NEC Review

--Lee Kunkel
--@Kunkel5

--

This past week, the NEC got a major curve ball thrown into the schedule. A huge storm hit the east coast this past Wednesday, and many games across the schedule were effected by the snow. Only Robert Morris and St Francis PA got their game in Thursday night, and every other game was pushed back.

Because of this, Robert Morris and St Francis PA only have four games left, while the rest of the league still has five games to go.

Here are the standings after this past weekends games:

The Colonials maintain a good lead on the rest of the league.
(via ESPN)

Let's start with the team that gets the coverage on CTC...

On Thursday, RMU got the win over St Francis PA as you all know. The Colonials picked up a half a game on everyone because of the snow, and also benefit because they will get a normal schedule moving forward. Every other team will have to play three games in the last week of the season, accept for RMU and St Francis.

(CCSU and SFNY will play three games this week, and not the last week as this game was rescheduled for Tuesday, 2/18)

The Colonials have a 2.5 game lead on
second place Bryant.

Because RMU still only has eight bodies on the roster, it's certainly to their advantage that they won't have to play three games the week of 2/24-3/1 like Bryant, Wagner and others will have to do. The Colonials need to keep those legs fresh for the tournament.

RMU also took care of business Saturday despite an off game from Karvel Anderson (way to COOK Chuck). That win put the Colonials at 11-1, 16-11 overall.

At 11-1, the Colonials are in cruise control for the rest of the regular season. They would likely have to lose all four games to not win the league and get the number one seed.

With two wins this upcoming week (home vs LIU, home vs SFBK), they will have the league wrapped up. Two wins at home would mean they would finish 13-3 at the least, and only Bryant could match that, but RMU holds the tiebreaker over the Bulldogs.

While the Colonials look to have the one seed in their back pocket, the rest of the league is going to have a CRAZY ending.

Battle for the Two:

Bryant lost their only game this weekend to Wagner. The win, on CBS Sports Network, was HUGE for Wagner. The Seahawks still have the leagues best defense, and they're starting to play like the team selected as the pre-season number one. They've won four of five, and the lone loss was a one point defeat on the road at St Francis Brooklyn.

Wagner now trails Bryant by just one game, and has a much easier schedule. They could easily catch the Bulldogs and take the number two seed. Bryant still plays games at SF Brooklyn, at Mount and at LIU. Wagner plays four of five at home, and the lone road game is at FDU, who is falling apart.

Heck, if RMU goes into a tailspin, the Seahwaks could still get the number one seed if they run the table, but RMU still holds a 3.5 game lead so we won't get into that unless RMU loses a few games. 

Middle of the Pack:

I'm fairly confident we know who the top three seeds are at this point, but the battle for four (and a first round home game in the NEC tournament) five, and six is going to come down to the last weekend. Maybe one of the more surprising teams this year? The Red Flash of St Francis. If they finish strong, they could find themselves in the top-four!

The Red Flash picked up a huge bounce-back win over FDU Saturday. They're 6-6, a half game behind Mount and St Francis Brooklyn and still play both, along with LIU and Wagner. That's not an easy schedule, but the fact they could still play their way into the top four is incredible.

With that said, the four/five will likely come down to Mount and SFBK. Both lost their only game this weekend, and have a tough five games to play. The Terriers have the easier schedule, but Mount has the head-to-head win. SFBK will make up their snowed out game Tuesday night home vs suddenly hot Central Connecticut.

The bad news for St Francis? They lost a game they probably should have won over LIU in the Battle of Brooklyn at the Barclays Center on Sunday. The good news, they got Wayne Martin and Brent Jones back from suspension. Out of the four guys suspended, these were the two they needed back to contend.

Battle at the Bottom:

Winning the Battle of Brooklyn could
save LIU's season. (p/c Bob Dea)

LIU Brooklyn got the win of the week Sunday when they took down rival St Francis and picked up a HUGE win towards their NEC tournament hopes. A week ago, they looked dead in the water. Now they have got sharp shooting guard Gerrell Martin back, who played Saturday after missing a few games, and have a full 10 scholarship players available for the first time in weeks. A game back of CCSU and FDU, the Blackbirds are right back into the thick of things with five games to go.

The team they may end up catching? The FDU Knights. After a 4-2 start, the Knights have lost five straight games, and don't have an easy stretch remaining. They lost a home game to the Red Flash on Saturday, one they really could have used. They still likely get in with another two wins, it might only take one, but that's no guarantee the way they have been playing. The February 22nd game against Sacred Heart is a MUST win. FDU does hold the tie breaker over LIU with their head-to-head win in their lone meeting, something that could be huge in a few weeks.

Central Connecticut, despite being tied with FDU and only one game up on LIU for the last spot, is in the best shape. Central has won both games since the return of Kyle Vinales and looks like they could be a sneaky team come NEC tournament time. After all, they won at Wagner and at Robert Morris without Vinales. They have a tough schedule their final five games (four of five on the road) starting with Tuesday's makeup game against SFBK, so nothing is a guarantee, but the Blue Devils should get into the NEC tournament.

Sacred Heart at 1-10 is pretty much done for.

Big week ahead:

With only two weeks left in the regular season, every game is a "big one" but here are just a few of the story lines this week.

First, as mentioned, Robert Morris can lock the league up with two wins in their final two home games. Saturday is senior night, and RMU might be able to lock up the league, so #PackTheChuck!!!!

CCSU and SFBK play Tuesday night in a makeup game. It's a huge game for both teams. If the Terriers want a first round home game, they need to win this. Central has won both games since the return of Vinales, but neither were convincing, slipping by the two coldest teams in the league (Sacred Heart, FDU) at home. Can they win a tough road game? If they do, the top teams in the league will want to avoid these guys in the first round.

Thursday night, the Red Flash look to take down the Terriers in Loretta. If the Flash win, they will set themselves up for a run at a top four seed. Mount at CCSU will also be a huge game with tournament implications, especially if the Blue Devils win Tuesday.

Saturday, the Colonials could go for the league, but all eyes will be on Mount and Wagner. Wagner could be playing for the two seed, but a loss, and it's the Mount who could sneak into third place when it's all said and done.

Enjoy the hoops with March right around the corner.