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Somerset, NJ --  Exactly 58 days after it all started, the Northeast Conference regular season came to an exciting conclusion on Saturday, and with that, the 2023 NEC Men's Basketball Tournament field came into clear focus.

Making its first-ever NEC Tournament appearance, Merrimack will enjoy home court advantage throughout the playoffs after capturing its second NEC regular season in four years last Thursday. The top-seeded Warriors wrapped the season on an eight-game win streak to finish two games ahead of the pack with a 12-4 mark.

The 42nd annual NEC Basketball Tournament will be an all-comers playoff for the second straight year. Each game will be played at the home of the higher seeded team.

The NEC Tournament commences on Wednesday, March 1 with quarterfinal action. All games will air on NEC Front Row and one game (to be determined) will also air on ESPN3 and SNY. Winners will be reseeded and move on to the semifinals on Saturday, March 4. ESPN3, SNY and NEC Front Row will all broadcast the semis. The championship game, to be televised on ESPN2, will be contested on Tuesday, March 7 at 7:00 pm.

 
Tabbed the NEC preseason favorite last fall, Merrimack (15-16, 12-4 NEC) is unbeaten this month and heads into their initial NEC postseason as the league's hottest team. The eight straight wins is one off its school DI record nine-game streak set during its landmark inaugural NEC campaign in 2019-20. As a reclassifying institution that is ineligible for the NCAA Tournament, the NEC Tournament runner-up will represent the NEC in NCAA competition should the Warriors win the title. Merrimack will entertain first year head coach Rod Strickland and his LIU (3-25, 1-15 NEC) charges in the quarterfinal round, just four days after meeting on the final day of the regular season. The eighth seeded Sharks are headed to the NEC Tournament for the 14th time in 16 years. The Sharks became the first program to win three straight NEC Tournament titles from 2011-13 and have claimed six league crowns in school history. It should be noted that a #8 or lower seed has never beaten a #1 seed in the history of the NEC Tournament (0-38).

2022-23 meetings: MC 76, LIU 59 (2/2); MC 80, LIU 59 (2/25)
 
Headed to the NEC postseason for the seventh time in eight years, FDU (17-14, 10-6 NEC) exceeded expectations and then some under first year head coach Tobin Anderson. After being picked sixth in the preseason poll, FDU locked up the #2 seed with a win over quarterfinal opponent St. Francis Brooklyn (14-15, 7-9 NEC) on Saturday. The run-and-gun Knights are looking to add to their NEC hoops legacy with a seventh conference title, having last claimed the championship in 2019. The Terriers head right back to Hackensack for a rematch on Wednesday. The Terriers have reached the postseason in 11-of-13 years with Glenn Braica at the helm, and will be looking to secure the program's first NEC Tournament title and initial NCAA Tournament appearance. The Terriers last made a deep NEC Tournament run in 2015, advancing to the conference title game.

2022-23 meetings: FDU 76, SFBK 57 (1/5); FDU 86, SFBK 59 (2/25)

On Saturday, Sacred Heart (15-16, 8-8 NEC) had to win on the road at CCSU and then get some help to earn the #4 seed and right to host a quarterfinal game. The Pioneers struck gold on both counts. SHU scratched and clawed its way to a 69-67 win at CCSU to secure its fourth top-four seed in the last five seasons. In search of the program's first conference championship, the Pios will make their eighth NEC playoff appearance in the last nine years under Anthony Latina, a stretch that included trips to the NEC semifinals in 2020 and 2021. SHU will tangle with #5 Wagner (15-12, 8-8 NEC) on Wednesday in Fairfield. The Seahawks picked up a well-earned sweep on the final weekend of play to end the year at .500. Wagner has now qualified for the NEC tourney in 12 of the last 13 seasons, but this marks the first with Donald Copeland leading the program. The defensive-minded Seahawks, who have advanced to the semis in eight of the last 11 seasons and moved on to the NEC final in 2016, 2018 and 2022, are in search of the program's second NEC Tournament championship, having won it all back in 2003.

2022-23 meetings: WC 68, SHU 58 (1/22); SHU 65, WC 56 (2/2)

Head coach Rob Krimmel and Saint Francis U (12-17, 9-7 NEC) will host a quarterfinal round tilt for the fifth time in the last seven years after claiming the #3 seed on Saturday. Set to compete in their ninth NEC Tournament in ten seasons, the Red Flash advanced to NEC finals in 2017 and 2019. SFU hoisted the NEC trophy back in 1991 for its lone NEC crown. The Red Flash will welcome #6 CCSU (10-21, 7-9 NEC) to DeGol Arena on Wednesday. Under alum Pat Sellers, the Blue Devils hope to seize the opportunity and secure the program's first postseason win since the 2011 season. The Blue Devils won a pair of NEC championships when Sellers served as a CCSU assistant back in 2000 and 2002, and have brought three titles back to New Britain in their history.

2022-23 meetings: SFU 80, CCSU 72 (12/29); CCSU 88, SFU 74 (1/28)

About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 42nd season, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of nine institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States including New York (#1), Boston (#9), Hartford/New Haven (#33) and Providence (#53). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 24 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 15 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU, Merrimack, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U, Stonehill and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, all @NECsports.