NEC Tournament Preview and Predictions

NEC Conference Tournament Preview and Predictions

Favorite

Merrimack

This doesn’t happen too often, but in the NEC, the preseason picks for champs ended up being the regular season champs. Though they didn’t exactly dominate competition, going 12-4, they weren’t upset-prone, never losing to a team under .500 in league play. However, it is concerning that in two games they were never able to defeat #2 seed Fairleigh Dickinson, the most offensive team in the conference.

Merrimack’s playstyle includes good defense, rebounding, and low turnovers, ranking first in the NEC for defense and #95 in the country. Because of this, they don’t stand out on the offensive end, ranking second to last in the entire country behind leaguemate LIU. FDU is first in the NEC, so it isn’t a surprise that they’ve really struggled to pick up a win against them.

However, their experience should carry them far, and if that Fairleigh Dickinson game goes differently, Merrimack will clinch an NCAA Tournament berth.

Sleeper

Wagner

I really liked this team going into the season, as they were experienced and played good defense with good athleticism. And, they started the season off with a bang, defeating current AAC fifth place Temple. 

They didn’t play at that level throughout the rest of the season, and though they didn’t go on any cold streaks or lose any bad games, they didn’t pick up a Temple-level win for the rest of the season, finishing NEC play 8-8. However, they’ve proven they can hang with the top teams in the conference, going 4-3 against the NEC’s top 4.

So, if they can play more consistently, they have a real chance at winning the NEC tournament.

Bracket Prediction