MEN'S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
Top-seeded Vermont (25-7) will meet fourth-seeded UMBC (16-16) in the semifinal round of 2020 Hercules Tires America East Tournament on Tuesday night (March 10). The opening tip is set for 7 p.m. Tickets have officially been sold out.
 
TELEVISION AND RADIO COVERAGE
All of the action will be streamed on ESPN+ and the ESPN app with a paid subscription. A free international stream will also be available at CatamounTV.com. Fans can also listen live on the Vermont Sports Network, from Learfield IMG College, on 101.3 The Game or online at Catamounts All-Access with Jake Marsh on the call. 
 
RELATED LINKS
UMBC: ESPN+ | Int'l Stream | Live Stats | Audio
Game Notes: Vermont | UMBC
 
SMITH GETS 1,000
Junior Stef Smith became the 41st player in school history to score over 1,000 career points in Saturday's victory against Maine. He is also the 13th Catamount to accomplish the feat during his junior season.
 
CATS IN THE SEMIS
The Catamounts are making their 11th consecutive trip to the America East Semifinals and have earned a spot in the second round of the conference tournament for the 18th time in the last 19 years.
 
BECKER IN THE TOURNAMENT
Cioffi Men's Basketball Head Coach John Becker is one conference tournament win away from tying UAlbany's Will Brown for the second-most in America East history. Brown has won 19 tournament games in his 19-year tenure while Becker has racked up 18 wins in nine years. In terms of winning percentage, Becker leads all active head coaches at 78.3% and ranks fourth all-time.
 
SCOUTING UMBC
The Retrievers won six out of their last eight regular season conference games to earn the No. 4 seed. In Saturday's Hercules Tires America East Quarterfinal matchup with New Hampshire, UMBC held off UNH for a 73-67 win in Baltimore. UMBC finished the conference slate with the third-best team field-goal percentage at 43.0% behind Vermont (47.3%) and UMass Lowell (46.9%). K.J. Jackson was lauded on the All-Conference Second Team and All-Defensive Team. He paced the UMBC offense with 20 points and three steals in the semifinal win over the Wildcats. Overall, he leads the team with a 14.1 scoring average. R.J. Eytle-Rock added 15 points, five boards, and made 9-of-10 attempts at the charity stripe in Saturday's win. He ranks third on the team with 10.2 points per game.
 
INSIDE THE PLAYOFF SERIES
The Catamounts and Retrievers will meet in the America East Tournament for the eighth time and UVM holds a 5-2 edge. In three semifinal matchups, the Green and Gold have beat the Black and Gold twice. The first contest was back in 2007 when No. 1 Vermont topped No. 5 UMBC 72-63. One year later, the top-seeded Retrievers bested the fourth-seeded Cats 73-64. The conference rivals back in 2013 when No. 2 UVM claimed an 85-72 victory over No. 6 UMBC at Patrick Gym.  
 
National Life Group is the presenting sponsor of the 2019-20 Vermont men's basketball season