College Basketball Preview - Northeast Conference

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

10/30/2007 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - OUTLOOK: The Northeast Conference has experienced uncommon parity in the era of dominant programs in Division I basketball. There has not been a repeat NEC champion since the 1993-94 season, and history looks to repeat itself in the 2007-08 campaign. Central Connecticut State looks to break this trend, but must fill the void of losing three starters, including the NEC Player of the Year. Looking to take over the throne are several schools bolstered by massive returning talent. Sacred Heart and Robert Morris each return three starters and hope to be playing in the NCAA Tournament come March. Wagner could be the dark-horse as they return four starters, along with the addition of a former NEC All-Conference player coming back after a year away from school. Mount St. Marys and Quinnipiac feature talented guards that will determine their teams success. St. Francis (Pa.) does not have a single senior on its roster, but has a young and talented nucleus that should bring the Red Flash out of the basement of the NEC. St. Francis (N.Y.) and Long Island have experience on the wings and in the post, but need better guard play from their raw playmakers. Though the league is guard-heavy, Fairleigh Dickenson and Monmouths lack of an interior presence could make this a long season for their respective fan bases.

CONFERENCE CHAMPION: Sacred Heart

PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH: 1. Sacred Heart, 2. Wagner, 3. Robert Morris, 4. Central Connecticut State, 5. Mount St. Marys, 6. St. Francis (N.Y.), 7. St. Francis (Pa.), 8. Quinnipiac, 9. Long Island, 10. Fairleigh Dickenson, 11. Monmouth

TEAM BY TEAM ANALYSIS:

SACRED HEART: After 29 years under his belt as Sacred Heart head coach, Dave Bike might have his most accomplished team to date. After coming within four points of a conference tournament title and a spot in the NCAA Tournament, Bike knows the target is spotted directly on the Pioneers back this season. With three returning starters and four players who hit at least 39 three-pointers last season, Sacred Heart looks to dominate teams on the perimeter again this season. Led by junior Luke Granatos 71 shots from beyond the arc and sophomore sensations Chauncey Hardy and Ryan Litke, the Pioneers should be poised to challenge last years 78.5 points per game. Last years leading assist man is back in Drew Shubick as he looks to feed these outside threats. The inside game of senior forward Joey Henley should improve as he is two years removed from missing an entire season due to injury. These returning stars could determine whether or not Sacred Heart wins its first ever NEC title.

WAGNER: Possibly the most prolific returning class in the NEC this season belongs to the Seahawks. Five returning players have 500 or more career points, and all have started at one time or another for Mike Deanes program. A welcome addition to the lineup is former first-team All-NEC forward Durrell Vinson. Vinson left school for the 2006-07 season after averaging 15.2 ppg and 9.6 rpg in the previous campaign. His rebounding ability was missed, but teamed with last years leading rebounder James Ulrich, the Seahawks should own the boards this season. Leading scorer Mark Porter, playing point guard last season, led the team in points, 13.8 ppg, and assists, 5.2 apg. Fellow veterans Jamal Smith and Joey Mundweiler both averaged over 11 points a game and should factor in Wagner competing for the NEC crown.

ROBERT MORRIS: First-year coach Mike Rice has the good fortune of coming into a program that returns four of its starters. Seniors Tony Lee and A.J. Jackson each earned second team All-NEC selections last season. Lee averaged 15.9 ppg and grabbed an impressive 6.1 rebounds per game. Standing at only 6-foot, Lees tenacity and competitiveness spreads throughout the Colonials lineup as they ranked eighth in the nation with 2.8 steals per game. Jackson finished third in the league in scoring last year with 16.9 ppg and second in rebounding with 7.8 rpg. Among their other returning starters are Jeremy Chappell, who average 14.4 ppg, and 6-9 center Freddie Harris, whose presence inside makes it difficult to score down low on the Colonials. With the kind of talent Rice has returning, look for Robert Morris to significantly improve its .500 conference record of last season.

CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE: After a slow non-conference start, the Blue Devils rattled off a 16-2 conference record in route to a regular season and NEC Tournament title last season. Unfortunately for Coach Howie Dickenman, he lost his two big guns on that team, NEC Player of the Year Javier Mojica and conference-leading rebounder Obie Nwadike. To fill that void, NEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-NEC Tristan Blackwood will have to be even more dynamic than he was last season. Blackwood finished second in the league in scoring with 17.1 ppg while being tremendously accurate. His 122 three pointers set a new single-season conference record and his .924 free throw percentage ranked him fourth nationally. Standing at only six foot, Blackwood can't do it all, especially down low. That burden will be placed on a slew of newcomers, including 6-6 transfer Marcus Palmer. Palmer played at Eastern Arizona College and was named an NJCAA All-American last season when he averaged 21.0 ppg and 7.0 rpg. It will take a lot of work for Coach Dickenman to pull off a repeat championship with seven first-year players in the program.

MOUNT ST. MARY'S: Exceeding many expectations last year, the Mountaineers look to sustain their success through top-notch guard play. NEC All-Rookie team member Jeremy Goode looks to improve on his fabulous freshman season when he ranked third in NEC in steals, 1.8 spg, and fourth in assists, 5.0 apg. He will often look to set up fellow guard and leading scorer, Chris Vann. In his junior season, Vann led the Mountaineers in scoring with 13.6 ppg. With these two fixtures at the helm, sophomores Kelly Biedler and Will Holland should see open looks from the outside and knock them down with regularity.

SAINT FRANCIS (N.Y.): The Terriers hope to get out to a better start than they did last year, when they lost their first 12 regular season games. Having four starters return, along with six of the top-seven scorers, expectations are rather high this season for third-year coach Brian Nash. Leading scorer and rebounder Robert Hines comes back for his senior season after averaging 16.5 ppg and 5.9 rpg. A pair of experienced guards will be the playmakers in the backcourt. Jamaal Womack and Marcus Williams are high energy, versatile guards that will dictate the flow of the game. Womack averaged 10.6 ppg and hit 67 three-pointers on the season. Williams is an all-around guard averaging 8.2 points, 2.8 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game last season. If the Terriers can find some more scoring options, they will likely shock some doubters.

ST. FRANCIS (Pa.): A stretch of 15 straight losses last season proved too much to overcome for the inexperienced Red Flash, as they finished last in the conference for the second year in a row with a 5-13 conference record. But after winning four of its last five, and having all five of their starters return to the program, things are looking up for head coach Bobby Jones. Sophomore swingman Devin Sweetney is the catalyst for this young group, and typifies their young and talented roster. Sweetney led all NEC freshmen last year with 13.0 ppg and 7.7 rpg. Alongside on the wing will be Chris Berry, a junior who averaged 11.7 ppg and 4.9 rpg. Distributing the rock to these young scoring threats will be Marquis Ford and Cale Nelson. Both average around nine points and four assists a game. St. Francis has no seniors on the roster as it looks to build around this young core and hopefully move up the ranks of the NEC.

QUINNIPIAC: Inexperience and questions down low are obstacles first-year head coach Tom Moore must overcome. Moore comes from the University of Connecticut, where he was longtime assistant under Jim Calhoun. He takes on the daunting task of replacing four starters lost to graduation. His lone returning starter is senior guard DeMario Anderson. Anderson brings with him a solid game and second-team All-NEC honors last season, where he ranked eighth in the league in scoring, 15.7 ppg, and tenth in field goal percentage (.508). With only two returning forwards, the newcomers will need to have an immediate impact for the Bobcats to compete.

LONG ISLAND: Coach Jim Ferry has three key players coming back for the Blackbirds' frontcourt. Heading the wing is inside/outside threat Eugene Kotorobai, who hit .400 from three-point range while leading the returnees in scoring, 9.7 ppg, and rebounds, 6.5 rpg. Kellen Allen is a 6-7 jump hook specialist who looks to come back to form after missing the last 18 games last season due to injury. He shot 56.5 percent from the field when healthy and hopes to improve on his 4.8 ppg this season. The trouble from the Blackbirds lies in the backcourt. Last year, they relied on three-time All-NEC guard James Williams to produce. With Williams graduating, Jaytomah Wisseh and Tyrone Mattison must pick up the slack with their up-tempo style and create chances for the big men inside.

FAIRLEIGH DICKENSON: For a quarter of a century now, the Knights have been led on the sideline by Tom Green. The conferences winningest coach has a tough task this year in replacing the NECs leading scorer, forward Andre Harris. Though he many not have the firepower down low to replace Harris scoring, he has a pair of experienced guards to manage the floor. Junior Cameron Tyler has shown he can do it all on the floor. He has more career points (574), assists (214), and rebounds (173), than any other returning player. He is joined in the backcourt by Manny Ubilla who averaged 11.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg and 2.9 apg last season. If 6-8 freshman John Galvin can replace some of Harris scoring, FDU should improve on their 9-9 conference record.

MONMOUTH: Perennial contender Monmouth finished a surprisingly sub-par 7-11 in conference play last season while missing out on their first postseason tournament in eight years. No player in the frontcourt has more than a year's experience as the team hopes guards Jhamar Youngblood and Whitney Coleman can lead the Hawks back to respectability. Youngblood made a quick impact last season and gained the coveted NEC Freshman of the Year award. He averaged 12.3 ppg, while shooting .525 from the field. His quickness and one-on-one ability should create double teams and open opportunities for his teammates. Versatile guard Whitney Coleman led the team in minutes, while averaging 9.1 ppg and 3.1 rpg. If the guard play can get some help down low, look for the Hawks to soar back to the top.