Centers

Albany: Senior Kirsten Zoellner has historically had tough times in the Events Center with the BU Zoo getting on him. He’s serviceable, but this is a guard-oriented team all the way. Backup Jimmie Covington is nothing special.

UMBC/SBU: If it’s UMBC, give the check mark to John Zito in the middle, but Stony Brook might beat the Retrievers despite a weakness at the center position. The Seawolves don’t even have a true center on their roster.

Advantage: Albany

Forwards

Albany: Brent Wilson is an underrated small forward and Levi Levine is a great role player. Brian Lillis is an explosive player who dunked over Nick Billings in last year’s tournament. These guys are solid.

UMBC/SBU: For UMBC, Mike Housman is second in the AE in shooting percentage with an impressive .558 clip, and Jerrell Dinkins is a good rebounder. Stony Brook’s Mike Popoko is a solid junior with some tourney experience.

Advantage: Albany

Guards

Albany: Albany’s guards have lived up to their top billing all year. Jamar Wilson would be Player of the Year if not for Kenny Adeleke. Lucious Jordan can get hot easily and Jon Iati had 29 points last weekend off the bench. Whoa.

UMBC/SBU: Stony Brook’s guards were the reason that critics and coaches thought the Seawolves would be among the top four or five this year; 5-foot-11 Mitchell Beauford is really good. “Midget” Jay Greene is UMBC’s top guard.

Advantage: Albany

Coaches

Albany: Will Brown will probably win Coach of the Year after leading Albany to an 18-10 mark and its first-ever regular season title. Albany’s come-from-behind victory at Binghamton a couple of weeks ago was impressive.

UMBC/SBU: Nothing to brag about here, although UMBC’s Randy Monroe is one of the nicest guys in the AE. He became famous after kicking his team out of its own locker room last month. SBU’s Steve Pikiell has promise, but not this year.

Advantage: Albany

Bench

Albany: Jason Siggers had a real solid performance his last time at the Events Center, scoring 10 points and picking up two rebounds, a block and a steal in Albany’s comeback win. Jon Iati is also real solid.

SBU/UMBC – Stony Brook’s Antwan Hardy is the most recognizable bench player for these two not-so-deep teams. He’s SBU’s leading three-point shooter, with a .429 percentage. Brian Hodges rides the pine for UMBC.

Overall

Albany: The top seed historically doesn’t have too many problems in their opening-round game, with the 8/9 winner coming off a tiring win the night before. Albany won’t blow it today; they’re too mature and too talented.

UMBC/SBU: Winning the “play-in” game will be the furthest either team will get this year. The aforementioned parity stretches seven teams deep, and UMBC and SBU are the odd squad out. Look out for SBU in the coming years though.

Advantage: Albany