The American East men’s basketball tournament is set to kick off this Saturday, and an automatic bid to this year’s March Madness is at stake. The top eight teams from the America East qualify for the tournament each year, with there being nine teams in the conference, only Binghamton was unable to qualify for the 2026 edition.  Quarterfinals will be played on Saturday, semifinals on Tuesday, and the championship on the following Saturday. Without further ado lets dive into the competition and how the squads stack up.

Favorites

UMBC (21-8)(14-2 in Conf.)

Many are familiar with this small school just outside of Baltimore, because of their upset over one seed Virginia all the way back in 2018, becoming their first 16 seed to knock off a one seed in March Madness history. Almost a decade later, the Retrievers have not won the American East since that run. This team has the same or potentially even more fire power, UMBC was able to capture their first outright regular season conference title since the 2008 season. They are led by guard Jah’Likai King, who is averaging 14 points on the year, another star on this squad is DJ Armstrong who leads the American East in three pointers. The main reason why the Retrievers are having an outstanding year is their defense, they only allow 67.1 points per game which is in the top 10 % of D1 teams. This retrievers team is extremely hot winning their last nine games of the regular season, UMBC also has not allowed a team to put up over 70 points against them since, NJIT on January 22. The Retrievers definitely have what it takes to win the tournament, but can they hold off the competition?

Vermont (20-11)(12-4 in Conf.)

In the last decade Vermont has absolutely dominated this conference, in the last eight tournaments, the Catamounts have won five times, including a three-peat from 2022 to 2024. Vermont had another solid season finishing as the No. 2 seed in the America East and being one of two conference opponents to knock off UMBC in the regular season. This year’s team is led by Seton Hall transfer Gus Yalden who is averaging just shy of 17 points and six rebounds. Another player to watch for is TJ Hurley, the Canadian as a third year starter for the Catamounts is averaging 14 points per game. Maybe one of the best Mid-Major head coaches in the country, John Becker, who is in his 15th season as the Catamounts coach,  sits 64th all time in winning percentage, every full season he has coached Vermont has won at least 20 games. There are lots of signs that point to potentially another trip to the big dance, can Vermont continue their storied success in this year’s tournament?

Contenders

NJIT (15-16)(10-6 in Conf.)

Since joining the American East in 2020, this is by far the Highlanders best season, before this campaign they had only one double digit win season, back in 2021. NJIT is yet to win a game in the American East conference tournament (0-4). The backcourt duo of Sebastian Robinson and David Bolden have led the way for the Highlanders, both averaging double digits in points and ten 20-point games between the two. Bolden leads the American East in steals with a whopping 2.7 per game. Nonetheless, NJIT is coming off a 6-25 season in 2025, and struggled down the stretch of this year’s regular season. They are currently on a four game losing streak, with three of the four losses being by 15+ points. The Highlanders are definitely on the right track as a program, but a conference title seems a little out of reach for this year’s team.

UMass Lowell (14-17)(9-7 in Conf.)

UMass Lowell is only playing in their 14th season of D1 basketball, despite no conference tournament championships, the program has been pretty solid. In the three previous seasons the River Hawks had finished with a record over .500, and made it to the championship game in 2024 and 2023. Dominican Republic native Angel Montas leads the team in scoring, averaging just over 15 points a game. Texas State transfer Austin Green is a key contributor as well, averaging 13.2 points per game, the Forward also leads the American East in field goal percentage. This is a decent team but they do seem to be a step behind the contenders, in games against UMBC and Vermont they are combined 0-4 and a -58 point differential. It seems as if the River Hawks are going to have to wait at least one more year for the first March Madness action.

So You’re Saying There’s a Chance?!?

(If you could not tell by now this league is extremely top heavy, so naturally this felt like a fitting title for the next category.)

Albany (11-20) (7-9 in Conf.)

The Albany Basketball program has fallen on some tough times, only one winning season out of their last eight. Give credit to the Great Danes for their turnaround this year though, in non-conference games against DI competition they went 0-11. In conference play they have shown flashes, including a three game win streak, one of those wins being against Vermont. Out of the teams in this category if any was to make a Cinderella run it would be the Great Danes. The star for Albany is Amir Lindsey averaging 17.5 points on the year, the most out of any American East player this year. Florida International transfer Okechukwu Okeke brings a defensive presence averaging 1.9 blocks per game, which leads the American East and is top-40 in the country. There are some bright spots for the Great Danes, in the end a conference championship is still very unlikely for this team.

Bryant (9-21) (5-11 in Conf.)

Crazy to think that the Bulldogs a year ago won the American East conference tournament, and didn’t have a game decided within 10 points on their way to the trophy. A lot can change in a year Coach Phil Martelli left for VCU, and less than 10 percent of scoring returned from last year’s March Madness team. In Jamion Christian’s first year as head coach the team has been unable to pick up from last year, losing five out of their last six to end the regular season. Timofei Rudovskii leads Bryant in scoring, with 12.9 points per game, with the Russian freshman shooting 36.5 percent from three. Most Bulldog fans are probably ready for this season to end, the last time Bryant had a single digit win season 2018. They are in the bottom 10 % of D1 teams in points per game, averaging 65.1, their lowest since 2016. Following the theme of negativity, a run by Bryant to a Conference Championship is extremely unlikely this year.

Maine (8-23)(6-10 in Conf.)

In 96 seasons of D1 basketball the Black Bears are yet to win a conference tournament, although last year almost broke the curse, Maine made it all the way to the championship last year, upsetting Vermont in the Semifinals. This is another team in this conference who saw a turnaround mid year, starting 0-11, although not great they finished the season 8-12 which is a step up. In his first season of D1 basketball TJ Biel is the only Black Bear averaging double digits this season. As you might expect with only one player averaging double digits, Maine’s offense has struggled mightily, only averaging 62.7 points per game, the third worst out of all D1 teams. With the American East conference being primarily dominated by defense, Maine has had a tough year. One storyline that has been interesting to follow is Ace Flagg’s freshman season, the younger brother of number one overall pick Cooper Flagg has averaged 6.4 points per game and played in all 31 games this year. Maine will travel to take on NJIT in the quarterfinals, and unless a crazy upset, it is time to think about the 2026-2027 season for Maine.

New Hampshire (9-20)(5-11 in Conf.)

Another team that has not won a conference championship in their time as a D1 program, and the streak should continue this year. Nathan Davis in his third year as coach, had a winning record and year one and then these last two seasons has not been able to crack the 10 win mark. The Wildcats lost eight straight in conference play before ending the regular season with a five point win over Bryant. Egyptian Belal El Shakery is averaging a near double-double with 11.1 points and 8.2 rebounds, around him there is not much support with only four total players averaging above nine points per game. New Hampshire is heading in the wrong direction as a program and it feels like a conference championship is unreachable at this point.

Prediction:UMBC Wins and Punches Ticket to the Big Dance

A final between UMBC and Vermont seems eventual, with UMBC earning the one seed in the regular season they would host the championship game. Vermont continues to be successful but during their three-peat they won all of those championships at home, this is uncharted territory for the Catamounts. I am going with UMBC, an 8-0 record at home in conference play, with a championship game crowd that will be tough for any opponent to overcome. The stifling defense of the Retrievers and some offensive firepower from the likes of Jah’Likai King and DJ Armstrong has the feel of the team who belongs in the big dance.