2021 America East Conference men's basketball tournament: Matchups, players to know & more

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The 2021 America East men’s basketball tournament will determine which team gets an automatic bid to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Nine of the conference’s 10 teams made the tournament, which will begin Feb. 27 and run through March 13. This time, the brackets are set up into two pods and winners of each pod take on the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds, respectively, in a bid to go to the conference finals.

The New Hampshire pod includes New Hampshire, UMass Lowell and Stony Brook. The Hartford pod includes Hartford, Binghamton, Albany and NJIT. The first rounds will be played in New Hampshire and Connecticut, respectively. The rest will be played at campus sites.

There will be no fans in attendance for any of the tournament games due to coronavirus restrictions.

Hartford received the automatic bid.

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FEBRUARY 27 – FIRST ROUND

(6) UMass Lowell def. (7) Stony Brook, 62-62

(4) Hartford def (9) Binghamton, 77-60

(5) Albany def. (8) NJIT, 76-68

FEBRUARY 28 – SECOND ROUND

(6) UMass Lowell def. (3) New Hampshire, 72-64

(4) Hartford def. (5) Albany, 83-77

MARCH 6 – SEMIFINALS

(6) UMass Lowell def. (1) UMBC, 79-77

(4) Hartford def. (2) Vermont, 71-65

MARCH 13 – FINALS

(4) Hartford def. (6) UMass Lowell, 64-50

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5 PLAYERS TO KNOW

Obadiah Noel, UMass Lowell: Noel is one of the best players in the conference. He is leading the America East with 21.2 points per game and is second with 3.5 assists per game. The senior has helped the Riverhawks to a No. 6 seed in the conference tournament.

Ryan Davis, Vermont: Davis is second in scoring in the conference with 18.8 points per game. He is also in the top 10 in rebounding with 6.5 boards per game. He was the 2020 America East Sixth Man of the Year but this year has started in 12 of the 12 games he’s appeared in for the Catamounts.

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Zach Cooks, NJIT: Cooks has helped NJIT get to the America East tournament for the first time in school history. The team was in the Atlantic Sun Conference last year. Cooks is averaging 16.6 points per game this season.

R.J. Eytle-Rock, UMBC: The London native has helped the Retrievers get to the top of the conference and secure a No. 1 seed. Eytle-Rock is averaging 14.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game this season.

Jayden Martinez, New Hampshire: Martinez is one of the tops in scoring and rebounding in the conference. He is averaging 13.6 rebounds and 8.5 rebounds per game this season.