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2020–21 Northeast Conference men's basketball season

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2020–21 Northeast Conference men's basketball season
LeagueNCAA Division I
SportBasketball
Number of teams10
TV partner(s)NEC Front Row, ESPN2, MSG, FCS, Regional Sports Networks
NBA Draft
Regular season
First placeWagner
  Runners-upBryant
Season MVPAlex Morales (Wagner)
NEC tournament
ChampionsMount St. Mary's
  Runners-upBryant
Finals MVPNana Opoku (Mount St. Mary's)
Northeast Conference men's basketball seasons
2020–21 Northeast Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Wagner 13 – 5   .722 13 – 7   .650
Bryant 10 – 4   .714 15 – 7   .682
Sacred Heart 9 – 7   .563 9 – 9   .500
Mount St. Mary's † 9 – 7   .563 12 – 11   .522
Merrimack* 9 – 9   .500 9 – 9   .500
LIU 9 – 9   .500 9 – 9   .500
St. Francis Brooklyn 9 – 9   .500 9 – 10   .474
Fairleigh Dickinson 8 – 10   .444 9 – 15   .375
Saint Francis (PA) 5 – 13   .278 6 – 16   .273
Central Connecticut 5 – 13   .278 5 – 16   .238
* ineligible for the 2021 NCAA tournament due to transition period
† 2021 NEC tournament winner

The 2020–21 Northeast Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2020, followed by the start of the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play started in January and ended in March 2021.[1]

The NEC tournament was held in March with the higher-seeded team hosting each game.

Changes from last season

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Robert Morris left the conference and joined the Horizon League.

Head coaches

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Team Head coach Previous position Year at school Overall record NEC record NEC tournament championships
Bryant Jared Grasso Iona
(asst.) 		3 25–37 14–22 0
Central Connecticut Donyell Marshall Buffalo
(asst.) 		5 35–78 19–53 0
Fairleigh Dickinson Greg Herenda UMass Lowell 8 92–127 59–65 2
LIU Derek Kellogg UMass 4 49–51 28–26 1
Merrimack Joe Gallo Robert Morris
(asst.) 		5 81–45 14–4 0
Mount St. Mary's Dan Engelstad Southern Vermont 3 20–43 13–23 0
Sacred Heart Anthony Latina Sacred Heart
(asst.) 		8 90–131 58–66 0
St. Francis Brooklyn Glenn Braica St. John's
(asst.) 		11 145–170 93–85 0
Saint Francis (PA) Rob Krimmel Saint Francis
(asst.) 		9 119–133 78–64 0
Wagner Bashir Mason Wagner
(asst.) 		9 131–117 83–59 0

Notes:

  • All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only.
  • Year at school includes 2020–21 season.
  • Overall and NEC/NCAA records are from time at current school and are before the beginning of the 2020–21 season. Because the current LIU athletic program inherited the athletic history of LIU Brooklyn, Kellogg's record includes his two seasons at LIU Brooklyn before the LIU athletic merger.
  • Previous jobs are head coaching jobs unless otherwise noted.

Preseason

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Preseason coaches poll

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Sources:

Rank Team
1. Fairleigh Dickinson (6)
2. LIU (4)
3. Bryant (tie)
4. Mount St. Mary's (tie)
5. St. Francis Brooklyn
6. St. Francis (PA)
7. Merrimack
8. Wagner
9. Central Connecticut
10. Sacred Heart

() first place votes

Preseason All-NEC team

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Sources:

Recipient School
Damian Chong Qui, (Junior, Guard) Mount St. Mary's
Ty Flowers (RS-Senior, Forward) LIU
Chauncey Hawkins (Senior, Guard) St. Francis Brooklyn
Jahlil Jenkins, (Senior, Guard) Fairleigh Dickinson
Elyjah Williams, (Senior, Forward) Fairleigh Dickinson

NEC regular season

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Player of the week

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Throughout the regular season, the Northeast Conference offices named player(s) of the week and rookie(s) of the week.

Against other conferences

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Conference matrix

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This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.

  Bryant CCSU FDU LIU Merrimack MSMU Sacred Heart SFB SFU Wagner
vs. Bryant – 0–2 2–0 0–2 0–2 0–0 0–0 1–1 1–1 0–2
vs. Central Conn. 2–0 – 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–1
vs. Fairleigh Dickinson 0–2 1–1 – 0–2 2–0 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 2–0
vs. LIU 2–0 0–2 2–0 – 1–1 2–0 1–1 0–2 0–2 1–1
vs. Merrimack 2–0 0–2 0–2 1–1 – 2–0 1–1 1–1 0–2 2–0
vs. Mount St. Mary's 0–0 1–1 1–1 0–2 0–2 – 1–1 2–0 0–2 2–0
vs. Sacred Heart 0–0 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 – 1–1 1–1 1–1
vs. St. Francis Brooklyn 1–1 1–1 0–2 2–0 1–1 0–2 1–1 – 1–1 2–0
vs. Saint Francis (PA) 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 2–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 – 2–0
vs. Wagner 2–0 1–1 0–2 1–1 0–2 0–2 1–1 0–2 0–2 –
Total 10–4 5–13 8–10 9–9 9–9 9–7 9–7 9–9 5–13 13–5

All-NEC honors and awards

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At the conclusion of the regular season, the conference selects outstanding performers based on a poll of league coaches, below are the results.

Honor Recipient
Player of the Year Alex Morales, Wagner
Coach of the Year Bashir Mason, Wanger
Defensive Player of the Year Nana Opoku, Mount St. Mary's
Rookie of the Year DeLonnie Hunt, Wanger
Most Improved Player of the Year Tyler Thomas, Sacred Heart
All-NEC First Team Damian Chong Qui, Mount St. Mary’s  
Elijah Ford, Wagner
Peter Kiss, Bryant  
Alex Morales, Wagner
Eral Penn, LIU     
All-NEC Second Team Ty Flowers, LIU  
Michael Green III, Bryant   
Chauncey Hawkins, St. Francis Brooklyn 
Jahlil Jenkins, Fairleigh Dickinson   
Tyler Thomas, Sacred Heart   
All-NEC Third Team Travis Atson, St. Francis Brooklyn 
Ramiir Dixon-Conover , Saint Francis (PA)
Jordan Minor, Merrimack 
Mikey Watkins, Merrimack
Elyjah Williams, Fairleigh Dickinson 
All-NEC Rookie Team Malik Edmead, Merrimack   
DeLonnie Hunt, Wagner  
Maxwell Land, Saint Francis (PA)
Joe Munden Jr., Faireigh Dickinson   
Mike Sixsmith, Sacred Heart          

Postseason

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NEC tournament

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Due to complications caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, only the top four teams in the Northeast Conference were eligible to compete in the 2021 NEC tournament. Teams were seeded by record within the conference, with a tiebreaker system to seed teams with identical conference records.[2]

Semifinals
Saturday, March 6, 2021
ESPN3 		Championship
Tuesday, March 9, 2021
ESPN2
      
1 Wagner 60
4 Mount St. Mary's 66
4 Mount St. Mary's 73
2 Bryant 68
2 Bryant 85
3 Sacred Heart 55

NCAA tournament

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Main article: 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
Seed Region School First Four
#16 East Mount St. Mary's vs Texas Southern, L 52-60

See also

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  • 2020–21 Northeast Conference women's basketball season

References

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  1. ^ "Ohio's no 'mass gatherings' order would force NCAA tournament games without fans". March 11, 2020.
  2. ^ "Northeast Conference Announces Basketball Regular Season & Tournament Format Changes". November 16, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
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