2014–15 Northeast Conference men's basketball season
Sports season
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The 2014–15 NEC men's basketball season began with practices in October 2014, followed by the start of the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play started in early January 2015 and concluded in March with the 2015 Northeast Conference men's basketball tournament.
LeagueNCAA Division I
SportBasketball
Teams10
TV partner(s)NEC Front Row, ESPN2, MSG, FCS, Regional Sports Networks
| 2014–15 Northeast Conference men's basketball season | |
|---|---|
| League | NCAA Division I |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Teams | 10 |
| TV partner(s) | NEC Front Row, ESPN2, MSG, FCS, Regional Sports Networks |
| Regular Season | |
| First place | St. Francis Brooklyn |
| Runners-up | Robert Morris |
| Season MVP | Jalen Cannon, SFBK |
| Top scorer | Dyami Starks, BU |
| Tournament | |
| Champions | Robert Morris |
| Runners-up | St. Francis Brooklyn |
| Finals MVP | Rodney Prior, RMU |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| St. Francis Brooklyn | 15 | – | 3 | .833 | 23 | – | 12 | .657 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Robert Morris † | 12 | – | 6 | .667 | 20 | – | 15 | .571 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bryant | 12 | – | 6 | .667 | 16 | – | 15 | .516 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mount St. Mary's | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 15 | – | 15 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Saint Francis | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 16 | – | 16 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sacred Heart | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 15 | – | 17 | .469 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LIU Brooklyn | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 12 | – | 18 | .400 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wagner | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 10 | – | 20 | .333 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fairleigh Dickinson | 3 | – | 15 | .167 | 8 | – | 21 | .276 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Central Connecticut | 3 | – | 15 | .167 | 5 | – | 26 | .161 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2015 NEC tournament winner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preseason
Rankings
| NEC Coaches Poll[1] | |
|---|---|
| 1. | St. Francis Brooklyn (6) |
| 2. | Central Connecticut (3) |
| 3. | Saint Francis (PA) (1) |
| 4. | Robert Morris |
| 5. | Mount St. Mary's |
| 6. | Bryant |
| 7. | Wagner |
| 8. | LIU Brooklyn |
| 9. | Fairleigh Dickinson |
| 10. | Sacred Heart |
() first place votes
All-NEC team
| Coaches Poll[2] |
|---|
|
Earl Brown Saint Francis (PA) |
Head coaches
| Team | Head coach | Previous school | Seasons at school | Overall record | NEC record | NCAA Tournaments | NCAA Final Fours | NCAA Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bryant | Tim O'Shea | Ohio | 7 | 57–124 | 31–57 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Central Connecticut | Howie Dickenman | Connecticut (asst.) | 19 | 273–260 | 181–127 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Fairleigh Dickinson | Greg Herenda | UMass Lowell | 2 | 10–21 | 6–10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| LIU Brooklyn | Jack Perri | Long Island (assoc. HC) | 3 | 29–34 | 16–18 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mount St. Mary's | Jamion Christian | VCU (asst.) | 3 | 34–31 | 20–14 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Robert Morris | Andrew Toole | Robert Morris (asst.) | 5 | 90–51 | 54–17 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sacred Heart | Anthony Latina | Sacred Heart (asst.) | 2 | 5–26 | 2–14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| St. Francis Brooklyn | Glenn Braica | St. John's (asst.) | 5 | 60–62 | 39–31 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Saint Francis (PA) | Rob Krimmel | Saint Francis (PA) (asst.) | 3 | 15–45 | 12–22 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wagner | Bashir Mason | Wagner (asst.) | 3 | 38–24 | 24–10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Notes:
- All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only.
- Year at school includes 2014–15 season.
- Overall and NEC/NCAA records are from time at current school and are before the beginning of the 2014–15 season.
- Previous jobs are head coaching jobs unless otherwise noted.
NEC regular season
Conference matrix
This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. (x) indicates games remaining this season.
| Bryant | Central Conn. | Fairleigh Dickinson | LIU Br'klyn | Mount St. Mary's | Robert Morris | Sacred Heart | St. Francis Br'klyn | Saint Francis (PA) | Wagner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs. Bryant | – | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| vs. Central Conn. | 2–0 | – | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. Fairleigh Dickinson | 2–0 | 0–2 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. LIU Br'klyn | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 |
| vs. Mount St. Mary's | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | – | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. Robert Morris | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| vs. Sacred Heart | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| vs. St. Francis Br'klyn | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | – | 0–2 | 0–2 |
| vs. Saint Francis (PA) | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | – | 1–1 |
| vs. Wagner | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | – |
| Total | 12–6 | 3–15 | 3–15 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 12-6 | 9-9 | 15-3 | 9-9 | 8–10 |
Player of the week
Throughout the regular season, the Northeast Conference offices named a player of the week and a freshman of the week each Monday.[3][4] Jalen Cannon garnered 5 player of the week honors and St. Francis Brooklyn all programs with 6. Marcquise Reed led all freshman with 6 player of the week honors, Cane Broom came in second with 5 and in week 4 won both Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week.
| Week (Date) | Player of the week | Freshman of the week |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (Nov. 17, 2014) | De'von Barnett, SHU | Marcquise Reed, RMU |
| 2 (Nov. 24, 2014) | Rodney Pryor, RMU | Nura Zanna, LIU |
| 3 (Dec. 1, 2014) | Jalen Cannon, SFBK | JoJo Cooper, WC |
| 4 (Dec. 8, 2014) | Cane Broome, SHU | Cane Broome, SHU |
| 5 (Dec. 15, 2014) | Rodney Pryor, RMU | Elvar Fridriksson, LIU |
| 6 (Dec. 22, 2014) | Earl Brown, SFU | Cane Broome, SHU |
| 7 (Dec. 29, 2014) | Jalen Cannon, SFBK | Marcquise Reed, RMU |
| 8 (Jan. 6, 2015) | Jalen Cannon, SFBK Earl Brown, SFU |
Marcquise Reed, RMU Darian Anderson, FDU |
| 9 (Jan. 12, 2015) | Dan Garvin, BU | Nura Zanna, LIU |
| 10 (Jan. 19, 2015) | Brent Jones, SFBK | Marcquise Reed, RMU |
| 11 (Jan. 26, 2015) | Martin Hermannsson, LIU Marcus Burton, WC |
Cane Broome, SHU |
| 12 (Feb. 2, 2015) | Marcus Burton, WC | Marcquise Reed, RMU |
| 13 (Feb. 9, 2015) | Jalen Cannon, SFBK | Marcquise Reed, RMU |
| 14 (Feb. 16, 2015) | Dyami Starks, BU | Martin Hermannsson, LIU |
| 15 (Feb. 23, 2015) | Jalen Cannon, SFBK | Cane Broome, SHU |
| 16 (Mar. 2, 2015) | Rodney Prior, RMU | Cane Broome, SHU |
Postseason
NEC tournament
- March 4–10, 2015 Northeast Conference Basketball Tournament.
| Quarterfinals Wednesday, March 4 NEC Front Row, MSG+2, FCS and Cox Sports | Semifinals Saturday, March 7 (reseeded) NEC Front Row, MSG+, FCS | Championship Tuesday, March 10 ESPN2 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | St. Francis Brooklyn | 79 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | LIU Brooklyn | 70 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | St. Francis Brooklyn | 62 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Saint Francis (PA) | 48 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Mount St. Mary's | 58 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Saint Francis (PA) | 73 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | St. Francis Brooklyn | 63 | ||||||||||||
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Robert Morris | 66 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Robert Morris | 91 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Wagner | 68 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Robert Morris | 66 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Bryant | 53 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Bryant | 91** | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Sacred Heart | 85 | ||||||||||||
All games will be played at the venue of the higher seed
* Overtime
NCAA tournament
| Seed | Region | School | First Four | 2nd Round | 3rd Round | Sweet 16 | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | South | Robert Morris | W, 81–77 vs. #16 North Florida – (Dayton) | L, 56–85 vs. #1 Duke – (Charlotte) |
National Invitational tournament
| Seed | Bracket | School | 1st Round | 2nd Round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Richmond | St. Francis Brooklyn | L, 74–84 vs. #1 Richmond |
CollegeInsider.com Postseason tournament
| Seed | Bracket | School | 1st Round | 2nd Round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Francis (PA) | L, 64–67 vs. Bowling Green |
Honors and awards
All-Americans
Starting on March 6, the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans were released for 2014–15 season, based upon selections by the four major syndicates. The four syndicates include the Associated Press, USBWA, NABC, and Sporting News.
- Jalen Cannon SFBK, AP Honorable Mention
All-NEC awards and teams
| 2015 NEC Men's Basketball Individual Awards[5] | ||||||
| Award | Recipient(s) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player of the Year | Jalen Cannon, St. Francis Brooklyn | |||||
| Coach of the Year | Glenn Braica, St. Francis Brooklyn | |||||
| Defensive Player of the Year | Amdy Fall, St. Francis Brooklyn | |||||
| Rookie of the Year | Marcquise Reed, Robert Morris | |||||
| Most Improved Player of the Year | Matt Mobley, Central Connecticut | |||||
| 2015 NEC Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams | ||||||
| First Team | Second Team | Third Team | Rookie Team | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earl Brown, Sr., F., SFU Marcus Burton, Sr., G., WC †Jalen Cannon, Sr., F., SFBK Brent Jones, Sr., G., SFBK Dyami Starks, Sr., G., BU |
Dan Garvin, So., F., BU Lucky Jones, Sr., G., RMU Matt Mobley, So., G., CCSU Rodney Prior, Jr., G., RMU Marcquise Reed, Fr., G., RMU |
Byron Ashe, So., G., MSM Gregory Graves, Jr., F., MSM Evan Kelly, Sr., G., SHU Gerrell Martin, Sr., G., LIU Joe O'Shea, Sr., G., BU |
Cane Broome, Fr., G., SHU Martin Hermannsson, Fr., G., LIU Marcquise Reed, Fr., G., RMU Junior Robinson, Fr., G., MSM Nura Zanna, Fr., F., LIU | |||
| † - denotes unanimous selection | ||||||
Milestones and records
- On January 4, 2015, head coach Andrew Toole of Robert Morris became the quickest to 100 wins in NEC history, needing just 160 games to get there.[6]
- On February 7, 2015, senior forward Jalen Cannon of the St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers became the all-time rebounds leader in Northeast Conference history.[7]