Breaking down the Northeast Conference basketball tournament schedule

The 2020 Northeast Conference Basketball Tournament will begin on Wednesday, March 4th and run through Tuesday, March 10th. Rather than playing at a neutral site, each game will be held at the home court of the higher seed.

The quarterfinal and semifinal games will be streamed on NEC Front Row and ESPN3, while the championship game can be viewed on ESPN2.

March 4 (NEC Front Row)

Game 1: No. 8. St. Francis Brooklyn 58-59 No. 1 Robert Morris 7:00 p.m. ET
Game 2: No. 7 Bryant 61-87 No. 2 Saint Francis, 7:00 p.m. ET
Game 3: No. 6 Mount St. Mary’s 59-61 No. 3 Sacred Heart
Game 4: No. 5 Fairleigh Dickinson 72-73 No. 4 LIU, 7:00 p.m. ET

March 7 (ESPN 3)

Game 5: No. 4 LIU 66-86 No. 1 Robert Morris, 12:00 p.m. ET
Game 6: No. 3 Sacred Heart 72-84 No. 2 Saint Francis 2:00 p.m. ET

March 10 (ESPN 2)

Championship: No. 2 Saint Francis vs. No. 1 Robert Morris 7:00 p.m. ET

Fairleigh Dickinson came out atop in the Northeast Conference last year, but is 11-18 (9-9 in conference play) this year. It seems unlikely that they’ll win the tournament, although miracles do happen in one-bid conferences. The Merrimack College Warriors (20-11, 14-4) and Robert Morris (17-14, 13-5) appear to be the frontrunners in 2020. There’s no chance more than one team makes it to the big show out of the NEC this year, so any team that gets hot in early March has a shot.