3MW’s All Conference Team:
Player of the Year: Keith Braxton, Sr., Saint Francis PA
Coach of the Year: Joe Gallo, Merrimack
Newcomer of the Year: AJ Bramah, Jr., Robert Morris
Freshman of the Year: Michael Green, Bryant
Season Storylines:
Warriors’ Invasion: Stuck in the NCAA’s transition period purgatory, Merrimack could’ve quietly tip toed into the NEC pond this season - well, Head Coach Joe Gallo had other plans. Instead, the Warriors’ deceptive and disruptive zone wreaked havoc on an unsuspecting NEC, a league that’s no stranger to turnover-centric defenses. Gallo’s unsolvable defensive front turned opponents over at the highest rate in the country, spearheaded by Juvaris Hayes, college basketball’s Butch Cassidy. While the Division I spotlight only shined on Hayes for one season, he’ll be remembered as one of the stickiest thieves in NCAA basketball history.
Northeast Rising: Across the board, the NEC is on the ascent. The Pennsylvanian-based St. Francis Red Flash are torching NEC defenses at an historic rate, Andrew Toole is regaining his mojo at Robert Morris, and Anthony Latina is reinvigorating Sacred Heart into an annual NEC contender. Bryant, Mount St. Mary’s and even Central Connecticut State boast strong youth movements that could position them for a charge in 2020-21, but think twice before counting them out this year, especially in what looks to be a wide open field.
The Knights’ Bumpy Ride: After claiming the NEC’s auto bid last year, Greg Herenda’s bunch kicked off the 2020 campaign as one of the league’s frontrunners, armed with the crux of last year’s perimeter nucleus. That narrative quickly eroded, as FDU’s inability to stop a nosebleed inside negated one of the most incendiary backcourts in the conference. Jahlil Jenkins and Xzavier Malone-Key can catch fire at a moment’s notice, but if the Knights don’t fix their defensive apathy, FDU could be doomed for an early NEC Tournament exit this week.
Tournament Preview
Along with the imprisoned Merrimack Warriors, Wagner and Central Connecticut’s 8-28 combined conference record will force them to be spectators, leaving eight teams vying for the NEC’s automatic bid.
St. Francis PA is the story here – Rob Krimmel’s senior duo of Isaiah Blackmon and Keith Braxton have bowed out in the NEC Championship game twice in the last three years. The metrics tell us that the Red Flash are the best team in the NEC, but is this the year they finally get over the hump? Or, will they catch another case of the yips like they did at the charity stipe in last year’s the NEC title game…
Tournament Predictions
Rob Krimmel, this is YOUR time. I’m carving your name on the NEC Tournament trophy, so don’t let me and my credibility down.
To hedge my Red Flash bet, I’ll plug Fairleigh Dickinson as the quintessential dark horse (yes, I am a hypocrite). Nothing about FDU’s performance this year justifies this pick, but it’s entirely possible the Knights have just been coasting this season, still basking in the glow from last year’s glory. Jahlil Jenkins can puppeteer a basketball game as well as any guard in the NEC, and we’ve seen how far elite individual performances, particularly at the guard position, can carry teams in these tournament settings.
(1) Robert Morris over (8) St. Francis BK
(5) Fairleigh Dickinson over (4) LIU
(3) Sacred Heart over (6) Mount St. Mary’s
(2) Saint Francis U over (7) Bryant
(5) Fairleigh Dickinson over (1) Robert Morris
(2) Saint Francis U over (3) Sacred Heart
(2) Saint Francis U over (5) Fairleigh Dickinson