The 2022 NEC Tournament is set to be the first of 32 conference tournaments to get underway. Last year’s Northeast Conference basketball tournament was a wild one, as Mount St. Mary’s toppled each of the top two seeds on their way to the title as the 4-seed. A similar narrative has developed this year. Bryant will have home-court advantage for as long as they remain in the dance as a result of edging Wagner for the 1-seed. The following contains the NEC Tournament bracket and schedule, as well as a preview of what we can expect to see.
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NEC Basketball Standings
| Team | Conf. Record | Overall Record | Seed |
| Bryant | 16-2 | 19-9 | 1 seed |
| Wagner | 15-3 | 19-5 | 2 seed |
| Long Island | 12-6 | 15-13 | 3 seed |
| Mount St. Mary’s | 9-9 | 13-15 | 4 seed |
| St. Francis (NY) | 7-11 | 10-19 | 5 seed |
| Sacred Heart | 6-12 | 10-19 | 6 seed |
| St. Francis (PA) | 5-13 | 9-20 | 7 seed |
| Fairleigh Dickinson | 5-13 | 4-21 | 8 seed |
| CCSU | 5-13 | 7-23 | 9 seed |
| Merrimack | 10-8 | 14-16 | N/A |
NEC Tournament Schedule
Dates: February 28, March 2, 5, 8
TV Schedule: NEC Front Row (First Round, Quarterfinals); ESPN3 (Semifinals); ESPN2 (Championship)
Venue: Campus Sites (higher seed hosts)
Byes: None
Defending Champion: Mount St. Mary’s
NEC Tournament Bracket
First Round
- (9) CCSU 67, (8) Fairleigh Dickinson 66
Quarterfinals
- (1) Bryant 73, (9) CCSU 59
- (2) Wagner 82, (7) St. Francis (PA) 53
- (3) Long Island 82, (6) Sacred Heart 75
- (4) Mount St. Mary’s 78, (5) St. Francis (NY) 48
Semifinals
- (1) Bryant 70, (4) Mount St. Mary’s 69
- (2) Wagner 82, (3) Long Island 62
Championship
- (1) Bryant 70, (2) Wagner 43
Bryant advances to NCAA Tournament
NEC Conference Breakdown
For the second year in a row, Bryant and Wagner occupy the top two seed lines in the NEC Tournament. However, neither the Bulldogs nor the Seahawks were able to capitalize a season ago and qualify for March Madness. This was all thanks to a Mount St. Mary’s team that caught fire at just the right time. The Mountaineers took out both Wagner and Bryant on their respective home floors to reach the NCAA Tournament. The Mount is again seeded fourth in the 2022 NEC basketball tournament.
Of the ten total teams in the Northeast Conference, only Wagner finished out the regular season with a top-200 ranking in the College Basketball Net. The Seahawks enter the NEC Tournament with a No. 132 overall net ranking. Wagner was also the only team in the conference to achieve a Quad I victory this season. However, a loss to Bryant (No. 218 in the Net) on the final day of the regular season saw Wagner slip to the 2-seed in the conference tournament. 3-seed Long Island (No. 243) was the only other team in the conference to post a top-250 Net ranking this season.
By and large, the NEC basketball preseason poll did a pretty good job of predicting the finishing order in the conference. Bryant’s eight-point home win over Wagner in the season finale saw the two teams swap spots in the final standings relative to the poll. The biggest overachiever relative to preseason expectations was St. Francis (NY). Picked to finish seventh, the Terriers wound up as the 5-seed in the NEC Tournament. Note that while Merrimack finished fourth in the conference standings, they are excluded from the conference tournament as a result of still being in the transition period as a Division I program.
Team Stats | 2022 NEC Basketball Tournament
(1) Bryant Bulldogs
Net Ranking: 218 (No. 2 in NEC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 197 (No. 2 in NEC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 105.0 (No. 145)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 107.2 (No. 254)
Strength of Schedule Rating: -7.86 (No. 341)
(2) Wagner Seahawks
Net Ranking: 132 (No. 1 in NEC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 141 (No. 1 in NEC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 103.8 (No. 183)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 101.5 (No. 132)
Strength of Schedule Rating: -9.03 (No. 356)
(3) Long Island Sharks
Net Ranking: 243 (No. 3 in NEC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 233 (No. 3 in NEC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 100.4 (No. 244)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 105.3 (No. 208)
Strength of Schedule Rating: -6.62 (No. 322)
(4) Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers
Net Ranking: 267 (No. 4 in NEC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 261 (No. 4 in NEC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 95.6 (No. 314)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 103.6 (No. 170)
Strength of Schedule Rating: -6.62 (No. 321)
(5) St. Francis (NY) Terriers
Net Ranking: 314 (No. 6 in NEC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 312 (No. 6 in NEC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 95.6 (No. 315)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 109.0 (No. 281)
Strength of Schedule Rating: -7.91 (No. 343)
(6) Sacred Heart Pioneers
Net Ranking: 325 (No. 7 in NEC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 323 (No. 8 in NEC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 102.0 (No. 210)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 116.3 (No. 351)
Strength of Schedule Rating: -8.48 (No. 352)
(7) St. Francis (PA) Red Flash
Net Ranking: 329 (No. 8 in NEC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 319 (No. 7 in NEC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 96.1 (No. 308)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 110.2 (No. 297)
Strength of Schedule Rating: -7.58 (No. 337)
(8) Fairleigh Dickinson Knights
Net Ranking: 348 (No. 10 in NEC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 346 (No. 9 in NEC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 95.4 (No. 318)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 114.8 (No. 346)
Strength of Schedule Rating: -4.07 (No. 263)
(9) CCSU Blue Devils
Net Ranking: 345 (No. 9 in NEC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 349 (No. 10 in NEC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 92.0 (No. 349)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 112.2 (No. 327)
Strength of Schedule Rating: -6.09 (No. 310)
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