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NCAA Tournament Cheat Sheet: Getting to know Albany

Will Brown Albany

Read through the rest of the Cheat Sheets here.

Conference: America East

Coach: Will Brown

Record: 24-10 (9-7 America East)

Rankings and Ratings:

- Kenpom: 152
- RPI: 142
- AP/USA Today: N/A

Seeding?: Our Dave Ommen did not have Albany in his brand new bracket projection Sunday. They will likely fall where many small-conference fall, which would be either a 15 or 16 seed.

Names you need to know: Mike Black (15.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg), Sam Rowley (9.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg), Peter Hooley (7.8 ppg, 3.0 apg)

Stats you need to know: The Great Danes surrender just 60.9 points per game, ranking 36th in the country. They rely on that defense because they don’t score many points.

Tendencies: It’s all about pace for Albany. The Great Danes want to slow teams down and grind it out. It’s not always the prettiest brand of basketball, but it won them 24 games this season. With fewer possessions, Albany will need to limit its turnovers if it wants a chance in the NCAA tournament.

Big wins, bad losses: Albany beat Washington, Wagner, and Stony Brook. It lost to Quinnipiac and Maine.

How’d they get here?: Albany won the America East title Saturday by beating Vermont, 53-49.

Outlook: It’s always difficult for a 15- or 16-seed to win in the NCAA tournament, especially when the team relies so heavily on controlling the pace. Against bigger, more athletic teams, they’ll likely have trouble.

How do I know you?: The Great Danes went on the road to Washington early in the season and upset the Huskies on a last-second layup by Mike Black. Albany last won the America East tournament in 2007 and has made two NCAA tournament appearances under coach Will Brown.

Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_