Ray Floriani of College Chalktalk is the RTC correspondent for the Northeast Conference.

LYNDHURST, NJ – Action was a bit on the light side with exam week. The following week will see the end of non-conference action as conference play heats up in earnest following New Year‘s Day.

Standings

The regularly scheduled tempo free breakdown, with gratitude to Basketball State.

Turnover rate is the amount of turnovers divided by total possessions. A mark of 20% or higher is excessive. Stands to reason as a 20% TO rate team is watching one fifth, or more, of their possessions wasted. Expect these numbers to get better for two reasons. One, some of the out of conference opposition was tougher and in most cases away from home. Secondly, as the season progresses offenses improve and (should) run more efficiently.

NEC Notes

• Mount St. Mary’s lead guard Jeremy Goode moved into 11^th place on the NEC’s all-time assist ranking. Goode has 509 career assists and counting. Drafton Davis who played for Marist in the late 80s is the all time leader with 804. Goode incidentally is one of the candidates for the Bob Cousy Award given to the nation’s top point guard.
• Quinnipiac senior guard James Feldeine is approaching 1,000 points. Feldeine has 951 points and could hit the select circle by mid-January.
• Sacred Heart senior guard Ryan Litke is also approaching 1,000 points. Litke has 904 but is a dangerous three-point shooter who can rack up points in a hurry.
• Speaking of Sacred Heart, senior forward Corey Hassan’s middle name should be versatile. Hassan is second in conference rebounding with 8.7 boards per game, and he is also the NEC leader with 4.2 three pointers a game, a figure that places him second nationally. Since 2000, only four NEC players have finished in the conference top ten in rebounding and three point field goals.
• The December 30^th meeting with Vermont will be Mount St. Mary‘s first home game in 35 days.
• Devin Sweetney has scored in double figures the last 30 games he has appeared in. The St.Francis( PA) senior forward has the longest streak among NEC active players. Immediately trailing Sweetney is Monmouth’s Travis Taylor with 14 and Sacred Heart’s Corey Hassan with a dozen.
• The December 23^rd loss to Iona left FDU 1-12. Despite the start, FDU interim coach Greg Vetrone is still hopeful. “We had a tough early schedule with a number of road games and injuries. Now the schedule favors us as our next three conference games are home. I really think we are getting better. One of the things we have to do however is cut down on turnovers.” A definite point (see the tempo free chart above).

Player of the Week.   Jaytornah Wisseh (G), LIU -Enjoyed a complete performance finishing with 23 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Down the stretch he was the Blackbirds’ ‘go to’ guy and it was Wisseh’s fifth 20+ point performance on the season.

Rookie of the Week.  Umar Shannon (G), St. Francis (PA) – Averaged a team best 15.0 PPG on the week. Shannon connected on 50% of his field goal attempts and hit 4-5 from three point range. Tallied a team high 16 points against Akron.

Team Breakdowns

• Bryant – Dropped a 72-46 decision at Boston College last week. Bryant is currently 0-11. Senior captain Cecil Gresham led the way against BC with 18 points. Gresham’s performance was especially pleasing since he marked the return to the lineup after missing three of the last four games.
• Central Connecticut State. – Lone game of the week, a loss at Northwestern. Blue Devils lead in scoring defense (60.6 PPG). In addition, CCSU and St. Francis (PA) are the only conference teams shooting better than 70% from the charity stripe.
• FDU – Dropped games to in state rival St. Peter’s 83-68 and Iona 82-60. It was only the third game for FDU this season. Mike Scott paced the Knights with 21 points. The junior guard wasn’t limited to point production as he handed out five assists. FDU missed 19 free throws against St. Peter’s and 12 in the Iona contest.
• LIU – Came up short in their only game to Manhattan, 71-61. The loss was the first at home for the Blackbirds in five outings. Senior Jaytorah Wisseh posted a double-double, earning Player of the Week accolades.
• Monmouth– In-state losses to Princeton and Rider for the Hawks. In his first start of the season sophomore guard Will Campbell tied his career high with 27 points in the loss to Rider. Sophomore forward Travis Taylor has posted double figure scoring in each of Monmouth’s dozen games this season. Taylor his 15 of 19 (79%) in the two games last week. Taylor is not just a scorer as he averages 8 rebounds per game, good for fourth in the NEC.
• Mount St. Mary’s – The only game was a 66-48 setback at Pitt. The Mount has lost five straight after a 3-2 start. They did get good news with the return of two players and the addition of a third. Senior forward Will Holland is back after missing seven games with a knee injury. Redshirt freshman forward Jacolby Wells sat out the first semester due to academics and freshman forward Raven Barber was approved by the NCAA Eligibility Center and joined the team.
• Quinnipiac – Bobcats have three players averaging double figures. Senior guard James Feldeine (19.7 PPG), junior forward Justin Rutty (16.8) and sophomore guard James Johnson (10.7). An inside force, Rutty also paces the NEC with 9.8 rebounds a game.
• Robert Morris – Defeated Cleveland State then had a 13-game home win streak snapped with a loss to Appalachian State. The Colonials seem to get contributions from different individuals every night out. Against Cleveland State, junior guard Gary Wallace came off the bench to score 14 points. The bench, in fact, had more points (45) than the starters (33) against Cleveland State. Icy 26% shooting from the floor doomed Mike Rice’s club against Appalachian State.
• Sacred Heart – Pioneers are one of two NEC teams averaging better than 70 points (74.8) per game. Credit field goal percentage of 45% as largely responsible. Senior forward Corey Hassan leads the NEC in scoring (23 PPG) and has been lethal beyond the arc hitting four treys a game.
• St. Francis (NY) – Guarded optimism. Brian Nash has a few backcourt performers earning conference distinction. Junior Ricky Cadell is seventh (15.1 PPG) in NEC scoring while classmate Akeem Bennett is eighth (14.2 PPG). Sophomore Justin Newton ranks eighth in the conference handing out three assists per game.
• St. Francis (PA) – Dropped games to Youngstown State and Akron. Red Flash were without standout Devin Sweetney who sat out for ‘personal reasons.’  Junior forward Cedric Latimer picked up the slack averaging 14.5 points and 5.5 rebounds. Freshman guard Umar Shannon earned Rookie of the Week honors. Contributions also came from the backcourt as freshman guard Anthony Ervia had 9 points and 6 boards against Youngstown and junior guard Serena Orandi has a season high 12 points in that same meeting with Youngstown,
• Wagner – Dropped competitive outings to BYU and Nevada in the Las Vegas Classic. Junior guard Chris Martin and senior center Michael Orock played well. Mike Deane is getting contributions from freshman guard Ryan Conrad and classmate Josh Thompson. Conrad had a team high 14 points against BYU while the 6’4 Thompson is averaging 7.5 points, 5.6 rebounds.

On the Schedule

December 29

• St. Francis (NY) at Fairfield

December 30

• Brown at Sacred Heart
• Wagner at Princeton
• Vermont at Mount St.Mary’s

January 2

• Bryant at Cornell
• Ohio at Robert Morris
• Central Connecticut State vs. Holy Cross (at Mohegan Sun)
• Sacred Heart at FDU
• Hartford at St. Francis (PA)
• Quinnipiac at Monmouth
• Mount St. Mary’s at Siena

Ray Floriani of College Chalktalk is the RTC correspondent for the MAAC and NEC conferences. 

LYNDHURST, NJ – The latest news in the Northeast Conference centers around the start of conference play.  As it is for most conferences, the bulk of the action is after New Year’s. But the NEC members get a few games in the books prior to January 1^st.

Standings

The tempo free breakdown, with gratitude to Basketball State.

Top Storylines

Player of the Week. Devin Sweetney (G/F), SR, St. Francis (PA) – Sweetney recorded a pair of double-doubles in a 2-0 week for St.Francis. The Red Flash posted victories over Wagner and pre-season favorite Mount St. Mary’s.

Rookie of the Week.  Jamal Olasewere (F), FR, LIU– The LIU frosh averaged 11.5 points, a team-high 8 rebounds and shot over 70% from the floor as the Blackbirds got off to a 2-0 start in conference play.

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Ray Floriani of College Chalktalk is the RTC correspondent for the MAAC and NEC conferences.

NEC Standings

1. Quinnipiac    (3-1)
2. Mount St. Mary’s    (2-1)
3. Sacred Heart      (2-2)
4. LIU       (2-2)
5. Monmouth      (1-3)
6. St. Francis (PA)       (1-3)
7. Robert Morris         (1-4)
8. FDU     (1-4)
9. Central Conn St.      (0-2)
10. Wagner       (0-3)
11. Bryant          (0-4)
12. St. Francis (NY)      (0-4)

Choice Hotels NEC Co-Players of the Week

• Jeremy Goode (G), Mount St. Mary’s – Instrumental in victories over American and Loyola (MD). Goode averaged 20 PPG shooting ,55% from the field and 81.8% from the line.
• Justin Rutty (F), Quinnipiac – Had a double-double week averaging 21 points and 11 rebounds per game. In a win over Yale, Rutty cleared the offensive boards  with 10 caroms. Rutty is eighth in NEC scoring (15.7 PPG) and 2^nd in field goal percentage (66%).

Choice Hotels  NEC Rookie of the Week. Kenny Onyechi (F), LIU – Averaged double figure scoring highlighted by a career high 13 points in a win over Navy. Onyechi has started every game for the Blackbirds and leads the conference in FG Pct (68.8%).

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Ray Floriani of College Chalktalk is the RTC correspondent for the NEC and MAAC conferences.   Click here for all of our 2009-10 Season Preview materials..

Predicted Order of Finish:

1. Mount St. Mary’s (15-3)
2. Robert Morris (14-4)
3. Quinnipiac (13-5)
4. Central Connecticut (12-6)
5. LIU (10-7)
6. FDU (9-9)
7. Monmouth (8-10)
8. Sacred Heart (7-11)
9. St. Francis (NY) (6-12)
10. Wagner (5-13)
11. St. Francis (PA) (4-14)

 All Conference Team:

• Jeremy Goode (G), 5’9 Sr., Mount St.Mary’s
• Jaytonah Wisseh (G), 6’1 Sr., LIU
• Rob Robinson (F), 6’8 Sr., Robert Morris
• Ken Horton (F), 6’6 Jr., Central Connecticut
• Justin Rutty (C/F), 6’7 Jr., Quinnipiac

6^th Man of the Year. Julian Boyd (F), 6-1 So., LIU Newcomer of the Year. Mike Scott (G), 6-0 Jr., FDU

What you need to know.

• The Northeast Conference is composed of 12 members. Eleven compete for the championship as newest member Bryant will not be eligible for the NEC title or NCAA tournament appearances until 2013.
• The NEC is primarily a guard/small forward conference. Solid big men ruling the blocks are rare. Interestingly one who went on to a nice career hailed from the NEC. Rik Smits of Marist owned the low post in the mid-80s before heading to David Stern’s league.
• The NEC post season tournament is contested among the conference’s top eight finishers. Naturally, a good deal of scoreboard watching is in vogue past Valentine’s Day. In addition some non-qualifiers can still play the spoiler in their last regular season games so the conference schedule carries weight throughout the campaign.
• The ’Battle of Brooklyn’ is waged every year. LIU and St. Francis (NY) square off for bragging rights. The two schools are about a mile apart in distance.
• The dreaded ’Western swing’ has had an effect and separated contenders from pretenders. The Western swing is the trip to the two Western Pennsylvania schools, St.Francis (PA) and Robert Morris.

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Ray Floriani of College Chalktalk is the RTC correspondent for the NEC and MAAC Conferences. 

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ – The postseason brackets are set and the Northeast Conference tournament tips off tonight. The schedule:

Thursday

• Quinnipiac at LIU
• Central Connecticut  at Sacred Heart
• St.Francis (NY) at Robert Morris
• Wagner at Mount St. Mary’s

**Semifinals are Sunday at the home court of the higher seed and the finals are next Wednesday, 8:00 on ESPN2. Again at the home court of the highest remaining seed (see below bracket).

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Ray Floriani of College Chalktalk is the RTC correspondent for the NEC and MAAC Conferences.

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ – The Northeast Conference season is in the home stretch. The top eight teams qualify for the post season. Each round is held at the home court of the higher seed. The tempo free breakdown as of Friday February 20.

Note : EM is efficiency margin or the difference between offensive and defensive points per possession. 

* The order is by standings which hold true to form in relation to efficiency margin. The lone exception in the EM pecking order is Quinnipiac who is discussed below.

** The average pace of NEC games is 68 possessions. Around mid-pack so to speak. Not NASCAR (mid seventies) and not pedestrian either. 

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Ray Floriani of College Chalktalk is the RTC correspondent for the NEC and MAAC Conferences.

NEWARK, NJ – Player of the week was Joey Henley, a senior forward,  who averaged a double-double (15 points, 11.5 rebounds) in two Sacred Heart victories. LIU freshman forward Julian Boyd earned his fourth Rookie of the Week honor with a 15 ppg, 8 rebound showing in a 1-1 week.

The standings as of Friday February 6, 2009:

1. Robert Morris        10-1
2. Mount St. Mary        8-4
3. LIU                7-4
4. Central Ct.            7-5
5. Sacred Heart            7-5
6. Quinnipiac            6-6
7. St.Francis (NY)        5-7
8. FDU                5-7
9. Monmouth            4-7
10. Wagner            3-9
11. St.Francis (PA)        2-9

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Ray Floriani of College Chalktalk is the RTC correspondent for the NEC and MAAC conferences.

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ – The Northeast Conference report reaches out to the present, and recent past.
 
Standings as of Friday January 23, 2009

1. Robert Morris  7-1
2. Mount St.Mary’s  5-3
3. LIU    5-3
4. Central Connecticut 4-4
5. Quinnipiac   4-4
6. Sacred Heart   4-4
7. FDU    4-4
8. Monmouth    4-4
9. Wagner   3-5
10. St. Francis (NY)   3-5
11. St. Francis (PA)  1-7

Co-Players  of the Week :

• Jeremy Chappell, Robert Morris. The 6-3 senior guard earned the honors, averaging 19 points and 6 rebounds in wins over Central Connecticut and Wagner.
• Jeremy Goode, Mt.St.Mary’s.  Goode shares the award for a week that saw him average 18 points and 4.5 assists. In addition the 5-9 guard averaged 4.5 boards during that stretch. 

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Ray Floriani of College Chalktalk is the RTC correspondent for the MAAC and NEC Conferences.

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ – The standings of the NEC, Monday January 12, as the race is starting to take shape.

1. Robert Morris   5-1
2. LIU    4-1
3. Central Ct.   3-2
4. Quinnipiac   3-2
5. Sacred Heart   3-3
6. Wagner   2-3
7. Mount St. Mary’s  2-3
8. St.Francis(NY)  2-3
9. Monmouth   2-3
10. FDU    2-4
11. St.Francis(PA)   1-4

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Ray Floriani of College Chalktalk is the RTC correspondent for the NEC and MAAC Conferences.

NEWARK, NJ – The Northeast Conference Co-Players of the Week were James Feldeine and Jeremy Chappell. Feldiene, a junior guard for Quinnipiac,  averaged 27.5 ppg, 8 boards and 5 assists in a spectacularly well rounded week. Quinnipiac went 1-1 during that stretch.  Chappell, a senior guard for Robert Morris and one of the NEC’s elite, averaged 22 points, 7 rebounds over a three game stretch that saw the Colonials take road games against Lafayette and Central Michigan. The latter was played at the Detroit Pistons home at the Palace at Auburn Hills.

Rookie of the Week was Central Connecticut freshman Bobby Ptacek. The  6-3 guard had career highs of 20 points 6 rebounds in the Blue Devils’ win over Princeton.

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