STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The America East semifinal round will see two rivals meet again as 3-seed UAlbany men's basketball heads to Long Island to take on 2-seed Stony Brook on Monday, March 6th at 7:30 p.m.
The game will be broadcast online on AE on ESPN3. In addition, Rodger Wyland and Zach Bye will have the radio call on 104.5 the Team in the Albany area.
UAlbany defended home court in dominating fashion on Wednesday night, defeating 6-seed Hartford 100-71 to advance to the semifinals. UAlbany stands 20-12 overall and 10-6 in the America East. Stony Brook won 70-60 over 7-seed Binghamton on Wednesday, having 18-12 overall and 12-4 America East record.
The winner of this game will take on the victor of 1-seed Vermont and 4-seed New Hampshire. The America East title game will be played on Saturday, March 11th at 11 a.m. at the highest remaining seed. This game sees the last two America East Tournament champions face other, with Stony Brook winning in 2016 and UAlbany winning three in a row from 2013-15.
Stony Brook swept the regular season series, winning 72-70 at home and 72-65 in Albany. UAlbany leads the all-time series 41-30, with Stony Brook leading the America East record 23-16. These two last met in the America East Tournament in 2015, with Peter Hooley hitting the game-winning three in the title game for a 51-50 win at the SEFCU Arena. The series is 3-3 in the America East Tournament, with UAlbany taking the last three, including the 2014 and 2015 title games.
THE DYNAMIC DUO: Joe Cremo and David Nichols have been a strong scoring pair this season, with each standing in the top-10 in points per game in the America East. Between the two, they have 23 20+ point games and a combined 58 double digit scoring contests (of a possible 64) this season.
SWITCHING LINEUPS: UAlbany played the same starting five in 17 of the first 18 games this season: Joe Cremo, Marqueese Grayson, David Nichols, Mike Rowley and Greig Stire. The last 14 games other than Senior Day, Devonte Campbell entered the lineup for Grayson; UAlbany is 11-3 in those contests.
PLAY IN THE PAINT, NOT THE PERIMETER: UAlbany stands third in three-point field goal defense percentage in the America East, holding teams to 34.4% from behind the arc.
In addition, UAlbany has taken the least amount of shots from three-point range in the America East. After 32 games played, UAlbany has taken 466 shots from three, over 100 less than the next conference team (Vermont, 559). UAlbany averages 14.6 three-point attempts a game, almost three less than any other America East team per contest.
STREAKS: Mike Rowley has grabbed at least one rebound each of the past 98 games, including the entire 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons. Greig Stire has earned at least one board in each of the past 68 games, including a single game record 15 rebounds at Hartford on January 22nd.
The first guard off the bench last season, Joe Cremo has scored points in each of his last 63 games going back to Nov. 19, 2015. Cremo has also dished out at least one assist in each of the past 27 games. David Nichols has also scored each game this year and is on a 34-game scoring streak.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME......OR THE ROAD: UAlbany earned the same record in America East play this season at home and on the road. The Great Danes are 5-3 in America East road games vs. 5-3 in conference home games this year. Overall, UAlbany is 8-7 away from SEFCU.
WELCOME TO NEW YORK: UAlbany will play a number of opponents across the Empire State this season, including Siena, Stony Brook (twice), Binghamton (twice), Oneonta, Marist, Colgate, Canisius, St. Francis Brooklyn, Columbia and Cornell. In total, UAlbany has 12 games against New York teams. UAlbany is 9-3 against these opponents.
SCOUTING STONY BROOK: Stony Brook has reached the America East semifinal round every year since 2010. The team's top scorer is senior Lucas Woodhouse, an America East All-Conference First Team guard, shooting 45.6% for 14.8 points and 5.2 assists per game. The leading rebounder is All-Conference Third Team forward junior forward Tyrell Sturdivant at 10.8 points and 5.6 boards per game.
