2014–15 Northeast Conference men's basketball season

2014–15 Northeast Conference men's basketball season
2014–15 Northeast Conference men's basketball season
League	NCAA Division I
Sport	Basketball
Number of 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
Northeast Conference men's basketball seasons
	← 2013–14 2015–16 →

2014–15 Northeast Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	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

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.

Preseason[edit]

Rankings[edit]

	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[edit]

Coaches Poll^[2]
Earl Brown Saint Francis (PA) Jalen Cannon St. Francis Brooklyn Lucky Jones Robert Morris Dyami Starks Bryant Kyle Vinales Central Connecticut

Head coaches[edit]

Team	Head coach	Previous school	Seasons at school	Overall record	NEC record	NCAA Tournaments
Bryant	Tim O'Shea	Ohio	7	57–124	31–57	0
Central Connecticut	Howie Dickenman	Connecticut (asst.)	19	273–260	181–127	3
Fairleigh Dickinson	Greg Herenda	UMass Lowell	2	10–21	6–10	0
LIU Brooklyn	Jack Perri	Long Island (assoc. HC)	3	29–34	16–18	1
Mount St. Mary's	Jamion Christian	VCU (asst.)	3	34–31	20–14	1
Robert Morris	Andrew Toole	Robert Morris (asst.)	5	90–51	54–17	0
Sacred Heart	Anthony Latina	Sacred Heart (asst.)	2	5–26	2–14	0
St. Francis Brooklyn	Glenn Braica	St. John's (asst.)	5	60–62	39–31	0
Saint Francis (PA)	Rob Krimmel	Saint Francis (PA) (asst.)	3	15–45	12–22	0
Wagner	Bashir Mason	Wagner (asst.)	3	38–24	24–10	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[edit]

Conference matrix[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

NEC tournament[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

Seed	Bracket	School	1st Round	2nd Round	Quarterfinals	Semifianls	Championship
		Saint Francis (PA)	L, 64–67 vs. Bowling Green

Honors and awards[edit]

All-Americans[edit]

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[edit]

Award	Recipient(s)
2015 NEC Men's Basketball Individual Awards^[5]
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

First Team	Second Team	Third Team	Rookie Team
2015 NEC Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams
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[edit]

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]

References[edit]

^ "Terrier First! St. Francis Brooklyn Tops 2014-15 NEC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll". Northeastconference.org/. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
^ "Experienced Five Make Up Preseason All-NEC Men's Basketball Team". northeastconference.org. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
^ "Men's Basketball NEC Player of the Week 2014-15". NortheastConference.org. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
^ "Men's Basketball NEC Rookie of the Week 2014-15". NortheastConference.org. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
^ "St. Francis Brooklyn's Jalen Cannon Named NEC Men's Basketball Player of the Year". Northeastconference.org. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
^ "Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Weekly Release (1/26/2015)". NortheastConference.org. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
^ "Cannon hits NEC milestone in 66-51 St. Francis Brooklyn win". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 5, 2015.

External links[edit]

NEC website

[1] "Terrier First! St. Francis Brooklyn Tops 2014-15 NEC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll". Northeastconference.org/. Retrieved October 28, 2015.

[2] "Experienced Five Make Up Preseason All-NEC Men's Basketball Team". northeastconference.org. Retrieved October 28, 2015.

[3] "Men's Basketball NEC Player of the Week 2014-15". NortheastConference.org. Retrieved December 5, 2015.

[4] "Men's Basketball NEC Rookie of the Week 2014-15". NortheastConference.org. Retrieved December 5, 2015.

[5] "St. Francis Brooklyn's Jalen Cannon Named NEC Men's Basketball Player of the Year". Northeastconference.org. Retrieved October 28, 2015.

[6] "Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Weekly Release (1/26/2015)". NortheastConference.org. Retrieved November 5, 2015.

[7] "Cannon hits NEC milestone in 66-51 St. Francis Brooklyn win". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 5, 2015.

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v t e Northeast Conference men's basketball
Current teams	Central Connecticut Blue Devils Fairleigh Dickinson Knights Le Moyne Dolphins LIU Sharks Merrimack Warriors (leaving in 2024) Sacred Heart Pioneers (leaving in 2024) Saint Francis Red Flash Stonehill Skyhawks Wagner Seahawks
Future teams	Chicago State Cougars Mercyhurst Lakers (both joining in 2024)
Championships & awards	Regular season champions Conference tournament Coach of the Year Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year Rookie of the Year "Battle of Brooklyn"
Seasons	1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24