At the beginning of the year, each team sets a goal to win the America East Championship. And their road to the top begins this weekend.

“You are playing for keeps now. You don’t save nothing no more. You win, you keep playing. You lose, you pack your uniforms up,” said Binghamton University head coach Kevin Broadus. “On any given day, you only get one chance to show who you are and what you are.”

The Bearcats’ chance will come on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. as they take on the Vermont Catamounts in the first round of the America East Men’s Basketball Championship held at the Events Center. The fifth-seeded Binghamton (14-15, 9-7 AE) lost to the fourth-seeded Vermont (15-14, 9-7 AE) twice this year and are just 3-13 versus the Catamounts all-time, including a 1-5 mark at home. In 2005, the last time the tournament was held in Vestal, the Bearcats fell to Vermont in the semifinals 66-59.

And Binghamton’s last win over Vermont came in that 2005-2006 season, as the Bearcats won on the road in the final regular season game 67-62.

The tournament begins 7 p.m. Friday with the play-in game between No. 8 Stony Brook (6-22, 3-13 AE) and No. 9 Maine (7-22, 3-13 AE). The winner plays top-seeded Maryland-Baltimore County (21-8, 13-3 AE) at noon on Saturday.

Second-seeded Hartford (16-15, 10-6 AE) faces seventh-seeded New Hampshire (9-19, 6-10 AE) at 6 p.m.

And at 8:30 p.m., No. 3 Albany (15-14, 10-6 AE), the defending champion, and No. 6 Boston University (13-16, 9-7) caps off the quarterfinal action. Albany beat Boston 76-64 at home on Sunday in each teams’ final regular season game.

Semifinals are scheduled for noon and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. The championship game will be hosted by the highest remaining seed at noon on March 15.

Binghamton is 2-4 in the AE Tournament all-time and has never won the tournament.