One of the best parts about small-conference tournaments is that they often take place at campus sites: tiny gyms, packed with students who rarely get the chance to see their team play with the stakes so high. The Northeast Conference offers a league full of such gyms, all in relatively close proximity, making for one of the more higher energy low-major tournaments.
Northeast Tournament 2015: Bracket, schedule and scores
St. Francis College is eyeing its first ever trip to the NCAA Tournament and is just two wins away.
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This year, the favorite to win it all is St. Francis-Brooklyn. The Terriers have never been to the NCAA Tournament, but finished the regular season in first place with a 15-3 league record, giving them home-court advantage throughout. Lurking behind St. Francis-Brooklyn is two-time defending NEC Tournament champion Robert Morris. The Colonials and Terriers split their regular season matchups, with each team winning on the other's home floor.
It seems as if the two teams are on a collision course for the final, but don’t count out Bryant, either. The Bulldogs have also never reached the dance, but have already won at Robert Morris.
The format
Eight of the league’s 10 teams advance to the conference tournament, setting up a fairly simple quarterfinal-semifinal-final format with no byes. The Northeast Conference deviates from most leagues, however, by re-seeding after the first round. Typically, these tournaments are set up so that the 1 vs. 8 winner would face the 4 vs. 5 winner in the semifinals. But here, the four semifinalists are paired so that the highest remaining seed plays the lowest remaining, no matter who it is. Such a format makes it more likely that the best team in the league will win the tournament and earn the tournament bid.
The teams
1. St. Francis-Brooklyn
2. Robert Morris
3. Bryant
4. Mount St. Mary’s
5. St. Francis (PA)
6. Sacred Heart
7. Wagner
8. LIU Brooklyn
Bracket
You can find a bracket here, with quarterfinal results from Wednesday already filled in.
Schedule and Results (all times Eastern)
Wednesday, March 4 (Quarterfinals)
Game 1: No. 1 St. Francis-Brooklyn 79, No. 8 LIU Brooklyn 70
Game 2: No. 2 Robert Morris 91, No. 7 Wagner 68
Game 3: No. 3 Bryant 91, No. 6 Sacred Heart 85 (2 OT)
Game 4: No. 5 St. Francis (PA) 73, No. 4 Mount St. Mary’s 58
Saturday, March 7 (Semifinals)
Game 5: No. 2 Robert Morris 66, No. 3 Bryant 53
Game 6: No. 1 St. Francis-Brooklyn 62, No. 5 St. Francis (PA) 48
Tuesday, March 10 (Championship)
Game 7: No. 2 Robert Morris 66, No. 1 St. Francis-Brooklyn 63
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