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Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
Things You Really Need To Know...67 Of 'Em!
1. The Northeast Conference will employ a campus site playoff format for the 13th year in a row after an eight-year absence that saw the league’s annual postseason tournament contested at one campus site (1999), at a municipal arena (2000-01) and at a single campus site for the quarterfinals and semifinals, followed by the highest remaining seed hosting the championship game (1998, 2002-04). The conference had previously employed a high-seed hosting format from 1991-97, though teams were not reseeded after the quarterfinals as the tournament is currently constructed.
2. Of the eight teams that qualified for the 2016 NEC Tournament, seven return again this season. The lone newcomer is Bryant.
3. The longest current qualification streak belongs to Robert Morris at 14 in a row. The longest streak in league history belongs to Fairleigh Dickinson, which made 18 straight appearances from 1984-01.
4. There have been six back-to-back NEC Tournament winners. Robert Morris has turned the trick three times (1982-83, 1989-90 and 2009-10), along with Marist (1986-87), Rider (1993-94) and LIU Brooklyn (2011-12-13).
5. LIU Brooklyn is the only NEC school to win three straight NEC Tournament championships (2011-13).
6. Quarterfinal round play has been a rather predictable affair in recent years. The #1 and #2 seeds are 24-0 over the last 12 seasons and the #1, #2 and #3 seeds are 33-3 in the quarterfinals over that same span with the lone upsets coming in 2005 when #6 Wagner stopped #3 Robert Morris, 69-65, in 2014 when #6 Saint Francis U beat #3 Bryant, 55-54, and in 2016 as #6 LIU Brooklyn downed #3 Sacred Heart, 84-76.
7. Likewise, home teams have posted a 29-7 record in the NEC quarterfinals over the last nine years and a 38-10 mark since the switch to campus sites in 2005.
8. In 2016, Fairleigh Dickinson became the first school to win the NEC crown after failing to qualify for the tourney the previous year (when eligible).
9. Mount St. Mary’s won its second NEC regular season title. The Mountaineers were the 1995-96 NEC regular season champs, finishing with a program-best 16-2 conference mark. Mount St. Mary’s has earned the NEC’s automatic berth to the Postseason NIT.
10. Robert Morris has won a conference-best eight NEC Tournament championships.
11. Robert Morris has posted a 16-5 record in NEC Tournament play over the last eight years. The Colonials won the NEC title in 2009, 2010 and 2015, and reached six title tilts in that span.
12. Since the league scrapped a divisional format in 1984, #1 seeds are a perfect 33-0 in their opening game of the NEC Tournament.
13. A team other than the top seed has won the NEC Tournament the last four years and eight of the last 12 seasons.
14. As the top seed, Mount St. Mary’s will host games as long as it remains alive in the tournament. That’s a good thing for the Mount, who are 11-3 at home in the NEC Tournament.
15. Only three teams in NEC history have claimed the league championship after winning on the road in both the semifinals and title contest. Mount St. Mary’s has done it twice, including in 2014 when the Mount won at Wagner in the semis and Robert Morris in the finals. The Mount also turned the trick in 2008, winning at Robert Morris in the semifinals and Sacred Heart in the title contest. Monmouth did it in 2006, beating CCSU in the semis and FDU for the championship. No NEC team has ever won three straight games on the road to win the league title. Teams that have won NEC title games on the road (not including neutral sites): Mount St. Mary’s (1995, 2008 and 2014), Robert Morris (1983, 2010 and 2015), FDU (1985, 1998 and 2016) and Monmouth (2006).
16. Mount St. Mary’s became the lowest seeded team (#6) to win the NEC Tournament back in 1999. In 2008 and 2014, the Mount became the second lowest seeded team (#4) to win it all.
17. After going 18 years without an NEC Tournament win, Saint Francis U reached the NEC semifinals in 2014 and 2015. The Red Flash won on the road both times to advance.
18. Looking to pick up his first-ever NEC Tournament win will be Sacred Heart head coach Anthony Latina.
19. Since moving to the eight-team tourney format in 1998 (seven qualified in 2001 only), Robert Morris has qualified for the NEC Tournament 18 out of 20 times. Wagner has made it 17 of those years, followed by 16 for Central Connecticut and St. Francis Brooklyn. LIU Brooklyn and Mount St. Mary’ have made 15 postseason appearances, along with 13 for Fairleigh Dickinson, 11 for Saint Francis U, nine for Sacred Heart (first eligible in 2002) and four for Bryant (first eligible in 2013).
20. Robert Morris owns the most NEC tournament wins at home with 27. Prior to the 13 wins in Moon Township the last nine years, the other home victories for the Colonials all came between 1982 and 1994. LIU Brooklyn is second with 19, followed by Fairleigh Dickinson and Wagner with 13, and Mount St. Mary’s with 11.
21. Robert Morris and Mount St. Mary’s have recorded the second and third best winning percentages, respectively, in NEC Tournament history. The Colonials are 39-24 (.619) and the Mountaineers are 24-16 (.600), trailing only Rider (11-3, .786). The 39 wins for RMU are the most in league annals.
22. Mount St. Mary’s has posted a 21-11 (.656) NEC Tournament record against current conference teams, the best mark in the league by a wide margin.
23. When Wagner and Fairleigh Dickinson meet in the quarterfinals, it will be a rematch of the 2016 NEC title game that saw the Knights post an 87-79 win over the Seahawks in the Spiro Center. FDU has won three straight at Wagner and 7-of-8 postseason meetings against the Seahawks dating all the way back to 1983. FDU was selected #1 in the NEC preseason poll with Wagner picked second.
24. LIU Brooklyn and Robert Morris will renew their postseason rivalry when they play in Brooklyn on Wednesday. The two teams have squared off in no less than five NEC title games with the Colonials winning in 1982 and 1983, and LIU taking the crown in 1984, 2011 and 2012.
25. It has been some time since a #8 seed has threatened to pull off the first-ever upset of a #1 seed in NEC quarterfinal round play. In 2005, Monmouth’s Marques Alston hit a layup at the buzzer to give the Hawks a 54-53 win over #8 CCSU. In 2006, Fairleigh Dickinson’s Gordon Klaiber hit a bucket with ten seconds left on the clock as the Knights avoided the upset with a 66-65 triumph over #8 Quinnipiac.
26. Seventh-seeded Robert Morris won at #2 LIU Brooklyn and #6 Fairleigh Dickinson downed #3 Wagner in Staten Island this season.
27. At #4, this marks Saint Francis U’s highest NEC Tournament seed since earning the #4 seed back in 1998. It also marks Saint Francis U’s first non-outbracket NEC Tournament game at home since 1991. That year the Red Flash won their lone NEC crown on their home court. It was also the last time SFU reached an NEC final.
28. Bryant has reached the semifinals once in its short NEC history. The Bulldogs’ quarterfinal win over Sacred Heart in 2015 will forever be remembered for the memorable Joe O’Shea shot that sent the game to the first of two OTs. Bryant has never been to an NEC title game.
29. This marks Bryant’s first-ever NEC Tournament quarterfinal game on the road after hosting games in 2013, 2014 and 2015. The Bulldogs met quarterfinal opponent Saint Francis U back in 2014 with the Red Flash coming away with a 55-54 upset victory.
30. LIU Brooklyn is the only team in the field to win at top-seeded Mount St. Mary’s this season.
31. The four teams hosting quarterfinal games - Mount St. Mary’s (7-2), LIU Brooklyn (6-3), Wagner (6-3) and Saint Francis U (5-4) went a combined 24-12 (.667) against NEC teams at home over the course of the regular season. On the year, NEC teams were just 50-40 (.556) at home in league play.
32. To illustrate the ongoing parity in the NEC, this marks the third straight season and the fifth time in the last six years that the #8 seed has won at least eight league games.
33. St. Francis Brooklyn snapped a 12-year stretch without an NEC Tournament win in 2015, advancing all the way to the NEC championship game.
34. Saint Francis U head coach Rob Krimmel will be participating in his 12th NEC Tournament as a player, assistant or head coach for the Red Flash.
35. Quarterfinal foes Mount St. Mary’s and Sacred Heart met in the 2008 NEC final, with the Mount posting a 68-55 win in Fairfield.
36. Sacred Heart last won an NEC Tournament game back in 2009 when the Pioneers beat CCSU to reach the semis.
37. Only five #7 seeds have ousted a #2 seed in the NEC Tournament, with four of these upsets coming in a five-year stretch from 2000-04. In 2004, Central Connecticut knocked out St. Francis Brooklyn (81-68) a year after Fairleigh Dickinson defeated Monmouth (63-61) in 2003. Quinnipiac topped Wagner (87-78) in 2002 and Mount St. Mary’s booted Fairleigh Dickinson (73-68) in 2000. Marist also beat Monmouth (75-60) in 1992.
38. Only three NEC Tournaments - in 1987, 1991 and 1994 - have gone exactly according to seeding.
39. There have been three NEC championship games that have gone to overtime, including LIU Brooklyn’s 85-82 win over Robert Morris in the 2011 title tilt. Also going past regulation were Fairleigh Dickinson’s 63-59 win over Loyola (MD) in 1985 and Marist’s 57-56 triumph over FDU in 1986.
40. Conference teams have posted a 103-37 record (.736) when hosting NEC Tournament games throughout the league’s history (current NEC teams only).
41. There are 17 players on postseason rosters who possess an NEC Championship ring. Ten play for 2016 champion Fairleigh Dickinson (Darian Anderson, Darnell Edge, Mike Holloway, Stephan Jiggetts, Malik Miller, Ghassan Nehme, Tyrone O’Garro, Earl Potts Jr., Dondre Rhoden and Mike Schroback), three for 2015 champion Robert Morris (Conrad Stephens, Kavon Stewart and Aaron Tate) and three for 2014 champion Mount St. Mary’s (Charles Glover, WIll Miller and Khalid Nwandu).
42. Central Connecticut has won three NEC titles, but only when seeded first in the field (2000, 2002 and 2007).
43. LIU Brooklyn has a 16-2 record when playing as the top seed and won four of its five NEC titles when seeded first in the field.
44. Monmouth’s rally from a 20-point second half deficit to win the 2001 NEC crown marked the biggest championship game comeback in league history.
45. Fairleigh Dickinson holds the league record for consecutive NEC semifinal appearances with nine in a row from 1983-91. Robert Morris (2008-15) reached the semis eight consecutive years, and St. Francis Brooklyn (1999-03) and Rider (1993-97) on five straight occasions.
46. LIU Brooklyn’s Julian Boyd (2012), Robert Morris’ Jeremy Chappell (2009), CCSU’s Javier Mojica (2007), Wagner’s Jermaine Hall (2003), Monmouth’s Rahsaan Johnson (2001), CCSU’s Rick Mickens (2000), LIU Brooklyn’s Charles Jones (1997), Rider’s Darrick Suber (1993), Robert Morris’ Myron Walker (1992), Saint Francis U’s Mike Iuzzolino (1991), Robert Morris’ Vaughn Luton (1989) and LIU Brooklyn’s Carey Scurry (1984) all were named NEC regular season and tournament Most Valuable Player. Incidentally, three of these players (Jones, Iuzzolino and Scurry) were named to the NEC’s 10-man 25th Anniversary team in January, 2006. Walker is an NEC Hall of Famer.
47. In what will forever be known as “The Shot,” Rider’s Darrick Suber earned a place in NEC annals and ESPN Championship Week history in 1993. The Broncs and Seahawks battled tooth-and-nail for 39-plus minutes as Suber and Wagner’s Bobby Hopson waged their own individual dual. With the Broncs trailing by a point in the game’s waning seconds, Suber went coast-to-coast and hit an off-balance leaner just inside the free-throw line as time expired. The victory sent the Broncs Zoo into a frenzy and for a short time, brought the NEC into the forefront of the college basketball world.
48. The longest win streak in NEC Tournament history is nine, set by LIU Brooklyn from 2011-13. Robert Morris (1982-84 and 2009-11) and Rider (1993-95) each won eight straight.
49. Six NEC title games have been decided by exactly one point, the latest being Monmouth’s 49-48 win over Fairleigh Dickinson in 2006. A total of 16 have been decided by five points or less and 23 by ten or fewer points.
50. The 2011 NEC Tournament semifinals and championship games were decided by a combined total of seven points. The only tournament more closely contested was the 1996 event, in which six points separated the winners and losers.
51. The 2009 NEC title game between Robert Morris and Mount St. Mary’s was the lowest scoring finale in league history. The two teams combined for 94 points as the Colonials won 48-46, on a last second shot by RMU folk hero Dallas Green.
52. The 31 points scored by LIU Brooklyn’s CJ Garner in the 2013 title game and Jamal Olasewere in the 2011 NEC championship game were the most in a final since FDU’s Rahshon Turner scored 37 in the 1998 title tilt.
53. Former Robert Morris sharpshooter Coron Williams established a new NEC Tournament single-game record for three-pointers with eight against Monmouth on March 1, 2012. The Colonials drained trifectas 16 that night, also a conference record.
54. LIU Brooklyn’s Jason Brickman holds the NEC Tournament single-game mark with 13 assists set in the quarterfinals against Sacred Heart on March 1, 2012. His 29 assists in the 2012 tourney is also a league record.
55. Saint Francis U’s Ronnie Drinnon set a new NEC Tournament single-game rebounding standard when he hauled in 22 in a quarterfinal win over Fairleigh Dickinson on March 2, 2016.
56. Robert Morris has qualified for 33 of the league’s 36 postseason tournaments - the most in league history - since the inception of the conference in 1982. Fairleigh Dickinson is second with 29 appearances. The Colonials missed out on the festivities in 1991, 2001 and 2003, while the Knights failed to qualify in 2002, 2008, 2009, 2011-13 and 2015.
57. Retired CCSU head coach Howie Dickenman won 15 NEC Tournament games, second all-time to NEC Hall of Famer Tom Green, who won 26 at FDU from 1983-09.
58. LIU Brooklyn’s Jack Perri (2013), the Mount’s Jamion Christian (2014) and RMU’s Andrew Toole (2015) and FDU’s Greg Herenda (2016) are the head coaches in this year’s NEC Tournament field to have won a league championship. Toole also won two NEC titles as an assistant in 2009 and 2010 and Perri won a pair as an assistant in 2011 and 2012.
59. Mount St. Mary’s (1999) is the lone NEC school to win the conference title without having both a winning overall and conference record prior to entering the tournament.
60. Monmouth’s Alex Blackwell (1990), Rider’s Charles Smith (1994) and Robert Morris’ Karon Abraham (2010) are the only three players to win both NEC Rookie of the Year and NEC Tournament MVP in the same season.
61. St. Francis Brooklyn is the lone NEC charter member - a group that also includes Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Brooklyn, Robert Morris, Saint Francis U and Wagner - that has yet to win an NEC title. The Terriers have also played the most games in NEC Tournament history (40) without winning a championship.
62. LIU Brooklyn’s Jack Perri, Fairleigh Dickinson’s Tom Green and Marist’s Dave Magarity are the only head coaches in league history to capture the NEC Tournament in the first season with their clubs.
63. The largest margin of victory in an NEC Tournament game is 35 points. That came on March 1, 1996 when Mount St. Mary’s defeated LIU Brooklyn, 93-58.
64. Robert Morris set a new NEC Tournament record on March 6, 2004, holding St. Francis U to just 43 points in a quarterfinal victory.
65. Monmouth’s Rahsaan Johnson holds the NEC Tournament single-game scoring mark with 40 points in an 86-70 loss to St. Francis Brooklyn on March 3, 2000.
66. LIU Brooklyn’s Carey Scurry once blocked 14 (!) shots in an NEC Tournament game against Baltimore on February 28, 1983.
67. This year’s event marks the 36th NEC Tournament. The first was won by Robert Morris, which beat LIU Brooklyn, 85-84, on a Phil Coles buzzer beater.
Team-By-Team Capsules
#1 Mount St. Mary's (16-15, 14-4 NEC)
• After winning its second NEC regular season title, Mount St. Mary’s has now qualified for the NEC Tournament five straight seasons, 11 of the last 12 and 21 times in 26 years since joining the NEC. The Mount also won the regular season in 1995-96, going 16-2 on the year.
• The Mount is 7-2 in quarterfinal play since the 2007 season.
• Mount St. Mary’s is 24-16 all-time in NEC Tournament games. The Mount’s .600 tournament winning percentage is third all-time in the conference and second among current NEC institutions behind Robert Morris.
• The Mountaineers are 6-3 in the NEC Tournament under head coach Jamion Christian, including an impressive 5-2 mark on the road.
• The Mount is 1-1 in the opening round, 13-6 in the quarterfinals, 6-7 in the semifinals and 4-2 in the championship game.
• The Mount is 13-6 all-time in NEC quarterfinal games, going 7-2 at home, 3-3 on the road, and 3-1 at neutral sites.
• Since 2006-07, the Mount is 13-7 in the NEC Tournament, going 5-1 at home and 8-6 on the road. The eight road wins account for 42.1 percent of the playoff road wins by NEC teams over that span. Since 2006-07, NEC teams other than the Mount have posted a combined 11-46 (.193) record over the past nine tourneys.
• The Mount is 11-3 all-time at home in the NEC Tournament.
• The Mount won NEC titles in 1995, 1999, 2008 and 2014.
• The Mount owns the distinction of being the lowest (#6 in 1999) and second-lowest seed (#4 in 2008 and 2014) to win the NEC title.
• The Mount has a 1-1 record as the No. 1 seed in the NEC Tournament, falling to Rider, 74-70, at home in the 1996 NEC semifinals.
• In 2008, the Mount became the second team to win both the semifinals and finals on the road to capture the tournament title. Mount St. Mary’s did it again in 2014, winning at Wagner in the semis and at Robert Morris in the final.
• The Mountaineers are 2-0 all-time against SHU in the NEC Tournament with wins in the 2008 NEC final and 2009 semifinals.
#2 LIU Brooklyn (20-11, 13-5 NEC)
• LIU Brooklyn is back in the postseason for the third straight year and has now qualified in nine of the last 10 seasons.
• The Blackbirds are the only team in league history to win three straight NEC Tournament titles. The Blackbirds’ three-year run came from 2011-13.
• LIU has won five NEC championships in 1984, 1997, 2011, 2012 and 2013.
• LIU’s #2 seed is the highest for the program since winning back-to-back NEC regular season titles and securing the #1 seed in 2011 and 2012.
• The is LIU’s first-ever postseason appearance as the #2 seed in the current NEC Tournament format. The Blackbirds were the #2 seed in the North division in the inaugural 1982 tourney.
• The Blackbirds are 31-23 all-time in NEC play. LIU is 16-2 as the top seed, and 15-21 when entering as a lower seed.
• LIU Brooklyn’s nine straight playoff wins from 2011-13 is the longest streak in league history.
• LIU Brooklyn and Robert Morris own a storied NEC Tournament history. The Blackbirds own a 5-3 advantage in the series, and a 3-2 edge in NEC title games. LIU defeated RMU in the 1984, 2011 and 2012 finals, with RMU claiming the 1982 and 1983 championship games. LIU has taken four straight from RMU in the postseason.
• LIU has won six straight games entering the postseason, the longest current streak in the conference.
#3 Wagner (15-13, 11-7 NEC)
• Wagner is back in the NEC Tournament for the seventh straight year, the last five under Bashir Mason. The Seahawks have been seeded first (2017), second twice (2013 and 2014), third (2017) and seventh (2015) under Mason.
• Wagner’s seven year streak of qualifying for the postseason is currently the second longest in the league behind RMU’s 14 straight appearances.
• Wagner is 4-4 in the NEC Tournament under Mason.
• When playing in Staten Island, the Seahawks are 13-9 in NEC Tournament play, including going 9-8 in the Spiro Sports Center (opened February, 1999). On the road, Wagner is 7-19 in the postseason.
• The Seahawks are 14-13 all-time in NEC quarterfinal games.
• Wagner won its lone NEC championship in 2003 with all-time great Jermaine Hall earning Tournament MVP honors.
• The Seahawks also reached the NEC title game in 1993 (losing to Rider), 2005 (losing to FDU) and 2016 (losing to FDU).
• FDU owns a 7-1 edge in playoff games against Wagner. Wagner’s lone win came in 1994 with a 90-81 victory in the quarterfinals. The two teams met in last year’s NEC title game with the Knights winning 87-79 at the Spiro Center.
• Wagner has compiled an all-time tournament record of 20-28 in 29 trips to the NEC Tournament.
#4 Saint Francis U (14-15, 11-7 NEC)
• Saint Francis U returns to the NEC playoffs for the fourth straight season. This marks the first four-game postseason stretch from the Red Flash since qualifying ten straight years from 1999-08.
• After playing 15 consecutive NEC Tournament road or neutral games, the Red Flash will host a playoff game for the first time since a 95-76 win over St. Francis Brooklyn in a first round game in 1995. It also marks SFU’s first home game in the main tourney bracket since beating FDU for the program’s lone NEC title in 1991.
• Saint Francis U exceeded expectations and then some after being picked ninth by coaches in the NEC preseason poll.
• The Red Flash have reached the NEC semifinals in two of the last three seasons, advancing each time with road wins in the quarterfinals.
• Prior to victories in the 2014 and 2015 NEC Tournaments, SFU had not won an NEC Tournament game since 1995.
• SFU is 1-0 all-time against Bryant in NEC Tournament play. The Red Flash posted a 55-54 win as the #6 seed at the #3 seeded Bulldogs in 2014.
• Rob Krimmel is looking to become the first Saint Francis coach to advance to three NEC Tournament semifinals.
• This is Rob Krimmel’s 12th NEC Tournament as a player or coach.
• SFU has now finished .500 or better in NEC play in each of the last three years, and the Red Flash’s 11 NEC wins are the most since going 11-7 in 1995-96.
• The Red Flash are 9-22 all-time in NEC Tournament play, including a 6-2 record at home, 3-15 record on the road and 0-5 at neutral sites.
#5 Bryant (12-19, 9-9 NEC)
• Bryant returns to the NEC Tournament after missing out on the postseason a year ago.
• The Bulldogs have qualified for four of the five NEC Tournaments since becoming eligible in 2012-13.
• This will be the first time the Bulldogs play an NEC quarterfinal game on the road, after hosting first-round matchups in 2013 (#3 seed), 2014 (#3 seed) and 2015 (#4 seed).
• The Bulldogs are 1-3 in the NEC Tournament, having outlasted Sacred Heart, 91-85 in double overtime in the 2015 quarterfinals in what is affectionately known as the Joe O’Shea game.
• Bryant and Saint Francis U have met in the NEC Tournament once before, when the Bulldogs hosted the Red Flash in the 2014 quarterfinals in 2014. SFU won, 55-54. The only current Bulldog to play in that game was senior forward Dan Garvin.
#6 Fairleigh Dickinson (11-18, 9-9 NEC)
• Defending NEC champion Fairleigh Dickinson is back in the postseason for the third time in four years.
• The Knights have now qualified for 29 of the 36 NEC Tournaments. FDU has made 18 semifinal appearances and ten championship game appearances.
• FDU won NEC Tournaments in 1985, 1988, 1998, 2005 and 2016.
• This is just the third time the Knights have entered the postseason as a #6 seed (2007).
• FDU is 30-23 all-time in the NEC Tournament and has reached the finals ten times (5-5).
• The Knights are 7-1 all-time vs. Wagner in the NEC Tournament, including wins over the Seahawks in the 2005 and 2016 finals.
• FDU is 15-9 all-time in NEC quarterfinal/first round games, 10-8 in the semifinals, 5-5 in championship games and 0-1 in outbracket games.
• FDU’s five NEC Tournament championships is tied with LIU Brooklyn for third all-time behind Robert Morris’ eight titles.
• The Knights posted back-to-back .500 or better NEC seasons for the first time since 2005-07.
#7 Robert Morris (13-18, 9-9 NEC)
• The Colonials are making their 14th straight NEC Tournament appearance and 33rd overall. The 14 consecutive berths represent the longest current streak in the NEC and the 33 appearances are the most in league history.
• This is only RMU’s third NEC Tournament appearance as the #7 seed. The Colonials were seeded seventh in both 1985 and 1998, falling to FDU on both occasions.
• Robert Morris has finished .500 or better in NEC play in 13 of the last 14 years. The Colonials set a new NEC record with 12 straight seasons with at least a .500 mark from 2003-15.
• Robert Morris has built an all-time record of 39-24 (.619) in the NEC Tournament. The 39 wins are the most in conference history and the Colonials rank second all-time in NEC Tournament win percentage.
• The Colonials hold the league record with eight NEC Tournament championships (1982-83, 1989-90, 1992, 2009-10 and 2015).
• The second-longest win streak in NEC Tournament history is eight, shared by Robert Morris (1982-84 and 2009-11) and Rider (1993-95).
• Robert Morris has won back-to-back league titles three times (1982-83, 1989-90 and 2009-10).
• The Colonials have advanced to the NEC title game in six of the past eight years.
• The Colonials have reached the semifinals of the tourney eight of the last nine years and 19 times overall, the most in NEC history.
• The Colonials last won on the road in the quarterfinals when Jeremy Chappell hit a three-pointer with 12.3 seconds to play to help lift fifth-seeded RMU to a 67-66 win at Mount St. Mary’s on March 2, 2006.
• RMU is 7-9 (.467) in playoff road games.
• RMU is 3-5 all-time against LIU Brooklyn in the NEC playoffs. The Colonials defeated LIU in the first two NEC title games back in 1982 and 1983, and also beat the Blackbirds in the 1989 semis.
#8 Sacred Heart (13-18, 8-10 NEC)
• Sacred Heart returns to the NEC playoffs for a third straight year.
• The Pioneers will be making their ninth NEC Tournament appearance and are 5-8 all-time in the postseason.
• This marks the first time SHU has made three consecutive NEC Tournament appearances since qualifying four straight years from 2006-09.
• SHU hosted an NEC quarterfinal game last year and three straight seasons from 2007-09.
• The Pioneers were previously the #8 seed in 2002 and 2012.
• SHU reached the NEC title game in both 2008 (falling at CCSU) and 2009 (losing at home to Mount St. Mary’s).
• The Pioneers are 3-5 in the NEC quarterfinals.
• SHU is 1-6 all-time in the NEC Tournament against higher seeded teams with the one win coming over Quinnipiac in the 2007 semifinals.
• Sacred Heart and Mount St. Mary’s met in NEC Tournament play in back-to-back yearsback in 2008 and 2009. The Mount posted a 68-55 win in the 2008 NEC title game and came back the near year to clip the Pioneers 68-65 in the semis.
NEC TOURNAMENT TITLES AND RECORDS
SCHOOL TITLES LAST TOURNEY RECORD
Robert Morris 8 2010 39-24
Fairleigh Dickinson 5 2016 30-23
LIU Brooklyn 5 2013 31-23
Mount St. Mary’s 4 2014 24-16
Central Connecticut 3 2007 15-13
Wagner 1 2003 20-28
Saint Francis U 1 1991 9-22
Sacred Heart 0 5-8
St. Francis Brooklyn 0 12-28
Bryant 0 1-3
PAST NEC TOURNAMENT WINNERS AND MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS
2016 -- #2 Fairleigh Dickinson def. #1 Wagner, 87-79 (Earl Potts Jr., FDU)
2015 -- #2 Robert Morris def. #1 St. Francis Brooklyn, 66-63 (Rodney Pryor, RMU)
2014 -- #4 Mount St. Mary’s def. #1 Robert Morris, 88-71 (Rashad Whack, MSM)
2013 -- #3 LIU Brooklyn def. #5 Mount St. Mary’s, 91-70 (C.J. Garner, LIU)
2012 -- #1 LIU Brooklyn def. #3 Robert Morris, 90-73 (Julian Boyd, LIU)
2011 -- #1 LIU Brooklyn def. #3 Robert Morris, 85-82 (OT) (Jamal Olasewere, LIU)
2010 -- #2 Robert Morris def. #1 Quinnipiac, 52-50 (Karon Abraham, RMU)
2009 -- #1 Robert Morris def. #2 Mount St. Mary’s, 48-46 (Jeremy Chappell, RMU)
2008 -- #4 Mount St. Mary’s def. #3 Sacred Heart, 68-55 (Jean Cajou, MSM)
2007 -- #1 Central Connecticut def. #2 Sacred Heart, 74-70 (Javier Mojica, CCSU)
2006 -- #3 Monmouth def. #1 Fairleigh Dickinson, 49-48 (Marques Alston, MU)
2005 -- #2 Fairleigh Dickinson def. #6 Wagner, 58-52 (Tamien Trent, FDU)
2004 -- #1 Monmouth def. #7 Central Connecticut State, 67-55 (Blake Hamilton, MU)
2003 -- #1 Wagner def. #6 St. Francis Brooklyn, 78-61 (Jermaine Hall, WC)
2002 -- #1 Central Connecticut def. #7 Quinnipiac, 78-71 (Damian Battles, CCSU)
2001 -- #2 Monmouth def. #1 St. Francis Brooklyn, 67-64 (Rahsaan Johnson, MU)
2000 -- #1 Central Connecticut def. #3 Robert Morris, 63-46 (Rick Mickens, CCSU)
1999 -- #6 Mount St. Mary’s def. #4 Central Connecticut , 72-56 (Gregory Harris, MSM)
1998 -- #2 Fairleigh Dickinson def. #1 LIU Brooklyn, 105-91 (Rahshon Turner, FDU)
1997 -- #1 LIU Brooklyn def. #3 Monmouth, 72-67 (Charles Jones, LIU)
1996 -- #3 Monmouth def. #4 Rider, 60-59 (Corey Albano, MU)
1995 -- #2 Mount St. Mary’s def. #1 Rider, 69-62 (Silas Cheung, MSM)
1994 -- #1 Rider def. #2 Monmouth, 62-56 (Charles Smith, RID)
1993 -- #1 Rider def. #2 Wagner, 65-64 (Darrick Suber, RID)
1992 -- #1 Robert Morris def. #7 Marist, 85-81 (Myron Walker, RMU)
1991 -- #1 St. Francis U def. #2 Fairleigh Dickinson, 97-82 (Mike Iuzzolino, SFPA)
1990 -- #1 Robert Morris def. #2 Monmouth, 71-66 (Alex Blackwell, MU)
1989 -- #1 Robert Morris def. #2 Fairleigh Dickinson, 67-66 (Vaughn Luton, RMU)
1988 -- #1 Fairleigh Dickinson def. #2 Monmouth, 90-75 (Jaime Latney, FDU)
1987 -- #1 Marist def. #2 Fairleigh Dickinson, 64-55 (OT) (Drafton Davis, MAR)
1986 -- #2 Marist def. #1 Fairleigh Dickinson, 57-56 (OT) (Rik Smits, MAR)
1985 -- #2 Fairleigh Dickinson def. #4 Loyola (MD), 63-59 (Larry Hampton, FDU)
1984 -- #1 LIU Brooklyn def. #2 Robert Morris, 87-81 (Carey Scurry, LIU)
1983 -- #1S Robert Morris def. #1N LIU Brooklyn, 79-67 (Chipper Harris, RMU)
1982 -- #1S Robert Morris def. #2N LIU Brooklyn, 85-84 (Tom Parks, RMU)