Very little separates the University of Vermont and Northeastern University men's basketball teams in today's America East Conference tournament championship game, which tips off at 11:30 a.m. in front of a jam-packed Patrick Gym, a national TV audience on ESPN and with a spot in the NCAA tournament on the line.
Both teams feature dangerous scoring tandems: Taylor Coppenrath (25.3 points per game) and T.J. Sorrentine (18.8 ppg) for Vermont; Jose Juan Barea (22.4 ppg) and Marcus Barnes (16.1 ppg) for Northeastern. Both teams have won 17 of their last 20 games. Both teams ran roughshod over league foes, with the Catamounts thumping teams by an average of 10.2 points per game, and the Huskies beating teams by 5.4 points per game.
One area clearly falls in favor of the Cats: experience.
Vermont (23-6) is playing in its third straight league championship game, winning the last two. Northeastern is making its first appearance in the final game since 1995; the Huskies last won the league title in 1991.
The head coaches said that factor could play a key role today.
"I hope it makes a difference," UVM coach Tom Brennan said. "Barea is just fearless, so I just don't know how much it will affect him, but maybe the younger kids will struggle with it."
"The thing you want to guard against is making this a media event, the ESPN thing and all the hype," Northeastern coach Ron Everhart said. "What I've tried to explain to these guys is it's just another game, another Vermont-Northeastern game.
"It's going to be a battle, just like it always is. It's going to be a competitive game with both teams going at it. We just have to do the things well that we've been doing well."
Northeastern lost to the Cats twice during the regular season, 75-60 in Boston and 72-64 on Feb. 5 at Patrick. The Huskies haven't lost since that game, winning eight straight while outscoring opponents by an average score of 81-63.
"You could certainly make the argument that (Northeastern) is the best team in the league right now because of what they've done over the last months," Brennan said.
Barea has been the catalyst, improving his defense and making himself virtually unguardable when he has the basketball.
"We want him to shoot jump shots; as good as he is at shooting jump shots, that's what we want him to do because the odds are a little bit tougher out there," Brennan said. "Once he gets in the lane he causes so much trouble because not only can he finish, but he sees things so well. He sees guys and makes the plays."
The Cats present problems of their own behind Coppenrath's dominance inside. UVM's 6-foot-9 se- nior has dominated Northeastern, scoring 27.5 points per game this year while hitting for 41 and a league-record 18 field goals at Patrick last year.
"He's a big, strong guy, he's tough and he's physical," Everhart said of Coppenrath, "but the thing that amazes me about Taylor Coppenrath is the fact that he never stops working." After a week of preparation and hype, the players are just ready for the game to tip off.
"I'm excited, the team's excited," Barea said. "(Vermont) has great fans and there's going to be a great atmosphere. We've just got to make sure we play harder than them."
"It's good to get here, but we're not satisfied," Sorrentine said. "That's why we're a good team. We're not satisfied."
Both teams feature dangerous scoring tandems: Taylor Coppenrath (25.3 points per game) and T.J. Sorrentine (18.8 ppg) for Vermont; Jose Juan Barea (22.4 ppg) and Marcus Barnes (16.1 ppg) for Northeastern. Both teams have won 17 of their last 20 games. Both teams ran roughshod over league foes, with the Catamounts thumping teams by an average of 10.2 points per game, and the Huskies beating teams by 5.4 points per game.
One area clearly falls in favor of the Cats: experience.
Vermont (23-6) is playing in its third straight league championship game, winning the last two. Northeastern is making its first appearance in the final game since 1995; the Huskies last won the league title in 1991.
The head coaches said that factor could play a key role today.
"I hope it makes a difference," UVM coach Tom Brennan said. "Barea is just fearless, so I just don't know how much it will affect him, but maybe the younger kids will struggle with it."
"The thing you want to guard against is making this a media event, the ESPN thing and all the hype," Northeastern coach Ron Everhart said. "What I've tried to explain to these guys is it's just another game, another Vermont-Northeastern game.
"It's going to be a battle, just like it always is. It's going to be a competitive game with both teams going at it. We just have to do the things well that we've been doing well."
Northeastern lost to the Cats twice during the regular season, 75-60 in Boston and 72-64 on Feb. 5 at Patrick. The Huskies haven't lost since that game, winning eight straight while outscoring opponents by an average score of 81-63.
"You could certainly make the argument that (Northeastern) is the best team in the league right now because of what they've done over the last months," Brennan said.
Barea has been the catalyst, improving his defense and making himself virtually unguardable when he has the basketball.
"We want him to shoot jump shots; as good as he is at shooting jump shots, that's what we want him to do because the odds are a little bit tougher out there," Brennan said. "Once he gets in the lane he causes so much trouble because not only can he finish, but he sees things so well. He sees guys and makes the plays."
The Cats present problems of their own behind Coppenrath's dominance inside. UVM's 6-foot-9 se- nior has dominated Northeastern, scoring 27.5 points per game this year while hitting for 41 and a league-record 18 field goals at Patrick last year.
"He's a big, strong guy, he's tough and he's physical," Everhart said of Coppenrath, "but the thing that amazes me about Taylor Coppenrath is the fact that he never stops working." After a week of preparation and hype, the players are just ready for the game to tip off.
"I'm excited, the team's excited," Barea said. "(Vermont) has great fans and there's going to be a great atmosphere. We've just got to make sure we play harder than them."
"It's good to get here, but we're not satisfied," Sorrentine said. "That's why we're a good team. We're not satisfied."
