offense and the best defense in the conference, Vermont is hungry for its third straight championship appearance and second title in three years.