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 Sportsbook, 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.
How They Match Up:
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 Sportsbook 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 Sportsbook 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.
