BALTIMORE — As the Stony Brook and UMBC men's basketball teams prepare to conclude their respective regular seasons on Tuesday night at UMBC's Events Center, plenty remains at stake.

A win against the Retrievers, or a loss by Hartford against Maine, would earn the Seawolves a No. 2 seed and ensure at least two America East Tournament home games.

Otherwise, Stony Brook is only guaranteed one home game as the No. 3 seed.

"It'd be nice to play at home," Stony Brook coach Geno Ford said. "Our fans are great. They have been all year."

Although the offense has taken a hit with leading scorer Elijah Olaniyi having missed five straight games due to an ankle injury, Stony Brook's defense has been stellar.

The Seawolves have limited their opponents to fewer than 50 points in two of the last three games.

 "The guys know what's at stake," Ford said. "The reality is, you have to stay consistent with what you've done throughout the year, but you have to play confident."
 
A boost in confidence could come from maximizing the number of playoffs games played at Island Federal Arena, where the Seawolves were 9-4 during the regular season.
  
One stat of note, though, is that no America East team has taken full advantage of homecourt this season. Vermont and New Hampshire lead the league in home conference records at 6-2, with Stony Brook right behind at 5-3.
 
Vermont and Stony Brook, who would be 1-2 entering the playoffs should the Seawolves win on Tuesday, split their regular-season series — with the road team taking each contest.

UMBC and Vermont also split, with the hosts not sending their fans home happy on either occasion.
 
"There are no locks in our league right now because there is so much parity," Ford said. "We're going to have to play well all week."

TICKETS TO THE 2020 AMERICA EAST MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS GO ON SALE TO TUESDAY AT 9 A.M.