MEN'S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
Top-seeded Vermont (26-5, 16-0) takes on No. 8 seed Maine (7-24, 3-13) on Wednesday (March 1) in the quarterfinal round of the America East Tournament. Action gets underway at 7 p.m. A limited number of tickets are still available. Fans can purchase tickets at UVMathletics.com/Tickets or by visiting the Patrick Gym Box Office during office hours. All UVM men's basketball games can be heard on ESPN 101.3 FM and online at 1013ESPN.com with Sam Hyman on the call. 
 
CATS ON ESPN3
Fans can watch the quarterfinal matchup on ESPN3 and the watchESPN app by logging in with your cable provider.
 
RELATED LINKS
Maine: Video | Live Stats | Audio 
CatamounTV: Quarterfinal Preview
Game Notes: Vermont (.pdf) | Maine (.pdf)
America East Playoff Central
 
SETTING THE SCENE
The green and gold take the nation's longest active winning streak (18) into the postseason after completing a historic regular season. Vermont's NCAA RPI ranking of No. 47 is the highest for an America East team entering the playoffs since the Catamounts were No. 23 in 2004-05. UVM begins the quest for its sixth America East Championship after capturing the title in 2011-12, 2009-10, 2004-05, 2003-04, and 2002-03. During the 2011-12 and 2003-04 championship runs, the Cats took down Maine on their way to raising a banner in the rafters of Patrick Gym.   

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CATS IN AMERICA EAST TOURNAMENT
Wednesday night will be the seventh meeting between the Cats and Black Bears in the America East Tournament as UVM holds a 4-3 mark over Maine. For the sixth time, the green and gold hold the top overall seed and have tallied an 8-4 mark as the No. 1 seed. The Catamounts are a perfect 3-0 against eighth-seeded teams. Vermont is 13-1 since 2003 in the quarterfinal round of the tournament.

GET THE BROOM OUT!
The Catamounts swept the America East Major Awards and landed two others on All-Conference teams, as the conference announced its year-end awards and All-Conference Teams on Monday. A total of seven Catamounts received recognition from America East – John Becker (Coach of the Year), Trae Bell-Haynes (Player of the Year, All-Conference First Team), Anthony Lamb (Rookie of the Year, All-Conference Second Team, All-Rookie Team), Darren Payen (Sixth Man of the Year), and Dre Wills (Defensive Player of the Year, All-Defensive Team). Ernie Duncan and Payton Henson were also named to the All-Conference Third Team.

LAST TIME OUT | Stony Brook Highlights
The Catamounts added a pair of records to an already historic season with Saturday's 66-51 league win over Stony Brook. Vermont became the only team in the history of America East to post a 16-0 undefeated conference season and set the program record with its 26th win of the season. UVM's inspired defense held Stony Brook to only 36.4% (20-of-55) shooting for the game while the Cats were 50.0% (26-of-52) from the field on the afternoon. Vermont outscored Stony Brook 38-20 in the paint and won the turnover battle 14-7. Lamb had a big game on both ends of the floor with 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting. Lamb grabbed five boards, recorded four steals, and swatted away three shots. Henson was 5-of-8 from the floor for 12 points and five rebounds. Payen was the third Catamount in double figures with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting.

SCOUTING MAINE
The Black Bears enter the postseason after taking down Binghamton with 72-71 victory on Saturday in the regular season finale. Andrew Fleming, the reigning America East Rookie of the Week, averaged 10.5 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game for Maine during the regular season. The 6-7 big man joined Lamb on the All-Rookie Team. Austin Howard dropped 14 points on the Bearcats - his ninth game of the season in double figures. Ryan Bernstein is tied for the league lead with a 2.78 assist-to-turnover ratio and ranks in the top-50 in Division I. In the conference's year-end awards, Bernstein received All-Academic honors. Since stepping in as a starter during America East play, Vince Eze has averaged 7.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.  

SERIES HISTORY
Maine leads the all-time series against Vermont 70-66 which dates back to the 1949-50 season, but UVM has made a strong push to even the series in recent years. Since the 2006-07 season, the Cats have won 22 of 25 meetings against the Black Bears, including 10-straight contests. John Becker is 13-1 in his career versus Maine which includes a win in the America East Quarterfinals during the 2012 run to the NCAA Tournament. The green and gold swept the season series from the Black Bears with a 90-77 win on Jan. 5 in Bangor, Maine and a 74-53 victory on Feb. 1 at Patrick Gym.

WHO'S NEXT
If Vermont can advance to the semifinal round of the America East Tournament, the Cats will host the lowest remaining seed on Monday (March 6) at 7 p.m. Visit UVMathletics.com for ticket and game information.

ENTRANCE TO THE GAME
To comply with the America East tournament policies, fans will not be admitted to the building from the outside stairway in the parking lot between Patrick Gym and Gutterson Fieldhouse.  Fans who park on this side of the building may enter through the loading dock area and go up the stairs to the gym.  There is an elevator down the hallway that can bring fans upstairs to the Patrick Gym lobby (right next to the ticket counter).
 
PARKING
For the convenience of our fans attending men's basketball games at Patrick Gym, a shuttle will run constantly from the Jeffords parking lot (also known as the water tower lot) to the front of Patrick Gym. By taking the shuttle, fans can get back to their vehicle and on the road without sitting in as much traffic.
 
Fans with a disabled parking placard or a Victory Club VIP parking pass should have these out and ready when approaching the parking lot while on Spear Street for both your convenience as well as the efficiency of the UVM Police, security and Transportation and Parking staff members.  You may be directed to a different entrance (turning off Spear Street into the parking area) once all other parking areas at Patrick are full but you will be able to access your respective parking area. Please be sure to note parking signs to know when the Gutterson parking garage is full and all remaining traffic is being directed to the Jeffords lot.

Canon Solutions America is the presenting sponsor of the 2016-17 men's basketball season