The coaches of the America East are either great at judging talent or just plain lucky. Either way, in the conference’s annual preseason coaches’ poll, the University of Maine and University of Hartford were predicted to finish third and sixth, respectively. Now that the season has concluded, the Black Bears and Hawks will enter the conference tournament ranked just where the coaches predicted.

Though Hartford finished sixth in the conference standings, the Hawks were able to beat Maine in both regular-season matchups. In its first meeting, Hartford fended off Maine, escaping Orono with a 61-59 victory. The Black Bears led by four at halftime in that game, but the Hawks surged ahead by eight late in the second half. Maine tied the game at 57, but a pair of jumpers from Hartford and a missed 3-pointer at the buzzer gave Hartford the two-point win.

Later in the season, Hartford, fueled by a 33-point performance by senior guard Joe Zeglinski, was able to come out on top for a second time, topping the Black Bears 74-65 in Hartford. Maine was able to cut an 11-point halftime lead to six in that game, but couldn’t get closer than that.

Maine enters the tournament with the top-ranked offense in the America East. The Black Bears lead the conference in scoring, averaging 69.9 points per game while shooting nearly 46 percent from the floor this season. Maine will rely on senior Troy Barnies to carry them through the tournament, as the senior leads the team in total scoring (14.3 ppg).

Hartford will turn to its defense, which led the conference in steals (7.9 per game) and turnover margin (+3.69). In two meetings against Maine this season, Hartford held Maine to 59 and 65 points, both below the Black Bears’ season average (69.9 ppg).

On offense the Hawks will look to Zeglinski, who led the team in scoring with 14.3 points per game. Zeglinski dominated the Black Bears this season, highlighted by a career-high 33-point performance in the teams’ second meeting.

Both Maine and Hartford struggled in the later half of the season, but Hartford finished the year with a 62-54 victory over the University of New Hampshire.

For the second straight year, the opening rounds of the tournament will take place at Chase Arena in Hartford, Conn. The arena is home to the Hawks’ men’s and women’s basketball teams,and should offer a significant home-court advantage for the No. 6 Hawks.

Neither Maine nor Hartford has ever earned a spot in the NCAA tournament, but have both reached the America East championship game. In 2008, Hartford fell shy of the big dance, falling to University of Maryland, Baltimore County 82-65. In 2004, the Black Bears reached the conference title game, but ultimately fell to the University of Vermont 72-53.

The winner will face either No. 2 Boston University or No. 7 New Hampshire, who are scheduled to play immediately prior to this game.

Tip-off is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. on Saturday.