Coach Phil Stern and his UMBC Retrievers (6-10, 13-16 AE) bring their stingy defense to the Events Center, hoping to pull off a first-round upset of Vermont.

UMBC’s stifling zone defense has been its staple all year. The Retrievers come into the tournament allowing 60.6 points per game, second best in the conference behind Hartford. The team’s seventh-place finish is even more puzzling because they rank fifth in the league in scoring. Being in the upper half of offense and defense would usually result in a better finish.

For the most part, UMBC’s wins and losses have not been close, blowing away their opponents in wins and being blown out in the majority of their losses. Three glaring exceptions were a recent four-point home loss to Hartford on Senior Night, a three-point victory at New Hampshire on Jan. 20 and a three-point loss to Binghamton at the Events Center.

The other 13 conference games have featured at least a seven-point scoring margin, and six of those games were decided by 10 or more points.

So which Retriever squad will show up at the Events Center this weekend: the team that beat Albany by 25 on Feb. 10, or the team that lost to that same Albany squad 70-51 exactly a month earlier?

We’ll find out Saturday at high noon.