3MW’s All Conference Team:
Player of the Year: Anthony Lamb, R Sr., Vermont
Coach of the Year: John Becker, Vermont
Newcomer of the Year: Malik Ellison, R Sr., Hartford
Freshman of the Year: George Tinsley, Fr., Binghamton
Season Storylines:
Vermont captured its fourth straight America East regular season title, winning the league by four games, the largest 1st to 2nd place gap since 2017. Oddly enough, the Catamounts dropped two conference games at home this season, but they still thoroughly dominated a league in which most teams were going through a rebuilding process. Per KenPom, Vermont finished 119 spots ahead of the next AEC squad, Stony Brook, a staggering chasm rivaled only by New Mexico State in the WAC. Many thought Vermont had an outside shot at an at-large bid in the preseason with senior Anthony Lamb joining forces with power 6 transfer Daniel Giddens, but alas the Catamounts will have to settle for the auto-bid, a prize they should have no issue achieving.
Stony Brook turned in a productive year of its own, but an injury to star forward Elijah Olaniyi prevented the Seawolves from challenging Vermont at the top of the league. Without Olaniyi, Stony Brook was just 3-4 overall (including the game he got hurt when he played 12 minutes and last game where he played just 18 minutes off the pine) and 1-6 ATS. His presence is paramount to Stony’s postseason hopes and dreams.
UMBC had several injuries of its own this season, but never count the Retrievers out of a tournament setting. Ryan Odom’s crew has knocked off all three teams ahead of them in the bracket during the conference season. Hartford rode a slew of transfers to a respectable 3rd place finish after losing its entire starting five from last year. Albany severely disappointed for the second straight season, New Hampshire appears to be moving in the right direction once again, and UMass Lowell stayed at 7-9 despite having two of the best scorers in the league.
Maine beat out Binghamton for the last spot in the AEC bracket by defeating Hartford on the road on Tuesday. The feisty Black Bears had no business winning nine games, but Richard Barron’s wizardry and team full of foreign imports held their own in nearly every game they played. The Bearcats notched a few promising non-conference wins and victories over UMBC and Stony Brook, but ultimately succumbed to their dearth of talent.
Tournament Preview
A traditional bracket with a twist. Games are played at campus sites, but teams are re-seeded in the semifinals. This is Vermont’s tourney to lose - the only thing to watch out for is UMBC, the Catamount Kyrptonite.
Tournament Predictions
(1) Vermont over (8) Maine
(4) UMBC over (5) New Hampshire
(7) Albany over (2) Stony Brook
(3) Hartford over (6) UMass Lowell
(1) Vermont over (7) Albany
(3) Hartford over (4) UMBC
(1) Vermont over (3) Hartford