America East Conference Tournament Odds, Predictions & Schedule
By Chris Amberley in College Basketball
Published:
- The America East Conference Tournament runs from Saturday March 4th, to Saturday March 11th at campus sites
- Vermont is a -160 favorite to win the AE Conference Tournament
- Check out the America East Tournament odds below, plus predictions
Forget these three or four day affairs, the America East is stretching out its conference tournament for an entire week. The action tips off on Saturday, March 4th, with every game of the tournament taking place at campus sites.
Online sportsbooks are extremely bullish on top seed Vermont, and it’s hard to argue with them based on the form the Catamounts flashed down the stretch.
America East Conference Tournament Odds
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| #1 Vermont | -160 |
| #2 UMass Lowell | +150 |
| #6 Bryant | +1300 |
| #4 UMBC | +2800 |
| #3 New Hampshire | +6000 |
| #7 Maine | +10000 |
| #5 Binghamton | +10000 |
| #8 NJIT | +20000 |
Vermont is currently a -160 favorite, followed by two-seed UMass Lowell at +150. Sixth seed Bryant boasts the third shortest odds, however they look like a trap – more on that later.
The Catamounts earned the number one seed thanks to a sparkling 14-2 conference record, and are currently pencilled in as a 15-seed in the March Madness bracket.
Odds as of March 2, 2023, at DraftKings Sportsbook.
America East Conference Format
Unlike most conference tournaments, there are no byes in the America East. The top-eight teams (out of 9) qualify for this tournament, and will all see quarterfinal action on the opening night.
The bracket will be reseeded following the quarters, with the semifinals taking place on Tuesday, March 7th. The last two standing will square off in the Championship Game on Saturday, March 11th, in an early 11 am tip.
ESPN+ will have streaming coverage for the quarterfinals, before giving away to ESPN3 for the semis. ESPN2 will broadcast the final, and all signs point that contest being hosted by Vermont.
America East Tournament Betting Trends
Top to bottom the Catamounts are the conference’s best team and it’s not particularly close. They’re the only program to rank inside the top-140 in KenPom’s overall efficiency metric (at 124), and rank first or second in the America East in most key statistics at both ends of the floor.
Vermont finished first during the regular season in assists, field goal percentage, and three-point efficiency. At the other end, they led the America East in scoring defense and finished second in steals.
They rode those impressive numbers to a 12-game winning streak down the stretch, beating all seven other contenders at least once.
𝙒𝙚'𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙮 😼 pic.twitter.com/cBOvHXTKfI
— UVM Men's Basketball (@UVMmbb) March 1, 2023
That includes UMass Lowell, avenging an earlier season loss to the River Hawks. UMass Lowell also finished the season strong with seven wins in its final eight games, but their road to the title is shaping up to be much more difficult than Vermont’s.
The River Hawks open up versus a Maine squad that boasts the most aggressive defense in the America East. The Black Bears took down UMass Lowell in their latest meeting, after playing them to a one possession game earlier in the season.
If the River Hawks can get past Maine, they’ll likely meet a New Hampshire squad that upset both UMass Lowell and Vermont this season.
We mentioned earlier that number six seed Bryant may be a trap, despite boasting the third shortest odds. The Bulldogs are incredibly talented, especially on offense, but they’re mired in a miserable funk. They dropped four of five down the stretch, and were just 3-5 on the road in conference play. That’s important since they’ll most likely have to play every America East Tournament game away from home.
America East Conference Tournament Predictions
Home court is extremely valuable in any conference, but none more so than this one. America East teams had the highest home winning percentage of any conference this season at 68.1%.
No America East team was more dominant on their own floor than Vermont, as they were victorious in all eight of their home games. Their average margin of victory was 15 points, dominance that in comparable to some of the top programs in the NCAA Tournament odds.
On 11/27, Vermont lost to Long Beach State to fall to 2-7.
Tonight, they beat Albany to close out the reg season at 20-10 (14-2 AE).
The Catamounts are on a 12-gm win streak + 18-3 since the 2-7 start.
Playing their best basketball as March rolls around 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
— Adam Nelson (@HD_DirtKing) March 1, 2023
The Catamounts have been unbeatable down the stretch, and are extremely worthy of this short price tag. Count on them to be dancing in two weeks for the third time in six years.
Pick: Vermont Catamounts (-160)
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Sports Writer
As SBD's resident Swiss Army Knife, Chris covers virtually every sport including NFL, PGA, NBA, MLB, NCAAB, NCAAF and the Olympics. A true grinder, he'd rather pick off small edges in the player props market than swing for the fences with a 5-leg parlay.
