On Saturday, the America East and Big Sky begin their tournaments. Let’s do it.
America East- The America East holds all their conference tournament games at campus sites. Spoiler alert, Vermont is NOT the clear cut favorite this year. They finished second in conference behind Bryant. On top of that, the Catamounts finished with the 3rd best KenPom number at 226. Now, Maine was 225 but still.
Saying this, Vermont has won 9 in a row, including a win over Bryant. Bryant did win by 20 over Vermont early in conference play. Bryant’s resume is pretty trash. Whoever wins this league, seeding won’t be as good as Vermont has had at times.
Phil Martelli, Jr. coaches Bryant. This team pushes the tempo. Their two conference losses, they were held under 70. They won their other 14 games and scored over 70. Vermont plays slow. Like slow slow. I think they’re the pick because they can win either way, scoring and not scoring. Like the duality of man, the America East may come down to good and evil.
Big Sky- They’re playing this in Boise, home of the Gene Harris Jazz Festival. This is the best college football league typically and the hoops wasn’t bad this year either.
Montana and Northern Colorado both finished 15–3 in league and split their regular season matchups. NoCo is 132 in KenPom and Montana is 177. 3 other teams are top 200 but these two are the clear favorites.
Neither has a great non-con win. But both did beat South Dakota State. John Muir said:
“It’s always sunshine somewhere, the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eternal sunshine, eternal sunset, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each its turn, as the round earth rolls.”
That’s why the pick is Northern Colorado.
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