Vermont - 6 11:30amTIP > American East Championship

[PorkChop]

Beat Albany by 7 and 25 this year.

Beating a team three times is never easy, but Vermont simply the better team here. They've dominated there last 2 games in this tournament and i think it continues today..

Thoughts guys?

[SilverTongueFox]

Just made a new thread on this one. I like it. Go Cats!

[16johnnymac]

No. 2 Vermont has won the America East Conference Tournament twice in the last three years, and will host No. 4 Albany Saturday looking for its third trip to the NCAA Tournament in four years.

Vermont defeated No. 7 New Hampshire 61-42 and No. 6 UMBC 85-72 to get to this point while No. 4 Albany topped No. 5 Maine 50-49 and No. 1 Stony Brook 61-59. Vermont is 8-0 SU in its last eight games against Albany and is 4-0-1 ATS in games featuring a spread this season.

The Catamounts sit at 21-10 (4-0-1 ATS) on the season. By comparison, the Great Danes are currently 23-10 (3-2 ATS). Looking to wager on the totals? Vermont is 4-1 OU, and Albany is 0-3 OU.

View Albany vs Vermont Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
The Catamounts were listed as 6.5-point favorites at most sportsbooks tracked by Odds Shark earlier in the day. It opened first at. xxxx where the total was expected shortly.

Power Rankings / Prediction:
This game matches up the No. 126 (Catamounts) and the No. 184 (Great Danes) teams in the league, according to our current NCAAB power rank. A 67-66 result in favor of the Catamounts has been projected by the scores prediction engine.

Scoring and defensive stats point to some edges in this matchup. The game features Vermont's No. 265-ranked scoring average of 63.9 PPG, against a Great Danes defense rated No. 41 and allowing 60.6 PPG. The Catamounts FG% has averaged 43.9% to date this season, more than the Great Danes shooters have managed so far (43.6% per game).

Defensively, Albany features the nation's No. 39-rated defense on the road, allowing 62.9 points per game. Vermont, meanwhile, comes in at No. 265 nationally in scoring at home.

In their last action, Albany was a 61-59 winner at home against Stony Brook. They covered the 5-point spread as underdogs. Albany got 16 points from Mike Black en route to a 61-59 victory over Stony Brook on Sunday at SEFCU Arena.

In their last action, Vermont was an 85-72 winner at home against UMBC. They earned a push of the 13-point spread as favorites. Candon Rusin scored 18 points leading the Catamounts to an 85-72 victory over UMBC at SEFCU Arena on Sunday.