2026 America East men's basketball tournament
| 2026 America East men's basketball tournament | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Division I |
| Season | 2025–26 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Site | Campus sites |
| Champions | UMBC (3rd title) |
| Winning coach | Jim Ferry (1st title) |
| MVP | DJ Armstrong Jr. (UMBC) |
| Television | ESPN+, ESPN2 |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UMBC † | 14 | – | 2 | .875 | 24 | – | 9 | .727 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vermont | 12 | – | 4 | .750 | 22 | – | 12 | .647 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NJIT | 10 | – | 6 | .625 | 16 | – | 17 | .485 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UMass Lowell | 9 | – | 7 | .563 | 15 | – | 18 | .455 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Albany | 7 | – | 9 | .438 | 11 | – | 21 | .344 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maine | 6 | – | 10 | .375 | 8 | – | 24 | .250 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bryant | 5 | – | 11 | .313 | 9 | – | 22 | .290 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Hampshire | 5 | – | 11 | .313 | 9 | – | 21 | .300 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Binghamton | 4 | – | 12 | .250 | 8 | – | 23 | .258 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2026 AmEast tournament winner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2026 America East Men's Basketball Conference tournament was the 2026 postseason men's basketball tournament for the America East Conference. It was held March 7–14, 2026, at campus sites of the higher seeds.[1] The winner, UMBC, received the conference's automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Tournament. The tournament was sponsored by the United States Air Force Reserve and officially known as the 2026 Air Force Reserve America East Men's Basketball Playoffs.[2]
Seeds
Eight of the nine America East teams qualified for the tournament.[3] The teams were seeded by record in conference, with a tiebreaker system to seed teams with identical conference records.
| Seed | School | AEC Record | Tiebreaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UMBC | 14–2 | |
| 2 | Vermont | 12–4 | |
| 3 | NJIT | 10–6 | |
| 4 | UMass Lowell | 9–7 | |
| 5 | Albany | 7–9 | |
| 6 | Maine | 6–10 | |
| 7 | Bryant | 5–11 | 1–1 vs. UMBC |
| 8 | New Hampshire | 5–11 | 0–2 vs. UMBC |
| DNQ | Binghamton | 4–12 |
Schedule
| Game | Time* | Matchup# | Score | Television | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterfinals – Saturday, March 7 | |||||
| 1 | 1:00 pm | No. 8 New Hampshire at No. 1 UMBC | 69–84 | ESPN+ | |
| 2 | 1:00 pm | No. 5 Albany at No. 4 UMass Lowell | 76–81 | ||
| 3 | 2:00 pm | No. 7 Bryant at No. 2 Vermont | 57–77 | ||
| 4 | 4:00 pm | No. 6 Maine at No. 3 NJIT | 58–60 | ||
| Semifinals – Tuesday, March 10 | |||||
| 5 | 6:00 pm | No. 4 UMass Lowell at No. 1 UMBC | 69–91 | ESPN+ | |
| 6 | 7:00 pm | No. 3 NJIT at No. 2 Vermont | 54–63 | ||
| Championship – Saturday, March 14 | |||||
| 7 | 11:00 am | No. 2 Vermont at No. 1 UMBC | 59–74 | ESPN2 | |
| *Game times in EST. #-Rankings denote tournament seeding. | |||||
Bracket
| Quarterfinals Saturday, March 7 ESPN+ | Semifinals Tuesday, March 10 ESPN+ | Championship Saturday, March 14 ESPN2 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | UMBC | 84 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | New Hampshire | 69 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | UMBC | 91 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | UMass Lowell | 69 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | UMass Lowell | 81 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Albany | 76 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | UMBC | 74 | ||||||||||||
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Vermont | 59 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Vermont | 77 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Bryant | 57 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Vermont | 63 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | NJIT | 54 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | NJIT | 60 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Maine | 58 | ||||||||||||
See also
References
- ^ "2026 Air Force Reserve America East Men's Basketball Playoffs - America East Conference". americaeast.com. Retrieved February 14, 2026.
- ^ "Air Force Reserve Tabbed Title Sponsor of 2025 America East Playoffs". americaeast.com. October 30, 2025. Retrieved February 14, 2026.
- ^ "Get To Know a College Basketball Mid-Major: America East". www.foxsports.com. Retrieved February 14, 2026.