The America East Conference women’s basketball regular season is down to its final two weeks.
Both Vermont (15-11) and Albany (20-5) are atop the standings with 10-2 marks in conference play and have their eyes set on the No. 1 seed and home-court advantage for the America East playoffs.
Each team won its home head-to-head matchup. Albany handed Vermont a 64-55 loss on Jan. 2 in the teams’ conference opener. The Catamounts successfully avenged that loss with a 59-50 victory over the Great Danes on Feb. 8 at Patrick Gym.
Here’s how the factors to keep in mind as the title race plays out.
Vermont’s final stretch of the regular season
Both Vermont and Albany hit the road for one last regular-season road trip this weekend. The Catamounts will face Bryant (13-13, 6-7) and UMass Lowell (3-21, 1-11) while Albany has games with Maine (12-13, 7-5) and New Hampshire (9-17, 3-10).
Next week, both Vermont and Albany will play NJIT (10-16, 7-6) and UMBC (13-11, 6-6) at home. The Retrievers handed Albany its only other conference loss to date.
Tiebreaker information to know
If Vermont and Albany are tied atop the conference standings by the end of the regular season, America East will need to dive into its tiebreaking procedures for seeding purposes. As provided by a league spokesperson, here are the tiebreak rules:
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Conference road wins. Winning percentage in conference road games. In the event a conference game was played on a neutral court, the team awarded the home game by the conference office when the schedule was issued is considered the home team.
America East tournament dates
The quarterfinals will take place on Thursday, March 6 and the teams will be reseeded afterwards. The semifinals are scheduled for Monday, March 10 and the championship game is slated for Friday, March 14 at 5 p.m. The higher seed hosts each game.
Then on Sunday, March 16, the NCAA women’s basketball tournament bracket will be announced. The women’s basketball selection special will be broadcasted on ESPN at 7 p.m.
Contact Judith Altneu at jaltneu@gannett.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter: @Judith_Altneu.
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: UVM women’s basketball, Albany eye top seed in America East tournament
