| 2019–20 Northeast Conference men's basketball season | |
|---|---|
| League | NCAA Division I |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Teams | 11 |
| TV partner(s) | NEC Front Row, ESPN2, MSG, FCS, Regional Sports Networks |
| NBA Draft | |
| Regular season | |
| First place | Merrimack |
| SeasonMVP | Isaiah Blackmon (SFPA) |
| Top scorer | Raiquan Clark (LIU) |
| NEC tournament | |
| Champions | Robert Morris |
| Runners-up | Saint Francis (PA) |
| Finals MVP | Dante Treacy (RMU) |
| Northeast Conference men's basketball seasons | |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Merrimack* | 14 | – | 4 | .778 | 20 | – | 11 | .645 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Robert Morris † | 13 | – | 5 | .722 | 20 | – | 14 | .588 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Saint Francis (PA) | 13 | – | 5 | .722 | 22 | – | 10 | .688 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sacred Heart | 12 | – | 6 | .667 | 20 | – | 13 | .606 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LIU | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 15 | – | 18 | .455 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fairleigh Dickinson | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 11 | – | 19 | .367 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mount St. Mary's | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 11 | – | 21 | .344 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bryant | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 15 | – | 17 | .469 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| St. Francis Brooklyn | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 13 | – | 18 | .419 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wagner | 5 | – | 13 | .278 | 8 | – | 21 | .276 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Central Connecticut | 3 | – | 15 | .167 | 4 | – | 27 | .129 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| †2020 NEC tournament winner * Ineligible for NEC championship (reclassification from Division II) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The2019–20 Northeast Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2019, followed by the start of the2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play started in January and ended in February 2020.
TheNEC tournament was held in March with the higher-seeded team hosting each game. The quarterfinals were played on March 4, the semifinals on March 7, and the championship game on March 10.
Merrimack College joined the Northeast Conference fromDivision IINortheast-10 Conference.[1] They are not eligible this year for the NEC tournament.
On October 3, 2018Long Island University announced that it would combine its two existing athletic programs—NEC memberLIU Brooklyn and theDivision II program atLIU Post—into a single Division I program under the LIU name. The new LIU program, nicknamedSharks,[2] maintained LIU Brooklyn's existing memberships in Division I and the NEC.[3]
| Team | Head coach | Previous position | Year at school | Overall record | NEC record | NEC tournament championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bryant | Jared Grasso | Iona (asst.) | 2 | 10–20 | 7–11 | 0 |
| Central Connecticut | Donyell Marshall | Buffalo (asst.) | 4 | 31–61 | 16–38 | 0 |
| Fairleigh Dickinson | Greg Herenda | UMass Lowell | 7 | 81–108 | 50–56 | 2 |
| LIU | Derek Kellogg | UMass | 3 | 34–33 | 19–17 | 1 |
| Merrimack | Joe Gallo | Robert Morris (asst.) | 4 | 61–34 | 0–0 | 0 |
| Mount St. Mary's | Dan Engelstad | Southern Vermont | 2 | 9–22 | 6–12 | 0 |
| Robert Morris | Andrew Toole | Robert Morris (asst.) | 10 | 168–140 | 102–58 | 1 |
| Sacred Heart | Anthony Latina | Sacred Heart (asst.) | 7 | 70–118 | 46–60 | 0 |
| St. Francis Brooklyn | Glenn Braica | St. John's (asst.) | 10 | 132–152 | 86–74 | 0 |
| Saint Francis (PA) | Rob Krimmel | Saint Francis (asst.) | 8 | 97–123 | 65–59 | 0 |
| Wagner | Bashir Mason | Wagner (asst.) | 8 | 123–96 | 78–46 | 0 |
Notes:
Source[4]
| Rank | Team |
|---|---|
| 1. | LIU(5) |
| 2. | Sacred Heart(3) |
| 3. | Saint Francis (PA)(1) |
| 4. | Fairleigh Dickinson(2) |
| 5. | Robert Morris |
| 6. | Bryant |
| 7. | Mount St. Mary's |
| 8. | St. Francis Brooklyn |
| 9. | Wagner |
| 10. | Central Connecticut |
| 11. | Merrimack |
() first place votes
Source[5]
| Recipient | School |
|---|---|
| Keith Braxton,(Senior, Guard) | Saint Francis (PA) |
| Raiquan Clark,(R-Senior,Swingman) | LIU |
| E.J. Anosike,(Junior,Swingman) | Sacred Heart |
| Adam Grant,(Senior, Guard) | Bryant |
| Jahlil Jenkins,(Junior, Guard) | Fairleigh Dickinson |
Throughout the regular season, the Northeast Conference offices named player(s) of the week and rookie(s) of the week.
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Conference newcomer Merrimack produced the biggest upset of the season for an NEC team when they defeated theNorthwestern Wildcats, 71–61.[23] For Merrimack, it was just their secondDivision I game since moving up from Division II this past season. It was the lone victory for an NEC team against aPower Five conference team; NEC teams produced a 1–15 overall record against that group of schools.
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This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.
| Bryant | Central Conn. | Fairleigh Dickinson | LIU | Merrimack | Mount St. Mary's | Robert Morris | Sacred Heart | St. Francis Brooklyn | Saint Francis (PA) | Wagner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs. Bryant | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| vs. Central Conn. | 1–1 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| vs. Fairleigh Dickinson | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 |
| vs. LIU | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. Merrimack | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| vs. Mount St. Mary's | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Robert Morris | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | – | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| vs. Sacred Heart | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | – | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 |
| vs. St. Francis Brooklyn | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. Saint Francis (PA) | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 0–2 |
| vs. Wagner | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | – |
| Total | 7–11 | 3–15 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 14–4 | 7–11 | 13–5 | 12–6 | 7–11 | 13–5 | 5–13 |
At the conclusion of the regular season, the conference selects outstanding performers based on a poll of league coaches,[24] below are the results.
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TheNEC tournament features the top eight eligible teams from the field of eleven participate. The teams are seeded according to their conference records, and when there are similar records between teams, tie-breakers are applied. After the first round, teams are reseeded after each round, with highest remaining seeds receiving home court advantage.
Regular-season champion Merrimack was ineligible under NEC rules as a transitional D-I school. #1 Seed Robert Morris won the NEC tournament for a NEC record 9th time.[25]
| Quarterfinals Wednesday, March 4, 2020 NEC Front Row | Semifinals Saturday, March 7, 2020 ESPN3 | Championship Tuesday, March 10, 2020 ESPN2 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Robert Morris | 59 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | St. Francis (NY) | 58 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Robert Morris | 86 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | LIU | 66 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | LIU | 73 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Fairleigh Dickinson | 72 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Robert Morris | 77 | ||||||||||||
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | St. Francis (PA) | 67 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Sacred Heart | 61 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Mount St. Mary's | 59 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Sacred Heart | 72 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | St. Francis (PA) | 84 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | St. Francis (PA) | 87 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Bryant | 61 | ||||||||||||
| Seed | Region | School | First Four | 1st round | 2nd round | Sweet 16 | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Morris |