BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) – For Vermont and Albany, it’s deja vu all over again.

A year after Albany beat Vermont in the America East conference title game, they teams will square off again Saturday with an NCAA berth on the line.

For Vermont (25-6), it’s a chance to avenge last year’s 80-67 defeat, which cost the Catamounts a spot in March Madness. This time, they have momentum, history and home court advantage on their side.

They overcame the midseason loss of leading scorer Joe Trapani, a 6-foot-7-inch freshman who was averaging 15.4 points a game when he went down with a stress fracture of the left foot, missing seven games.

With stellar performances by guard Mike Trimboli, solid front court play from Martin Klimes and Chris Holm and a nation-leading 10.1 per game rebounding edge, the Catamounts survived the loss, winning 13 consecutive games to advance to their fifth conference championship in as many years.

Trapani is back now, but has struggled to regain his early-season form.

Holm, a 6-11 workhorse who was a red-shirt freshman on the 2004-2005 Vermont team that shocked Syracuse in the NCAA tournament, says the key to returning to the “sacred ground” of the tournament lies in avoiding mistakes.

“We’re going to have to take care of the ball,” he said Friday before practice. “Sometimes, we have to worry about turnovers. It’s probably going to be a chess match – who makes the shots and who takes care of the ball.”

Vermont took care of the ball better in the teams’ first two meetings, beating Albany (22-9) by nine in Burlington and four in Albany, N.Y. But that doesn’t make the title game a cinch, said Vermont Coach Mike Lonergan.

“We’ve got a lot of respect for them. We know they’re capable of beating us in this gym or their gym. We’re confident going in and we’re happy to be at home, but I don’t think that means it’s automatic. It’s going to be a tough game against a very, very good team.”

The Great Danes, who advanced to the title game by virtue of a 59-49 victory over Boston University last weekend, are led by sharp-shooting guards Jamar Wilson (18.5 points per game) and Jason Siggers (13.9 points per game).

“He’s going to get his points,” said Trimboli, referring to Wilson. “We just gotta’ limit their bench to not having a big game. If they have a big game and Jamar has a big game, it’ll be hard to win.”

Siggers dropped 34 points in the first game for Albany, which finished the season with a 13-3 conference record and drew a No. 2 seed for the tournament.

Tip-off is at noon, and ESPN2 is televising the game from 3,266-seat Patrick Gym.