Top two seeds Vermont and UMBC upset in men’s basketball semifinals

For the first time in the 40 year history of America East (AE) men’s basketball, neither of the top two seeds of the conference tournament will appear in the championship game. In a stunning series of upsets this past weekend, the No. 4 Hartford Hawks and the No. 6 UMass Lowell River Hawks defeated the top two seeds on Saturday to advance to the title game.

In Burlington, Vermont, Hartford (14-8, 8-6 AE) beat the defending champion No. 2 Vermont (10-5, 10-4 AE) 71-65. The Hawks pulled away from the Catamounts early in the second half and withstood multiple Vermont runs to secure the victory. The two teams were were slated to play in the championship game last season before COVID-19 concerns forced the game to be canceled.

A few hundred miles south in Baltimore, Maryland, UMass Lowell (11-11, 7-8 AE) had to come back by as many as 16 points down in the second half to pull off their 79-77 upset over UMBC (14-6, 10-4 AE). Sophomore forward Connor Withers erupted for 28 points and hit an AE tournament record nine 3-pointers to lead the River Hawks to victory.

With UMBC and Vermont’s seasons over, the championship matchup features two of the AE’s most under-the-radar teams. Neither program has won a conference championship before, and UMass Lowell is only in its sixth season as a Division I program. With the top two seeds out, it appears the team that earns the AE’s auto-bid to the NCAA tournament will be playing in the First Four.

Maine, Stony Brook set to meet in women’s basketball championship game

There have been no upsets in this season’s AE women’s basketball tournament thus far, and there has only been one game that was decided by fewer than 20 points. In the semifinals, the top-seeded Maine Black Bears and Stony Brook Seawolves cruised to the championship game once again. Stony Brook and Maine were set to meet in last season’s title game prior to its cancellation.

Against No. 4 Albany (7-11, 5-7 AE), No. 1 Maine (17-2, 13-2 AE) hit 11 3-pointers in its 67-47 blowout win to advance to its sixth consecutive championship game. The second-seeded Seawolves (14-5, 11-3 AE) never trailed in their dominant 75-55 victory over third-seeded UMass Lowell (12-9, 10-6 AE).

Stony Brook will look to bring an end to Maine’s dominance over the conference Sunday, as Maine has won the last two conference championship games. The teams split the regular season series, with Stony Brook winning the first game 59-54 and Maine responding with a 54-49 victory the next day.

Three Maine players made first-team all-conference this season, including redshirt senior forward Blanca Millan who was named AE Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first ever to win both of those awards twice. The championship will showcase Maine’s top-rated offense in the AE against Stony Brook’s top-ranked defense.