Conference realignment has affected nearly every Division 1 conference and the Northeast Conference is no exception, having had the dubious honor of each of its three most recent mens’ basketball conference champions defect to new conferences:
2019-20 champs Robert Morris joined the Horizon League the next season
2020-21 champs Mount St. Mary’s will join the MAAC this season
2021-22 champs Bryant will join the America East this season
While two of last season’s top-four seeds (Bryant and Mount St. Mary's) are in new conferences, the other two, LIU and Wagner, both face coaching changes and widespread rebuilds, making this upcoming season not only as one of the most unpredictable in recent memory.
Without further ado, here are my candidates to represent the Northeast Conference in the 2023 March Madness:
The Frontrunner: Merrimack
It’s rare for a coach as young as Joe Gallo (turning 43 in February) to be as involved with a basketball program for as long as he has, but after playing four seasons at Merrimack, coaching as an assistant for four seasons and then leading the Warriors for the last six seasons, Gallo’s omnipresence should earn him the nickname “Mr. Merrimack”.
In the 2019-20 season, the Warriors made an impact in their first season in Division 1, leading the NEC with a 14-4 conference record but ineligible for postseason play for each of their first three seasons. Now in their fourth season in Division 1, the Warriors are not only finally eligible for postseason competition, but they also have talent, coaching and roster continuity to finish as the best team in the NEC.
Returning senior forwards Jordan Minor (15.1p, 8.2r, 1.5s, 2.4b) and Ziggy Reid (11.0p, 4.9r, 1.3s) shore up the frontcourt while returning senior guards Jordan McCoy and Mykel Derring (combined 2.9 threes made per game at 36.4%) provide spacing for the Warriors, who were offensively challenged last season (the second least efficient offense in the NEC, according to KenPom).
With starting point guard Mikey Watkins graduating and sixth man combo guard Malik Edmead transferring to Albany, there are major questions backs at the point guard spot, but the incoming sophomore transfer duo from James Madison of Jaylen Stinson (14 D1 offers out of HS) and Devon Savage (7 D1 offers) provide long-term options whose demand out of high school exceeds the level of national interest compared to a typical Merrimack recruit.
If Stinson and/or Savage hold down the starting point guard role and if Merrimack can shoot efficiently enough to field an at least respectable offense, Merrimack and their “No 3s” zone defense will look to continue to wreak havoc and generate transition offense from turnovers to the tune of a conference championship.
The Top Challenger: St. Francis (PA)
The NEC runner-up in three of the last six seasons, the Red Flash are a rare team with all of its scholarship players either being fifth-year seniors, juniors or freshmen. The returning fifth-year senior stretch forward duo of Myles Thompson (11.2p, 40.9 3p%) and Marlon Hargis (6.6p, 36.1 3p%) provide valuable frontcourt spacing while the team’s potential hangs on the balance of their six-man junior class led by the NEC Most Improved Player recipient Josh Cohen (12.9p, 7.0r, 1.8a, 57.5 fg%).
At first glance, St. Francis’ 5-13 conference record last year might temper expectations for a team with eight returning rotation pieces, but four of last year’s starters missed at least four games. Most notably, double-digit scorer and returning junior guard Ronell Giles did not play after January 8th while Thompson played just one game after February 3rd.
An end-of-season injury to starting fifth-year point guard Ramiir Dixon-Conover forced incoming junior point guard Zahree Harrison into a starting role. Harrison averaged just 3.5 points and 2.0 assists last season backing up Dixon-Conover, but his late season injury showed a glimpse of what Harrison can do as the primary point guard: over the last five games of the season, Harrison averaged 10.4 points, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
With four double-digit scorers returning and eight returning veteran pieces, St. Francis (PA) is the top threat to challenge Merrimack at the top of the NEC.
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