It’s just about time to let the Madness begin.

Before the 2005-06 men’s basketball season tipped off, the huge storyline in the America East Conference was parity. Two-time America East Champion Vermont lost its two superstars in Taylor Coppenrath and TJ Sorrentine, leaving the conference’s bid in the NCAA tournament up for grabs.

As a result of the conference’s parity, some schools had their best season since joining Division I, including No. 2 seed Binghamton. Thanks to their 12-4 record, the Bearcats will have the luxury of playing No. 7 Maine in the quarterfinal Saturday at noon. In the team’s two previous meetings, the Bearcats won both by a combined 46 points. If the Bearcats advance in that matchup, they will face the winner of No. 3 Boston vs. No. 6 Vermont.

It’s funny how great programs replace superstars with superstars. Led by potential AE Rookie of the Year Mike Trimboli, expect the Catamounts to beat up on an overrated Boston squad. Vermont doesn’t have Coppenrath or Sorrentine, but its program is too good to go away quietly in this tournament. It will be tough for this young team to advance past the semifinals, but give them a year to recuperate and they’ll be back in the hunt next year.

On the other side of the bracket, No. 4 Hartford and No. 5 New Hampshire should provide the most competitive game on Saturday. The Hawks’ senior forward Kenny Adeleke has established himself as the best player in the conference, with a league-record seven AE Player of the Week honors. He will be matched up against the Wildcats’ junior forward Blagoj Janev in a battle between two of the most talented frontcourt players in the conference. New Hampshire is the only team in the America East to beat first-seeded Albany twice and head coach Bill Herrion has his program headed in the right direction, but Adeleke is playing too well for his team to lose in the first round.

The Hawks would most likely face Albany in the semifinals. The Great Danes earned the No. 1 seed for the first time in program history, and are expected to romp over the winner of the play-in game between No. 8 UMBC and No. 9 Stony Brook. Throughout the regular season, Albany and point guard Jamar Wilson have dominated the America East. Led by intelligent head coach Will Brown, the Great Danes are 6-0 against the other top three teams in the conference. Albany has the size to contain Adeleke with 7-foot-1 center Kristen Zoellener, and have the guards to attack Binghamton’s tight defense with Wilson and junior Jason Siggers. Siggers already has one game-winning shot against Binghamton and should have no problem coming up clutch again in the tournament.

The beauty of March Madness is that all of these regular-season performances get thrown out the window. It’s finally tournament time, which means anything can happen at anytime. Ladies and gentlemen, let’s get ready to rumble.

Got Ya Tickets?

Do you still need tickets to the America East tournament? Then head to the box office at the Events Center between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. With a valid student ID, tickets for Binghamton’s quarterfinal game are $2. You can only buy one ticket per ID, so bring your friends’ cards to the box office. The Bearcats play this Saturday at noon.