Boston University is in a familiar place for the America East tournament. For the third time in four years, the Terriers are the No. 3 seed, and this time they will face No. 6 University of Maryland Baltimore County in the quarterfinals.

Both teams are short on depth and high on talent, but they approach the game in different ways. The Terriers are tops in the AE in field goal percentage defense while the Retrievers rank last. UMBC, the defending conference champion, has two All-Conference performers in point guard Jay Greene and forward Darryl Proctor. Boston counters them with two all-stars of its own, Corey Lowe and John Holland.

Boston swept UMBC in the regular season. In January, the Terriers won 80-77 in double-overtime. Lowe scored 26, and Proctor notched 27. Holland and Matt Wolff hit free throws down the stretch to secure victory. With both teams short on depth, several players logged 50 minutes. In February, Boston won in Baltimore by a more comfortable margin of 82-65. Freshman Jake O’Brien led the Terriers with 25 points, including four 3-pointers.

After dropping three games in a row, Boston has now won three straight, including a win over Iona in the ESPNU BracketBusters series. UMBC is coming off a Senior Day win over No. 7 Albany, but had lost three in a row before that. Justin Fry, who had missed games due to injury, returned against Albany and could boost a frontcourt that badly needs help outside of Proctor.

Proctor, a candidate for Player of the Year, led the America East in scoring in conference games, and was among the leaders in rebounding. Boston University is a strong defensive team but does not have a shot blocker in the middle. If UMBC wins on Saturday, Proctor will almost certainly have a big game.

On the other hand, UMBC could struggle to defend the perimeter trio of Lowe, Holland and O’Brien. All three are good shooters, but each brings something different to the table. Lowe is a play-making point guard, Holland is an athletic wing and O’Brien is a tall forward who can stretch defenses.

In the past three years, the No. 6 seed has defeated the No. 3 seed twice. In 2006 No. 3 Boston lost to No. 6 Vermont. In 2008 No. 3 Albany lost to No. 6 Boston.

The teams tip off around 2:30 p.m. tomorrow in Albany.