The championship breakdowns continue here at the Sports Gambling Podcast Network as we give our America East Conference Tournament preview and best bets.
This tournament has recently been known as the Vermont Invitational. The Catamounts have claimed five of the previous seven titles and are the favorites to do so again.
Outside of Vermont’s success, this has also been an event that the regular-season winner has dominated. Since the format was changed, the regular season champion has won seven of nine tournaments.
One reason for this is that the higher seed of each game hosts that round on its home floor. The championship game will be held on a team’s campus on Saturday, March 16.
Can another program rise to the challenge of taking down the conference dynasty of Vermont? Let’s dive into betting odds to give our America East Conference Tournament preview and best bets.
2024 America East Conference Tournament Preview, Picks, and Best Bets
Conference Tournament Champion Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook (Organized by Seed in Tournament)
Vermont -280
UMass Lowell +360
Bryant +1200
New Hampshire +4000
Binghamton +4500
Maine +5000
UMBC +10000
Albany +10000
The Favorite: Vermont -280
The Catamounts are going to be very difficult to beat on their home floor. They went a perfect 8-0 at the Patrick Gymnasium in conference play, winning by an average of 14.13 points per game.
In those victories, there were only two by single digits, and both came back in January. Meanwhile, Vermont’s only loss in league action came against an NJIT team that didn’t qualify for this tournament.
We will avoid diving too deeply into Vermont and instead focus on whether it is worth buying a conference tournament future ticket or not.
Let’s use the scenario that the Catamounts meet in the title game with UMass Lowell. This matchup just happened last weekend, where Vermont closed at -6.5 at home on the spread.
This would typically pay out on the moneyline, right around the current odds of -280 going into the tournament. Any other opponent would make coach John Becker’s team an even bigger favorite.
I don’t hate the idea of parlaying a Vermont America East Tournament title ticket with another favorite, but I would not pay the current price on the regular season champion.
Best Bet: UMBC +10000
Because of Vermont’s dominance, I would only consider a team with longer odds to tie up my money. Multiple factors point towards UMBC being that team.
For starters, the Retrievers played the Catamounts extremely tough in the regular season. The two losses were by a combined seven points. This includes a two-point loss where they were leading by 20 in the game.
Yes, I do understand that UMBC plays at UMass Lowell in the opening round. However, the Retrievers only lost by four in the previous trip to the Costello Athletic Center.
These road performances also match the advanced metrics. BartTorvik rates UMBC as the second-best road team during conference play.
This would only be a small play, but for a team at +10000 odds, you have proof of how it competes against the Top 2 seeds. Let’s sit back and cheer on some madness at the America East Conference Tournament.
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