All but a few hundred of the 4,500 fans expected to jam into Stony Brook Arena will wildly cheer the Seawolves during their attempt to capture the school?s first America East Conference championship.
The University of Vermont men?s basketball team is hoping to spoil the party.
The Catamounts will try to overcome the hostile environment when they take on Stony Brook in the America East title game on Long Island on Saturday, the winner punching its ticket to the NCAA tournament. The 11 a.m. showdown will be televised on ESPN2.
?This is what we?ve worked all season for, this moment right now,? UVM senior captain Matt Glass said. ?We are going to try to be ready to seize it.?
Vermont is making its seventh title-game appearance in 10 years. For the second-seeded Catamounts (22-11) to claim their fifth crown, they?ll have to overcome top-seeded Stony Brook ? and history.
In the 28 years the America East championship has been contested at the higher seed?s campus, the home team has prevailed 25 times.
Glass had a front-row seat to the madness when the Catamounts last won the title in 2010, dispatching Boston University at UVM?s Patrick Gymnasium.
?It?s an unbelievable atmosphere. You really can?t explain it,? said Glass, who was sitting out that season after transferring from University of Massachusetts. ?There?s so much pressure, so much excitement. It?s really a different level of competition. I can?t wait to be a part of it.?
The Catamounts were on track to be the No.?1 seed and play host to the championship game until a stunning defeat to previously winless Binghamton late in the regular season dropped them into second place in the standings.
While devastating to the Catamounts and their fans at the time, UVM first-year coach John Becker said that wake-up call helped a young UVM team mature and prepare for a an America East tournament filled with close calls. After persevering through an ice-cold shooting night to defeat Maine in the quarterfinals, the Cats outlasted Hartford in a double-overtime semifinal thriller.
?During key stretches of that game, we had three sophomores and a freshman on the court, so they got invaluable experience,? Becker said. ?We were able to find ways to win in both games in hostile environments, pressure situations. That should bode well for this weekend.?
?We matured a lot that weekend,? Glass said. ?We were put in a lot of tough situations and we were able to respond.?
A fierce, experienced and hungry Stony Brook team sits between Vermont and another trip to the Big Dance. After years of futility, the Seawolves have won the regular-season title twice in the last three years. SBU coach Steve Pikiell credits his upperclassmen for changing the culture and producing an annual contender.
Last year, Stony Brook throttled an injury-riddled Vermont team in the semifinals before falling 56-54 in the championship game at Boston University, a result determined by the Terriers hitting a pair of foul shots in the waning seconds.
This year, Vermont and Stony Brook are similar in a lot of ways: Each plays suffocating defense, tenaciously rebounds and has balanced scoring.
?When I think of (Stony Brook), I think of toughness,? Becker said. ?I think of defense and experience. It?s a pretty good combination to be successful night in and night out.
?I think there are a lot of similarities between our teams,? Becker added. ?They have the edge with the experience.?
The teams split during the regular season, Stony Brook winning 65-59 on Jan. 2 on Long Island and Vermont running away with the Feb. 12 rematch at Patrick Gym, 68-49. The top two teams in the conference will settle the score today, the winner cutting down nets.
?We have to come out and be able to handle the beginning of the game,? Becker said. ?There is going to be a lot of energy. Both teams are going to be amped up. The crowd is going to be loud. We just have to be able to get through those first couple of minutes, let everyone calm down a little bit, and then we can play basketball from there.?
The University of Vermont men?s basketball team is hoping to spoil the party.
The Catamounts will try to overcome the hostile environment when they take on Stony Brook in the America East title game on Long Island on Saturday, the winner punching its ticket to the NCAA tournament. The 11 a.m. showdown will be televised on ESPN2.
?This is what we?ve worked all season for, this moment right now,? UVM senior captain Matt Glass said. ?We are going to try to be ready to seize it.?
Vermont is making its seventh title-game appearance in 10 years. For the second-seeded Catamounts (22-11) to claim their fifth crown, they?ll have to overcome top-seeded Stony Brook ? and history.
In the 28 years the America East championship has been contested at the higher seed?s campus, the home team has prevailed 25 times.
Glass had a front-row seat to the madness when the Catamounts last won the title in 2010, dispatching Boston University at UVM?s Patrick Gymnasium.
?It?s an unbelievable atmosphere. You really can?t explain it,? said Glass, who was sitting out that season after transferring from University of Massachusetts. ?There?s so much pressure, so much excitement. It?s really a different level of competition. I can?t wait to be a part of it.?
The Catamounts were on track to be the No.?1 seed and play host to the championship game until a stunning defeat to previously winless Binghamton late in the regular season dropped them into second place in the standings.
While devastating to the Catamounts and their fans at the time, UVM first-year coach John Becker said that wake-up call helped a young UVM team mature and prepare for a an America East tournament filled with close calls. After persevering through an ice-cold shooting night to defeat Maine in the quarterfinals, the Cats outlasted Hartford in a double-overtime semifinal thriller.
?During key stretches of that game, we had three sophomores and a freshman on the court, so they got invaluable experience,? Becker said. ?We were able to find ways to win in both games in hostile environments, pressure situations. That should bode well for this weekend.?
?We matured a lot that weekend,? Glass said. ?We were put in a lot of tough situations and we were able to respond.?
A fierce, experienced and hungry Stony Brook team sits between Vermont and another trip to the Big Dance. After years of futility, the Seawolves have won the regular-season title twice in the last three years. SBU coach Steve Pikiell credits his upperclassmen for changing the culture and producing an annual contender.
Last year, Stony Brook throttled an injury-riddled Vermont team in the semifinals before falling 56-54 in the championship game at Boston University, a result determined by the Terriers hitting a pair of foul shots in the waning seconds.
This year, Vermont and Stony Brook are similar in a lot of ways: Each plays suffocating defense, tenaciously rebounds and has balanced scoring.
?When I think of (Stony Brook), I think of toughness,? Becker said. ?I think of defense and experience. It?s a pretty good combination to be successful night in and night out.
?I think there are a lot of similarities between our teams,? Becker added. ?They have the edge with the experience.?
The teams split during the regular season, Stony Brook winning 65-59 on Jan. 2 on Long Island and Vermont running away with the Feb. 12 rematch at Patrick Gym, 68-49. The top two teams in the conference will settle the score today, the winner cutting down nets.
?We have to come out and be able to handle the beginning of the game,? Becker said. ?There is going to be a lot of energy. Both teams are going to be amped up. The crowd is going to be loud. We just have to be able to get through those first couple of minutes, let everyone calm down a little bit, and then we can play basketball from there.?
