2023 Northeast Conference men's basketball tournament
The 2023 Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the Northeast Conference for the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The tournament took place on three dates between March 1, and March 7, 2023, and all tournament games were played on home arenas of the higher-seeded school. The winner, Merrimack, did not receive the conference's automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament due to not being eligible because of a transition from Division II. Instead, the runner-up, Farleigh Dickinson, earned lucky loser status and was awarded the conference's automatic bid.
| 2022–23 Northeast Conference men's basketball standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Merrimack*† | 12 | – | 4 | .750 | 18 | – | 16 | .529 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fairleigh Dickinson^ | 10 | – | 6 | .625 | 21 | – | 16 | .568 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stonehill** | 10 | – | 6 | .625 | 14 | – | 17 | .452 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Saint Francis (PA) | 9 | – | 7 | .563 | 13 | – | 18 | .419 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sacred Heart | 8 | – | 8 | .500 | 16 | – | 17 | .485 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wagner | 8 | – | 8 | .500 | 15 | – | 13 | .536 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Central Connecticut | 7 | – | 9 | .438 | 10 | – | 22 | .313 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| St. Francis Brooklyn | 7 | – | 9 | .438 | 14 | – | 16 | .467 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LIU | 1 | – | 15 | .063 | 3 | – | 26 | .103 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| * ineligible for the 2023 NCAA tournament due to transition period | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ** ineligible for both the 2023 NEC tournament and the 2023 NCAA tournament due to transition period | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ^ receives automatic bid for the 2023 NCAA tournament as conference tournament runner-up, due to Merrimack's ineligibility | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2023 NEC tournament winner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 Northeast Conference men's basketball tournament | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Division I |
| Season | 2022–23 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Site | Campus sites |
| Champions | Merrimack (1st title) |
| Winning coach | Joe Gallo (1st title) |
| MVP | Ziggy Reid (Merrimack) |
| Television | NEC Front Row, ESPN3, ESPN2 |
There was no defending champion for the 2023 tournament, as Bryant moved to the America East Conference after the 2021-22 academic year.
Seeds
All eight eligible teams of the nine members of the conference will qualify. Effective for the 2022–23 academic year, NEC teams transitioning from Division II are eligible for the NEC tournament during their third and fourth years of the transition period.[1] If a reclassifying institution wins the NEC tournament championship, the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament goes to the NEC tournament runner up.[1][2] The rule change regarding reclassifying institutions results in Merrimack being eligible for the 2023 NEC tournament,[1] since it is in its fourth transition year.
Teams will be seeded by record within the conference,[3] with a tiebreaker system to seed teams with identical conference records.[4]
Stonehill College joined the Northeast Conference from the Division II Northeast-10 Conference. Stonehill is ineligible for the NCAA tournament until the 2026-27 season during its four-year reclassification period and won’t be eligible for the NEC tournament until the 2024-25 season.[5]
| Seed | School | Conf. | Tiebreaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Merrimack | 12–4 | |
| 2 | Fairleigh Dickinson | 10–6 | |
| 3 | Saint Francis (PA) | 9–7 | |
| 4 | Sacred Heart | 8–8 | 2-2 vs. CCSU/SFC |
| 5 | Wagner | 8–8 | 1-3 vs. CCSU/SFC |
| 6 | Central Connecticut | 7–9 | 2-2 vs. FDU/Stonehill |
| 7 | St. Francis Brooklyn | 7–9 | 0-4 vs. FDU/Stonehill |
| 8 | LIU | 1–15 |
Schedule
| Session | Game[6] | Time* | Matchup | Score | Television |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterfinals – Wednesday, March 1 | |||||
| 1 | 1 | 7:00 pm | No. 8 LIU at No. 1 Merrimack | 76-91 | ESPN3/NEC Front Row |
| 2 | 7:00 pm | No. 7 St. Francis Brooklyn at No. 2 Fairleigh Dickinson | 75-83 | ||
| 2 | 3 | 7:00 pm | No. 6 Central Connecticut at No. 3 Saint Francis (PA) | 69-83 | |
| 4 | 7:00 pm | No. 5 Wagner at No. 4 Sacred Heart | 55-67 | ||
| Semifinals – Saturday, March 4 | |||||
| 3 | 5 | 6:00 pm | No. 4 Sacred Heart at No. 1 Merrimack | 57-71 | ESPN3 |
| 6 | 8:00 pm | No. 3 Saint Francis (PA) at No. 2 Fairleigh Dickinson | 50-70 | ||
| Championship – Tuesday, March 7 | |||||
| 4 | 7 | 7:00 pm | No. 2 Fairleigh Dickinson at No. 1 Merrimack | 66-67 | ESPN2 |
| *Game times in ET. Rankings denote tournament seed | |||||
Bracket
Teams are reseeded after each round with highest remaining seeds receiving home court advantage.
| Quarterfinals Wednesday, March 1 ESPN3/NEC Front Row | Semifinals Saturday, March 4 ESPN3/NEC Front Row | Championship Tuesday, March 7 ESPN2 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Merrimack | 91 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | LIU | 76 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Merrimack | 71 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Sacred Heart | 57 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Saint Francis (PA) | 83 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Central Connecticut | 69 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Merrimack | 67 | ||||||||||||
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Fairleigh Dickinson | 66 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Fairleigh Dickinson | 83 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | St. Francis Brooklyn | 75 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Fairleigh Dickinson# | 70 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Saint Francis (PA) | 50 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Sacred Heart | 67 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Wagner | 55 | ||||||||||||
Due to Merrimack's ineligibility, the semifinal between Saint Francis and Fairleigh Dickinson decided the NEC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Awards and honors
Tournament MVP: Ziggy Reid
- First Team
- Ziggy Reid, Merrimack
- Javon Bennett, Merrimack
- Jordan Minor, Merrimack
- Ansley Almonor, Fairleigh Dickinson
- Demetre Roberts, Fairleigh Dickinson
References
- "2022 NEC Spring Meeting Recap". Northeast Conference. June 28, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
- "2023 Northeast Tournament". Hoops HD. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
- "2023 Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Championship". Northeast Conference. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
- "NEC Men's Basketball Tiebreaker Procedure". Northeast Conference. February 24, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
- "Stonehill Announces Transition to NCAA Division I for 2022-23 Academic Year". 2022-04-05.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - "2023 Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Championship - Northeast Conference". northeastconference.org. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
