With its first-ever regular season conference championship, the well-deserved Stony Brook Seawolves will be flashing a No. 1 seed in Hartford on Saturday. Greeting them at noon at Chase Arena are the Albany Great Danes, who are in eighth, and last, place. But don’t look past the bracket folks, it’s March.

Boasting two of the top 10 scorers in the conference and the leading rebounder, a well-rounded Stony Brook squad heads into tournament time with its best conference record since joining the America East Conference in 2001-02. The Albany Great Danes, on the other hand, were not so fortunate, scratching up only two wins with 14 losses in AE play.

Despite a losing season, the Great Danes put up substantial fights to Stony Brook in both regular season meetings, losing both by a mere six and two points.

The dominance of the Seawolves offense depends heavily on the performance of the starting five. Accounting for 75 percent of its scoring, the SBU starting lineup poses a threat at almost every position. Leading the Brook is senior and 2009 second-team All-Conference performer Muhammad El-Amin. El-Amin, a guard out of Lansing, Mich., averages 19.1 points per game against AE foes. Beside El-Amin in SBU’s backcourt is sophomore Bryan Dougher. Shooting a sharp 50.5 percent from 3-point land, Dougher averages 14.1 points per game. Finishing the backline is junior Chris Martin, who drops a consistent 11.1 points per game. Sophomores Tommy Brenton — who leads the AE with 9.8 rebounds per game — and Dallis Joyner, and freshman Marcus Rouse round out the only SBU players that can do any sort of damage to opponents.

And it stops there. With the exception of the loss Stony Brook suffered at the Events Center, conference opponents who allowed only two of SBU’s top six to hit double figures, won the game. Look for Albany to follow through with a similar game plan.

Albany brings to the table something that Stony Brook lacks: depth. With a core of seven players that have shared starting roles and 12 of 13 players averaging over 10 minutes per game, the Great Danes need to focus on defense to even have a chance to appear in the semis.

Running a “four out, one in” offensive set, the Great Danes are led by junior guard Tim Ambrose and senior forward Will Harris, who are both averaging 12.6 points per game. From there, UA is all utility. The consistency of the remainder of Albany’s offense creates a mystery to any defense as to who will get hot for the Danes.

Riding the first seed won’t be such a cake-walk for Stony Brook with two tight regular-season games. For the Seawolves to win, they need to focus on themselves and play the basketball they’ve been playing all year. A calm and confident response to anything Albany throws at them should result in as SBU victory.

Albany, on the other hand, must contain. Leading the America East in defensive rebounds, it will be crucial for UA to limit any second-chance points by the Brook. With the ability and comfort to keep fresh feet on the floor, defending the Seawolves’ core six with intensity is key. If all goes as planned, Albany’s scrappy style of play should give Stony Brook something to worry about down the stretch and could potentially result in an upset.

The game kicks off the men’s half of the tournament at noon on Saturday at Hartford’s Chase Arena.