BURLINGTON, Vermont — The Vermont men's basketball team defeated the UMBC Retrievers to win the America East Conference championship Saturday. The final score was 66-49. The victory gave the Catamounts an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. It was the team's third America East tournament championship under head coach John Becker. Vermont last reached the NCAA Tournament in 2017. Vermont got a huge scoring boost from forward Anthony Lamb, who had 28 points in the game, including 18 in the first half. When Vermont will play in the NCAA Tournament is scheduled to be announced at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday on CBS. After the win, fans took to Twitter with reactions, celebrations and praise for Lamb's performance. Read more Vermont Catamounts basketball news:<doc-sep>The University of Vermont men's basketball team's reward for winning the America East tournament? A date with Florida State of the mighty ACC. The Catamounts earned the No. 13 seed and will face the No. 4 Seminoles (27-7) in a first-round NCAA tournament game in Hartford, Connecticut on Thursday. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. at the XL Center. The game will be broadcast on TBS. The matchup in the Nutmeg State is also a homecoming of sorts for UVM coach John Becker, born in Fairfield. "I politicked for this (Saturday) and I guess I have more juice than I thought. Who would have thought?" Becker joked during a selection show gathering at UVM's Alumni House. "It should be fun and exciting to go back home, and to be coaching an NCAA tournament just doesn’t seem real. It seems surreal." The Catamounts (27-6) booked their seventh trip to March Madness after Saturday's 66-49 win over Maryland-Baltimore County, avenging last year's title-game loss to the Retrievers. And now UVM gets Florida State, which fell to No. 1 overall seed Duke in the ACC tournament championship game on Sunday. Without the benefit of diving into film study just yet, Becker said the Seminoles will clearly be a big challenge. "My guess, athletically, I don’t love it but we’ll have to see what we can do and how they score," Becker said. "Clark Kellogg said on (CBS) that they are not a great shooting team and maybe that’s something we can exploit." There is one familiar face on FSU: Guard David Nichols was a standout player for Albany, UVM's rival in America East, before transferring to the Tallahassee program for his graduate year. The Cats last played in the NCAA tournament in 2017, putting up a valiant effort before falling to Purdue in the opening round of a 4-13 seed matchup in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. UVM has two NCAA tournament wins on its resume — 2012's first-four victory over Lamar, in Becker's first season, and the famous triumph as a 13-seed in 2005 when senior stars Taylor Coppenrath and T.J. Sorrentine topped Syracuse in overtime in coach Tom Brennan's swan song. Advancing deeper into the NCAA tournament remains a reachable goal for the Catamounts. "The pressure is kind of off now. I want to make sure we prepare and we try and stay in this tournament for as long as we can and not just happy to be here," Becker said. "Like I’ve said for a while, our goal is to be a Sweet 16 caliber program and we’ll have an opportunity this year to see if we can get there." Becker also expects good fan turnout. That shouldn't be a problem, with Hartford's close proximity to Vermont and the Catamount faithful's track record traveling to root its favorite basketball team. "I hoping there is a lot of Green and Gold in that building," Becker said. This year’s NCAA tournament will be UVM's 11th straight postseason appearance. It's time! Fill out or print your March Madness bracket here Oh Benny:Hometown hero Shungu steps up to spark UVM to NCAA tournament Contact Alex Abrami at 660-1848 or aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @aabrami5.<doc-sep>The Florida State Seminoles are headed to the NCAA Tournament as a 4-seed in the West region matched up with the Vermont Catamounts of the America East Conference. Historically speaking, 4-seeds have a 108-28 record over 13-seeds, meaning the higher-ranked team in this matchup advances to the second round 79% of the time. Let’s get our first look at whom the ’Noles will face in the first round. OPPONENT: University of Vermont MASCOT: Catamounts LOCATION: Burlington, Vermont FOUNDED: 1791 ENROLLMENT: 11,998 FAMOUS ALUMS: Jack Arute (ABC and ESPN sideline reporter), Jon Fishman (drummer for the band Phish), Mike Gordon (bassist in the band Phish), Rollie Massomino (Head Coach of 1985 Villanova national title team), Henry Jarvis Raymond (Co-founder of the New York Times and Harper’s New Monthly Magazine), Ryen Russillo (ESPN radio host), Martin St. Louis (4-time NHL all-star and a Hart Memorial Trophy winner), Phil Scott (Governor of Vermont), William Almon Wheeler (Vice-President of the United States under Rutherford B. Hayes COACH: John Becker RECORD: 27-6 KEY PLAYER(S): Vermont’s Mr. Do Everything is Anthony Lamb, the America East Player of the Year. The 6’6” Jr. can score at all three levels and is a great rebounder/defender. KEY STAT(S): The Catamounts are fairly balanced with the 103rd ranked offense, and the 84th ranked defense according to KenPom. They’re ranked 2nd in the country at keeping opponents off the offensive glass, grabbing 78.2% of the available defensive rebounds. Vermont also excels at defending two-point shots, limiting opponents to 46.5% inside the arc, good for 38th in the nation. Impressively, they play good defense without fouling, ranking 22nd in the nation in terms of opponents’ FTA/FGA. Like many non-power conference teams, Vermont slows things down, playing at just the 285th fastest tempo in the nation (out of 353). The Catamounts also don’t grab a ton of misses, ranking just 206th in offensive rebounds, and don’t force many steals at just 241st in the country.<doc-sep>
Vermont wins America East championship game Catamounts finally solve UMBC, punch ticket to the NCAA tournament. Share Shares Copy Link Copy Hide Transcript Show Transcript YOU -- RIGHT NOW. THE AMERICA EAST CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, WAS A REMATCH FROM JUST 1 YEAR AGO. SAME TEAMS, SAME PLACE, ONLY VERMONT WAS HOPING FOR A DIFFERENT RESULT. THEY WOULD BE PLAYING FOR THIS PEICE OF HARWARE, AND THE FANS WERE MAKING A STATEMENT WHEN IT CAME TO THEIR GUYS...WHO WERE TRYING TO GET REVENGE FOR LAST SEASON'S TITLE GAME LOSS TO UMBC... SCORING OPENS UP, WITH THE CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE YEAR, ANTHONY LAMB, GETS THE FEED, DEPOSITS THE BALL.2-0 SAME SCORE, STEF SMITH, DRIVES THE LANE, HAS TO GET OFF A NICE LITTLE FLICK OF THE WRIST, IT WORKS.IT'S 4- 0. THE CATS WEREN'T PERFECT, THE BALL IS MISHANDLED HERE, UMBC TAKES ADVANTAGE, DUNKS ON THE OTHER END.THEY ARE DONE JUST 3. BUT EVEN WHEN VERMONT WAS MISSING SHOTS, THEY WERE MAKING THEM RIGHT AFTER, ONE OF LAMB'S FEW MISSES IS BUT BACK THE SECOND TIME, THE PUT BACK FROM SAMMY DINGBA. SECOND HALF, CATAMOUNTS UP 6, AND THAT IS ABOUT TO INCREASE, LAMB HITS THE THREE.NEXT TIME DOWN.LET ME REPEAT.LAMB HITS THE THREE. BENNY SHUNGU, GETS IN ON THE FUN, HITS THE LONG BALL.THEY GO ON AN 11-0 RUN EARLY SECOND HALF. THE DOUBLE DIGIT LEAD WOULD ONLY GET BIGGER, ERNIE DUNCAN, STILL WITH NO POINTS, BUT HELPING IN OTHER WAYS, THE NICE FEED TO STEF.17 POINTS FOR HIM. I MENTION ERNIE WITH NO POINTS, BUT THAT WOULDN'T LAST, IT TOOK A WHILE, BUT HE WOULD THEN SCORE HIS FIRST POINTS ON A THREE OF COURSE.5 OF THE NEXT 7 TEAM POINTS. BUT THE MOST POINTS CAME FROM MR. LAMB, GREAT FEED, AND THE FINISH...HE SCORES A GAME HIGH 28. AND VERMONT CAN CELEBRATE WITH CATAMOUNT COUNTRY, THEY ARE AMERICA EAST CHAMPS. THE CATAMOUNTS NOW WAIT TO SEE WHO THEY WILL PLAY IN THE NATIONAL TOURNEY... NOT TO BE LOST GET LOCAL BREAKING NEWS ALERTS The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox. Submit Privacy Notice