First week is almost over and we’re still only about a dozen tourneys in. The America East Tournament marks the start of eight pretty frantic days leading up to Selection Sunday.

When is the America East Tournament?

The AE Tourney runs from Saturday, March 4th through the following Saturday.

Where is the America East Tournament played?

Campus sites only. High seed hosts all games here.

How to watch

ESPN+ for the first two rounds and ESPN2 for the championship.

Who won the regular season title?

As is tradition, Vermont finished with the best record at 14-2.

Defending Champ

Vermont won their 8th title with a 39 point win in the finals over UMBC last year.

Who will participate

Only the top eight squads will play in the tourney. Sorry, Albany, but you only won 3 games.

How Many teams will the AE send to the tournament?

Just one, always just one.

America East Tournament Bracket

All the advantages for the top dogs: Home games for high seeds, rest days in between games and even some reseeding after the first round.

America East Tournament Odds

Vermont is a big ol’ favorite at FanDuel.

America East Tournament Preview

While I can agree that Vermont deserve to the be favorite and that there should be a fair sized drop off after the top two but…. maybe UMass Lowell is getting less respect than they should be.

The won seven of eight games in February, their only loss being on the road to Vermont. They get to the line a lot, make over 75% of their bunnies and have been great on the offensive glass. Most importantly, they have a win over Vermont earlier in the year.

The real fly in the ointment is that Vermont has improved as the season has gone on, is on a 12 game winning streak and just doesn’t lose at home. The recent rematch between the Riverhawks and Catamounts ended with a wire to wire Vermont win that wasn’t as close at the 12-point margin implies.

If I’ve learned anything over the years betting into the tournaments, it’s that sometimes it’s silly to bet against the favorite just for the sake of it.

America East Tournament Prediction

I’ll look silly if Liberty and Vermont don’t get it done at steep prices, but I don’t see another way to attack this one other than “just sit it out”.

My Bet: Vermont -175