With 1/3rd of the NEC season complete, the standings are starting to take some shape. A notebook of thoughts as the end of January nears....
The current standings:
SFBK 5-1
Bryant 5-1
SFPA 4-2
RMU 4-2
Mount 4-2
WAG 3-3
FDU 2-4
LIU 2-4
SH 1-5
CCSU 0-6
The preseason favorite's are playing like it. How bout the Terriers of St. Francis. Talk about a great weekend. They went to Moon Twp, beat the Colonials on national TV despite trailing by 10 early in the second half, and followed that up with a buzzer beater last second win at St. Francis PA ( which you can see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kq-QserCnA&feature=youtu.be ), who was undefeated at home. Those are two huge road wins.
To make life even better, St Francis plays eight of their next ten games at home (8 of 12 at home the rest of the season), and only play outside of New York City two more times (with one of the games at CCSU, who is 0-6) the whole season. They certainly have the inside track for the number one seed.
Bryant, at 5-1, has been a nice surprise to many around the league. The Bulldogs have an opportunity to gain a statement win Tuesday night, as they go out of conference and take on Harvard at home. The Crimson are ranked 60th in the KenPom rankings. The Bulldogs actually have two non-conference games left, with a trip to Pitt on Monday February 2nd. The Bulldogs are 1-1 vs teams in the NEC with a record over .500 (win over SFPA at home, loss at SFBK) and still plays a very challenging NEC schedule. It will be interesting to see if they are for real. Tuesday will give us an indication.
One oddity since the start of NEC play? The Robert Morris offense. The Colonials lead the conference in adjusted offensive efficiency in NEC games at a staggering 109.3 rating (which is touched on over at NYC Buckets, give it a read: http://www.nycbuckets.com/2015/01/nec-weekend-review/ ). If the colonials can continue to play at a high rate, they will contend for a top three seed in the NEC tournament.
RMU is going to need that potent offense this upcoming weekend. The Colonials hit the road for a very difficult trip. Thursday they play at Mount St. Mary's, who has won four in a row, and then Saturday they are at St. Francis Brooklyn.
Some other notes:
CCSU is 0-6. They really stink. Ken Pom has them losing every game the rest of the way, not surprising. You can all but guarantee that they will not finish in the top 8, leaving nine teams to battle for eight postseason spots.
Wagner was 1-10 vs D1 teams in nonconferece, but are 3-3 vs the NEC. They are a lot better than most thought. Marcus Burton remains an All NEC level player. They still really stink on the defensive end, but remain one of the better offensive teams in the league. If they can find some type of defense (currently ranked 333rd in college basketball defensively according to KenPom), they could make a surprise run at a first round home game.
Mount went on a 20-2 run Saturday to erase a 17 point LIU lead and went on to win the game at the Barclays Center. MSM has won four in a row, ignited by a stingy defense and the return of Byron Ashe and Chris Martin, both did not play vs RMU in the NEC opener. Andrew Smeathers DNP Saturday with a foot injury. His health will be something to track.
Some big games this week including RMU at MSM, SFPA at WAG Thursday and SFPA at MSM, and RMU at SFBK Saturday.
This post was edited on 1/19 11:46 AM by ColonialCrazy
The current standings:
SFBK 5-1
Bryant 5-1
SFPA 4-2
RMU 4-2
Mount 4-2
WAG 3-3
FDU 2-4
LIU 2-4
SH 1-5
CCSU 0-6
The preseason favorite's are playing like it. How bout the Terriers of St. Francis. Talk about a great weekend. They went to Moon Twp, beat the Colonials on national TV despite trailing by 10 early in the second half, and followed that up with a buzzer beater last second win at St. Francis PA ( which you can see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kq-QserCnA&feature=youtu.be ), who was undefeated at home. Those are two huge road wins.
To make life even better, St Francis plays eight of their next ten games at home (8 of 12 at home the rest of the season), and only play outside of New York City two more times (with one of the games at CCSU, who is 0-6) the whole season. They certainly have the inside track for the number one seed.
Bryant, at 5-1, has been a nice surprise to many around the league. The Bulldogs have an opportunity to gain a statement win Tuesday night, as they go out of conference and take on Harvard at home. The Crimson are ranked 60th in the KenPom rankings. The Bulldogs actually have two non-conference games left, with a trip to Pitt on Monday February 2nd. The Bulldogs are 1-1 vs teams in the NEC with a record over .500 (win over SFPA at home, loss at SFBK) and still plays a very challenging NEC schedule. It will be interesting to see if they are for real. Tuesday will give us an indication.
One oddity since the start of NEC play? The Robert Morris offense. The Colonials lead the conference in adjusted offensive efficiency in NEC games at a staggering 109.3 rating (which is touched on over at NYC Buckets, give it a read: http://www.nycbuckets.com/2015/01/nec-weekend-review/ ). If the colonials can continue to play at a high rate, they will contend for a top three seed in the NEC tournament.
RMU is going to need that potent offense this upcoming weekend. The Colonials hit the road for a very difficult trip. Thursday they play at Mount St. Mary's, who has won four in a row, and then Saturday they are at St. Francis Brooklyn.
Some other notes:
CCSU is 0-6. They really stink. Ken Pom has them losing every game the rest of the way, not surprising. You can all but guarantee that they will not finish in the top 8, leaving nine teams to battle for eight postseason spots.
Wagner was 1-10 vs D1 teams in nonconferece, but are 3-3 vs the NEC. They are a lot better than most thought. Marcus Burton remains an All NEC level player. They still really stink on the defensive end, but remain one of the better offensive teams in the league. If they can find some type of defense (currently ranked 333rd in college basketball defensively according to KenPom), they could make a surprise run at a first round home game.
Mount went on a 20-2 run Saturday to erase a 17 point LIU lead and went on to win the game at the Barclays Center. MSM has won four in a row, ignited by a stingy defense and the return of Byron Ashe and Chris Martin, both did not play vs RMU in the NEC opener. Andrew Smeathers DNP Saturday with a foot injury. His health will be something to track.
Some big games this week including RMU at MSM, SFPA at WAG Thursday and SFPA at MSM, and RMU at SFBK Saturday.
This post was edited on 1/19 11:46 AM by ColonialCrazy
