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Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
Things You Really Need To Know...70 Of 'Em!
1. The Northeast Conference will employ a campus site playoff format for the 16th 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 2019 NEC Tournament, seven return again this season. The newcomer is Mount St. Mary’s.
3. The longest current qualification streak belongs to Robert Morris at 17 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 (2011-12-13).
5. LIU is the only NEC school to win three straight NEC Tournament championships (2011 to 13).
6. After 12 straight years of the #2 seed advancing to the NEC semifinals, Robert Morris pulled off the quarterfinal upset as the #7 seed in 2017 and 2018. The Colonials edged LIU, 69-68, in 2017 and Mount St. Mary’s, 60-56, in 2018. Likewise, the #3 seed has gone down in three of the last four years with #6 LIU downing #3 Sacred Heart in both 2016 (84-76) and 2019 (71-62), and #6 Fairleigh Dickinson ousting #3 Saint Francis U, 84-75, in 2018.
7. Home teams have posted a 34-10 record in the NEC quarterfinals over the last 11 years and a 43-13 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. Robert Morris enters the postseason as the top seed after beating Saint Francis U in a winner-take-all encounter on Saturday. The Colonials are 20-3 with six NEC title wins in nine all-time appearances as the #1 seed.
10. Robert Morris has won a conference-best eight NEC Tournament championships.
11. Robert Morris has posted a 19-8 record in NEC Tournament play over the last decade. The Colonials won the NEC title in 2010 and 2015, and have reached six title tilts in that span.
12. Since the league scrapped a divisional format in 1984, #1 seeds are a perfect 36-0 in their opening game of the NEC Tournament.
13. A team other than the top seed has won the NEC Tournament in six of the last seven years and ten of the last 15 seasons.
14. Only four schools have won the NEC title over the last 12 years. LIU has won four times, Mount St. Mary’s and Robert Morris three times apiece, and Fairleigh Dickinson has hoisted the trophy twice.
15. The #1 seed has fallen on its home court in the NEC title game in five of the last six years. Mount St. Mary’s was the lone top seed to avoid the upset with its 2017 win over SFU in Emmitsburg.
16. 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, 2016 and 2019), LIU (2018) and Monmouth (2006).
17. 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. LIU did the same as a #4 seed in 2018.
18. After going 18 years without an NEC Tournament win, Saint Francis U reached the NEC semifinals in 2014 and 2015, and the NEC title game in 2017 and 2019.
19. Head coaches looking to pick up their first-ever NEC Tournament wins will be Bryant’s Jared Grasso, the Mount’s Dan Engelstad and Sacred Heart’s Anthony Latina.
20. Since moving to the eight-team tourney format in 1998 (seven qualified in 2001 only), Robert Morris has qualified for the NEC Tournament 21 out of 23 times. St. Francis Brooklyn and Wagner have made it 19 of those years, followed by 18 for CCSU and LIU, and 17 for Mount St. Mary’s, 16 for Fairleigh Dickinson, 14 for Saint Francis U, 11 for Sacred Heart (first eligible in 2002) and six for Bryant (first eligible in 2013).
21. Robert Morris owns the most NEC Tournament wins at home with 28. Prior to the 14 wins in Moon Township the last 12 years, the other home victories for the Colonials all came between 1982 and 1994. LIU is second with 22, followed by Wagner with 16.
22. Mount St. Mary’s and Robert Morris have recorded the second and third best winning percentages, respectively, in NEC Tournament history. The Mountaineers are 27-17 (.614) and the Colonials are 42-27 (.609), trailing only Rider (11-3, .786). The 42 wins for RMU are the most in league annals.
23. Mount St. Mary’s has posted a 24-12 (.667) NEC Tournament record against current conference teams, the best mark in the league by a wide margin.
24. First round opponents Robert Morris and St. Francis Brooklyn, and Saint Francis U and Bryant, will meet in the NEC quarterfinals for the second straight season. RMU and SFU both held serve at home last season.
25. Of the four quarterfinal matchups, LIU was the only one to pull off a two-game season sweep of its opponent with a pair of wins over Fairleigh Dickinson. Sacred Heart beat Mount St. Mary’s in their lone meeting this season.
26. 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.
27. Despite the legacy of first round success #1 seeds have enjoyed in the NEC Tournament, #8 seed St. Francis Brooklyn has more than a puncher’s chance against top-seeded Robert Morris in the quarterfinals. The Terriers posted a 78-57 win over the Colonials in Brooklyn Heights on January 23.
28. Saint Francis U will host a game for the fourth straight year. Prior to that, the Red Flash’s last NEC Tournament home game came back in 1995.
29. Fairleigh Dickinson has won its last four NEC titles and five of its six championships as the #2 seed. The Knights are 21-6 all-time as a #2 seed.
30. If the seeds hold up, we could be looking at an all-Western Pennsylvania final for the first time between NEC charter members Robert Morris and Saint Francis U. RMU holds a 5-0 edge in the all-time postseason series with the teams last meeting in the 2014 semis. SFU had won the last nine regular season meetings between the two programs until the Colonials upended the Flash on Saturday.
31. Saint Francis U went unbeaten at home against the NEC Tournament field this season.
32. Sacred Heart went 0-4 against RMU and SFU, and 9-0 against the rest of the tourney qualifiers in 2019-20.
33. If Fairleigh Dickinson advances to the semis, a potential matchup looms with Robert Morris. The Knights swept the Colonials this season.
34. St. Francis Brooklyn snapped a 12-year stretch without an NEC Tournament win in 2015, advancing all the way to the NEC championship game.
35. Saint Francis U head coach Rob Krimmel will be participating in his 15th NEC Tournament as a player, assistant or head coach for the Red Flash.
36. Sacred Heart has suffered the longest current drought among NEC members, last winning an NEC Tournament game back in 2009 when the Pioneers beat CCSU to reach the semis. The Pioneers have been the #3 seed in 2016, 2019 and 2020.
37. The #1 seed has reached the NEC title game six straight times and in ten of the last 11 years, but have won the crown only four times in that stretch.
38. Mount St. Mary’s has won all three of its NEC Tournament matchups with Sacred Heart. The Mount beat SHU, 68-55, in the 2008 title tilt.
39. Fairleigh Dickinson and LIU are familiar NEC Tournament opponents. The Knights possess a 5-4 edge in the all-time series, with the biggest win being a 105-91 win over the Sharks in the 1998 final. The teams also met in a classic semifinal game in 2018 with LIU posting a 78-77 win.
40. Only seven #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. Robert Morris ousted LIU (69-68) in 2017 and Mount St. Mary’s (60-56) in 2018, and Marist beat Monmouth (75-60) in 1992.
41. Only three NEC Tournaments - in 1987, 1991 and 1994 - have gone exactly according to seeding.
42. There have been three NEC championship games that have gone to overtime, the most recent being LIU’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.
43. Conference teams have posted a 118-48 record (.711) when hosting NEC Tournament games throughout the league’s history (current NEC teams only).
44. There are 14 players on postseason rosters who possess an NEC Championship ring. Eight play for 2019 champion FDU (Kaleb Bishop, Marc Dadika, Jahlil Jenkins, Xzavier Malone Key, Oscar Okeke, Brandon Powell, Bassel Saliba Jr. and Elyjah Williams) and six play for 2018 winner LIU (Jashaun Agosto, Julian Batts, Ashtyn Bradley, Ganlandou Cisse, Raiquan Clark and Eral Penn).
45. Central Connecticut has won three NEC titles, but only when seeded first in the field (2000, 2002 and 2007).
46. LIU has a 16-2 record when playing as the top seed and won four of its six NEC titles when seeded first.
47. 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.
48. 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.
49. LIU’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’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’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. Iuzzolino, Walker and Hall are NEC Hall of Famers.
50. 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.
51. The longest win streak in NEC Tournament history is nine, set by LIU from 2011-13. Robert Morris (1982-84 and 2009-11) and Rider (1993-95) each won eight straight.
52. 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 26 by ten or fewer points.
53. 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.
54. 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.
55. The 32 points scored by LIU’s Joel Hernandez in the 2018 title game were the most in a final since FDU’s Rahshon Turner scored 37 in the 1998 title tilt.
56. 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 16 trifectas that night, also a conference record.
57. LIU’s Jason Brickman holds the NEC Tournament single-game mark with 13 assists in the quarterfinals against Sacred Heart on March 1, 2012. His 29 assists in the 2012 tourney is also a league record.
58. Saint Francis U’s Ronnie Drinnon set a new NEC Tournament single-game rebounding standard when he hauled in 22 in a quarterfinal setback to Fairleigh Dickinson on March 2, 2016. It was matched on March 3, 2018 by FDU’s Kaleb Bishop in a semifinal loss to LIU.
59. Robert Morris has qualified for 36 of the league’s 39 postseason tournaments - the most in league history - since the inception of the conference in 1982. Fairleigh Dickinson is second with 32 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.
60. NEC Hall of Fame coaches Tom Green (FDU) and Howie Dickenman (CCSU) rank one-two in most NEC Tournament wins. Green won 26 from 1983-09 and Dickenman won 15 from 1997-2016.
61. RMU’s Andrew Toole (2015), FDU’s Greg Herenda (2016 and 2019) and LIU’s Derek Kellogg (2018) 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. Dan Engelstad hoisted the trophy as an assistant at the Mount in 2008.
62. 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.
63. 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.
64. St. Francis Brooklyn is the lone NEC charter member - a group that also includes Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU, 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 (42) without winning a championship.
65. LIU’s Derek Kellogg and 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.
66. The largest margin of victory in an NEC Tournament game is 38 points. That came on March 6, 2019 when Fairleigh Dickinson defeated Wagner, 84-46.
67. Robert Morris set a new NEC Tournament record on March 6, 2004, holding St. Francis U to just 43 points in a quarterfinal victory.
68. 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.
69. LIU’s Carey Scurry once blocked 14 (!) shots in an NEC Tournament game against Baltimore on February 28, 1983.
70. This year’s event marks the 39th NEC Tournament. The first was won by Robert Morris, which beat LIU, 85-84, on a Phil Coles buzzer beater.
Team-By-Team Capsules
#1 Robert Morris (17-14, 13-5 NEC)
• The Colonials are making their 17th straight NEC Tournament appearance and 36th in the 39 years of the tourney. The 17 consecutive berths represent the NEC’s longest current streak and the 36 appearances are the most in league history.
• Robert Morris is 20-3 with six NEC title wins in nine all-time appearances as the #1 seed.
• Robert Morris has finished .500 or better in NEC play in 16 of the last 17 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 42-27 (.609) in the NEC Tournament. The 42 wins are the most in conference history and the Colonials rank third all-time in NEC Tournament win percentage behind Rider and Mount St. Mary’s.
• The Colonials hold the league record with eight NEC Tournament championships (1982-83, 1989-90, 1992, 2009-10 and 2015).
• RMU has hosted the NEC Tournament championship game six times (1983, 1989, 1990, 1992, 2009, 2014), with the Colonials 5-1 (.833) in those games.
• 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 final six times over the last 11 years.
• The Colonials have reached the semifinals of the tourney 11 of the last 12 years and 22 times overall, the most in NEC history.
• RMU is 5-2 all-time against SFBK in the NEC playoffs, highlighted by a 66-63 win in Brooklyn Heights in the 2015 title game. The two teams met in the 2019 quarters with the Colonials winning at home, 69-65.
• RMU has posted a 28-8 (.778) home record in the NEC playoffs. The 28 home wins are a league record. The Colonials are 9-12 (.429) in road games and 5-7 (.417) in neutral site contests.
#2 Saint Francis U (20-9, 13-5 NEC)
• Saint Francis U returns to the NEC playoffs for the seventh straight season. This marks the first seven-year postseason stretch for the Red Flash since qualifying ten straight years from 1989-98.
• The #2 seed comes a year after the Red Flash secured the top seed. It’s the first time SFU has been seeded second.
• After playing 15 consecutive NEC Tournament road or neutral games, the Red Flash will host a playoff game for the fourth straight year.
• The Red Flash have reached the NEC semifinals in four of the last six seasons.
• SFU’s championship game appearances in 2017 and 2019 were the first for the program since winning its lone NEC title in 1991.
• Prior to a victory in the 2014 quarterfinals, SFU had not won an NEC Tournament game since 1995.
• SFU and Bryant meet for the second straight year in the quarters. The Red Flash are 3-0 all-time against the Bulldogs in NEC Tournament play with the other wins coming in 2014 and 2017.
• Rob Krimmel is 4-2 in quarterfinal appearances and 6-6 overall in NEC Tournament play as SFU’s head coach.
• SFU is 9-4 at home in the NEC playoffs.
• This is Rob Krimmel’s 15th NEC Tournament as a player or coach.
• SFU has now finished .500 or better in NEC play in each of the last six years, and the Red Flash’s 13 NEC wins were the most since winning 13 in its 1990-91 championship season.
• The Red Flash are 13-25 all-time in NEC Tournament play, including a 9-4 record at home, 4-16 record on the road and 0-5 at neutral sites.
• SFU enters the tournament having won eight of its last nine games.
#3 Sacred Heart (19-12, 12-6 NEC)
• Sacred Heart has qualified for the NEC Tournament in five of the last six seasons.
• The Pioneers are the #3 seed for the second straight year and third time in five years. SHU has dropped its previous two playoff games as the #3 seed to LIU in 2016 and 2019.
• The Pioneers will be making their 11th NEC Tournament appearance and are 5-10 all-time in the postseason.
• SHU is looking to win its first postseason game since 2009.
• SHU hosted NEC quarterfinal games in 2016 and 2019, and three straight seasons from 2007-09.
• The Pioneers were previously the #3 seed in 2008, 2009, 2016 and 2019, posting a 3-4 record in those years.
• SHU reached the NEC title game as the #2 seed in 2008 (falling at CCSU) and #3 seed in 2009 (losing at home to Mount St. Mary’s).
• The Pioneers are 3-7 in the NEC quarterfinals.
• SHU has compiled a 4-3 home record in NEC tourney play.
• SHU is 1-6 all-time in the NEC Tournament against higher seeded teams with the one win coming over Wagner in the 2008 semifinals.
• Sacred Heart has fallen to Mount St. Mary’s in each of their three NEC Tournament matchups.
#4 LIU (14-17, 9-9 NEC)
• Preseason NEC favorite LIU is back in the postseason for the sixth straight year and has now qualified in 12 of the last 13 seasons.
• LIU is the only team in league history to win three straight NEC Tournament titles. The Sharks’ three-year run came from 2011-13.
• LIU has won six NEC championships in 1984, 1997, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2018.
• In 2018, LIU became the fourth team in NEC history to win the tournament championship as a #4 or lower seed.
• LIU has posted a 6-5 record in five appearances as the #4 seed with wins in 1998, 2005 and 2010, and a three-game run to the title in 2018.
• LIU is 4-5 all-time against FDU in the postseason, including a 78-77 win in the 2018 semis in an instant classic in Brooklyn.
• The Sharks are 35-25 all-time in NEC play. LIU is 16-2 as the #1 seed, and 19-23 when entering as a lower seed.
• LIU is 15-13 in NEC quarterfinal games.
• LIU’s nine straight playoff wins from 2011-13 is the longest streak in league history.
• The Sharks are 22-5 (.815) all-time at home in the NEC Tournament. The 22 wins are the second-most in league history.
#5 Fairleigh Dickinson (11-18, 9-9 NEC)
• Defending NEC champion Fairleigh Dickinson is back in the postseason for the sixth time in seven years under Greg Herenda.
• The Knights have now qualified for 32 of the 39 NEC Tournaments. FDU has made 20 semifinal appearances and 11 championship game appearances.
• FDU won NEC Tournaments in 1985, 1988, 1998, 2005, 2016 and 2019.
• FDU is 34-25 all-time in the NEC Tournament and has reached the finals 11 times (6-5).
• FDU is 3-5 all-time in the NEC postseason as the #5 seed.
• The Knights are 5-4 all-time vs. LIU in the NEC Tournament, including a 105-91 win over the Sharks in the 1998 title tilt.
• FDU is 17-10 all-time in NEC quarterfinal/first round games, 11-9 in the semifinals, 6-5 in championship games and 0-1 in outbracket games.
• FDU’s six NEC Tournament championships is tied with LIU for second all-time behind RMU’s eight titles.
• The Knights have posted five straight .500 or better NEC seasons for the first time since a five-year run from 2002-07.
• FDU is 7-3 in the NEC Tournament with Herenda as head coach.
• FDU enters the postseason on a three-game win streak and has won five of its last seven contests.
• FDU has won its last four NEC titles and five of its six championships as the #2 seed. The Knights are 21-6 all-time as a #2 seed and 13-19 when seeded other than second. FDU is 3-5 as the #5 seed.
• The Knights are 15-5 at home in the NEC Tournament and 4-0 under Herenda.
• FDU qualified for a league record 18 straight NEC Tournaments from 1984-01. The Knights also hold the NEC mark with nine consecutive semifinal appearances from 1983-91.
#6 Mount St. Mary's (11-20, 7-11 NEC)
• Mount St. Mary’s is back in the NEC Tournament after missing the playoffs last season. The Mount has qualified for the NEC Tournament in six of the last seven years, 13 of the past 15 and 23 times in 29 years since joining the NEC.
• The Mount is 8-3 in quarterfinal play since the 2007 season.
• Mount St. Mary’s is 27-17 all-time in NEC Tournament games. The Mount’s .614 tournament winning percentage is second all-time in the conference and first among current NEC institutions.
• The Mount is 3-0 all-time in the NEC Tournament as the No. 6 seed, winning the title in 1999 with victories over RMU, St. Francis Brooklyn and CCSU.
• Mount St. Mary’s is 3-0 in the NEC Tournament against Sacred Heart, including a 68-55 victory at Sacred Heart in the 2008 NEC title game.
• The Mountaineers have won three of their past four quarterfinal matchups on the road (2016 at SFBK, 2013 at Bryant, 2007 at RMU).
• The Mount is 1-1 in the opening round, 14-7 in the quarterfinals, 7-7 in the semifinals and 5-2 in the championship game.
• The Mount is 14-7 all-time in NEC quarterfinal games, going 8-3 at home, 3-3 on the road and 3-1 at neutral sites.
• Since 2006-07, the Mount is 16-8 in the NEC Tournament, posting an 8-2 mark at home and 8-6 record on the road.
• The Mount is 13-4 at home and 9-10 on the road in the NEC Tournament.
• The Mount won NEC titles in 1995, 1999, 2008, 2014 and 2017.
• Head coach Dan Engelstad was an assistant at the Mount from 2007-10. The Mount went 6-2 in the playoffs in those three seasons and won it all in 2008.
• 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.
• 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.
#7 Bryant (15-16, 7-11 NEC)
• Bryant is competing in back-to-back NEC Tournaments for the first time since 2015.
• The Bulldogs have qualified for six of the eight NEC Tournaments since becoming eligible in 2012-13.
• The Bulldogs are 1-5 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 “Shot Heard Round Smithfield” game.
• The Bulldogs have faced four NEC members in tournament play in their history, playing Saint Francis U three times and Mount St. Mary’s, Robert Morris and Sacred Heart once each.
• This marks the fifth time Bryant will play an NEC Tournament game in Pennsylvania. All five of the Bulldogs’ road matchups in the conference tourney have been in the Keystone State.
• Bryant hosted NEC first round matchups in 2013 (#3 seed), 2014 (#3 seed) and 2015 (#4 seed).
• Jared Grasso is looking to take a No. 7 seed to the conference championship game for the fourth time in NEC history and has experience in doing so. As a senior at Quinnipiac in 2002, Grasso helped QU to an upset of No. 2 Wagner in Staten Island before knocking off third-seeded UMBC, setting up a Nutmeg State showdown with Central Connecticut in the conference title game.
• Saint Francis U is Bryant’s most common opponent in NEC tournament play, as the teams will meet in the quarterfinals for the fourth times in the last seven years. Bryant’s last three trips to the NEC tournament have opened in Loretto, including last season’s 67-63 loss to the top-seeded Red Flash. Bryant is 0-3 against SFU in tournament play.
• Bryant’s lone appearance in an NEC semifinal was in Moon Township in 2015, when the Colonials defeated the Bulldogs 66-53.
#8 St. Francis Brooklyn (13-17, 7-11 NEC)
• St. Francis Brooklyn has qualified for the NEC Tournament in nine of the ten years with Glenn Braica as head coach. The Terriers only missed out on the proceedings in 2017.
• SFBK is 0-5 in the NEC Tournament as the #8 seed. The Terriers were last the eighth seed in 2013 when they fell 75-57 at Robert Morris.
• SFBK has competed in the league championship game in 2001 (losing to Monmouth, 67-64), 2003 (falling to Wagner, 78-61) and 2015 (losing to Robert Morris, 66-63).
• The Terriers had lost eight consecutive NEC quarterfinal contests and nine straight overall in the postseason prior to winning twice to advance to the 2015 NEC title game. The victories broke a 12-year winless drought in March.
• The Terriers reached the NEC semifinals five straight seasons from 1999-03 and nine times in program history.
• SFBK twice earned the top seed in the NEC Tournament in 2001 and 2015.
• From 1991-2005, SFBK qualified for 15 straight NEC Tournaments.
• The Terriers have posted a 2-5 record against Robert Morris in the playoffs with their last win coming in the 1997 first round. The two teams met last season in the 4/5 game in Moon Township.
• St. Francis Brooklyn is 12-30 all-time in the NEC Tournament.
• SFBK is the lone NEC charter member that has yet to win a tournament title. The Terriers have played the most games in NEC Tournament history (42) without winning a championship. SFBK is also one of four schools that have never made the NCAA Tournament since the modern reclassification of the Division in 1948.
NEC TOURNAMENT TITLES AND RECORDS
SCHOOL TITLES LAST TOURNEY RECORD
Robert Morris 8 2015 42-27
LIU 6 2018 35-25
Fairleigh Dickinson 6 2019 34-25
Mount St. Mary’s 5 2017 27-17
Central Connecticut 3 2007 15-14
Wagner 1 2003 23-31
Saint Francis U 1 1991 13-25
Sacred Heart 0 5-10
St. Francis Brooklyn 0 12-30
Bryant 0 1-5
PAST NEC TOURNAMENT WINNERS AND MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS
2019 -- #2 Fairleigh Dickinson def. #1 Saint Francis U, 85-76 (Darnell Edge, FDU)
2018 -- #4 LIU def. #1 Wagner, 71-61 (Joel Hernandez, LIU)
2017 -- #1 Mount St. Mary's def. #4 Saint Francis U, 71-61 (Elijah Long, MSM)
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 def. #5 Mount St. Mary’s, 91-70 (C.J. Garner, LIU)
2012 -- #1 LIU def. #3 Robert Morris, 90-73 (Julian Boyd, LIU)
2011 -- #1 LIU 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, 105-91 (Rahshon Turner, FDU)
1997 -- #1 LIU 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 def. #2 Robert Morris, 87-81 (Carey Scurry, LIU)
1983 -- #1S Robert Morris def. #1N LIU, 79-67 (Chipper Harris, RMU)
1982 -- #1S Robert Morris def. #2N LIU, 85-84 (Tom Parks, RMU)