# 2016–17 Northeast Conference men's basketball season

The 2016–17 NEC men's basketball season began with practices in October 2016, followed by the start of the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play started in late December and concluded in February 2017.
Mount St. Mary's clinched the regular season NEC championship with a win over St. Francis Brooklyn on February 25, 2017, marking their first NEC regular season crown in 21 years. LIU Brooklyn finished in second place in the regular season.
The NEC tournament was held from March 1 through March 7 with the higher-seeded team hosting each game. Mount St. Mary's defeated Saint Francis (PA) to win the NEC Tournament championship. As a result, Mount St. Mary's received the conference's bid to the NCAA tournament. Saint Francis (PA) received an invitation to CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.

## Head coaches
### Coaching changes

On April 6, 2016, Central Connecticut announced Donyell Marshall as the 10th head coach in program history. Marshall replaced Howie Dickenman, who retired after 20 years at Central Connecticut.

### Coaches

| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Year at school | Overall record | NEC record | NEC Tournament championships | Post-Season Tournament championships |
| Bryant | Tim O'Shea | Ohio | 9 | 81–163 | 48–76 | 0 | 0 |
| Central Connecticut | Donyell Marshall | Buffalo (asst.) | 1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fairleigh Dickinson | Greg Herenda | UMass Lowell | 4 | 36–57 | 20–32 | 1 | 0 |
| LIU Brooklyn | Jack Perri | LIU Brooklyn (asst.) | 5 | 57–67 | 33–37 | 1 | 0 |
| Mount St. Mary's | Jamion Christian | VCU (asst.) | 5 | 63–65 | 41–29 | 1 | 0 |
| Robert Morris | Andrew Toole | Robert Morris (asst.) | 7 | 120–87 | 73–33 | 1 | 0 |
| Sacred Heart | Anthony Latina | Sacred Heart (asst.) | 4 | 32–61 | 22–30 | 0 | 0 |
| St. Francis Brooklyn | Glenn Braica | St. John's (asst.) | 7 | 98–91 | 65–41 | 0 | 0 |
| Saint Francis (PA) | Rob Krimmel | Saint Francis (PA) (asst.) | 5 | 44–78 | 30–40 | 0 | 0 |
| Wagner | Bashir Mason | Wagner (asst.) | 5 | 71–55 | 45–25 | 0 | 0 |
Notes:
* All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only.
* Year at school includes 2016–17 season.
* Overall and NEC/NCAA records are from time at current school and are before the beginning of the 2016–17 season.
* Previous jobs are head coaching jobs unless otherwise noted.

## Preseason
### Preseason Coaches Poll

Source
| Rank | Team |
| 1. | Fairleigh Dickinson (6) |
| 2. | Wagner (4) |
| 3. | Bryant |
| 4. | LIU Brooklyn |
| 4. | Mount St. Mary's |
| 6. | Robert Morris |
| 7. | St. Francis Brooklyn |
| 8. | Sacred Heart |
| 9. | Saint Francis (PA) |
| 10. | Central Connecticut |
 first place votes

### Preseason All-NEC team

Source
| Recipient | School |
| Earl Potts, Jr. | Fairleigh Dickinson |
| Corey Henson | Wagner |
| Jerome Frink | LIU Brooklyn |
| Michael Carey | Wagner |
| Darian Anderson | Fairleigh Dickinson |

## NEC regular season
### Conference matrix

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.
| | Bryant | Central Conn. | FDU | LIU Brooklyn | Mount St. Mary's | RMU | Sacred Heart | St. Francis Brooklyn | Saint Francis (PA) | Wagner |
| vs. Bryant | – | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. Central Conn. | 2–0 | – | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| vs. Fairleigh Dickinson | 1–1 | 0–2 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. LIU Brooklyn | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| vs. Mount St. Mary's | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| vs. Robert Morris | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | – | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| vs. Sacred Heart | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | – | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. St. Francis Brooklyn | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | – | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Saint Francis (PA) | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | – | 1–1 |
| vs. Wagner | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | – |
| Total | 9–9 | 4–14 | 9–9 | 13–5 | 14–4 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 2–16 | 11–7 | 11–7 |

### Player of the week

Throughout the regular season, the Northeast Conference offices named a player of the week and a rookie of the week each Monday.
| Date | Player of the week | Rookie of the week |
| November 14, 2016 | Mike Aaman, Wagner | Sabastian Townes, St. Francis Brooklyn |
| November 21, 2016 | Quincy McKnight, Sacred Heart | Jashaun Agosto, LIU Brooklyn |
| November 28, 2016 | Nisre Zouzoua, St. Francis Brooklyn Iverson Fleming, LIU Brooklyn | Keith Braxton, Saint Francis (PA) |
| December 5, 2016 | Joseph Lopez, Sacred Heart | Keith Braxton, Saint Francis (PA) |
| December 12, 2016 | Iverson Fleming, LIU Brooklyn | Adam Grant, St. Francis Brooklyn |
| December 19, 2016 | Quincy McKnight, Sacred Heart | Rasheem Dunn, St. Francis Brooklyn |
| December 26, 2016 | Kavon Stewart, Robert Morris | Ikenna Ndugba, Bryant |
| January 2, 2017 | Darian Anderson, Fairleigh Dickinson | Rasheem Dunn, St. Francis Brooklyn Keith Braxton, Saint Francis (PA) |
| January 9, 2017 | Jerome Frink, LIU Brooklyn Michael Carey, Wagner | Randall Gaskins, Jr., Saint Francis (PA) |
| January 16, 2017 | Quincy McKnight, Sacred Heart | Adam Grant, St. Francis Brooklyn Keith Braxton, Saint Francis (PA) |
| January 23, 2017 | Darian Anderson, Fairleigh Dickinson | Keith Braxton, Saint Francis (PA) |
| January 30, 2017 | Isaiah Blackmon, Saint Francis (PA) | Rasheem Dunn, St. Francis Brooklyn |
| February 6, 2017 | Josh Nebo, Saint Francis (PA) | Keith Braxton, Saint Francis (PA) |
| February 13, 2017 | Jerome Frink, LIU Brooklyn | Blake Francis, Wagner |
| February 20, 2017 | Raiquan Clark, LIU Brooklyn | Keith Braxton, Saint Francis (PA) |
| February 25, 2017 | Iverson Fleming, LIU Brooklyn | Dachon Burke, Robert Morris |

## All-NEC honors and awards

Following the regular season, the conference selected outstanding performers based on a poll of league coaches.
| Honor | Recipient |
| Player of the Year | Jerome Frink, LIU |
| Coach of the Year | Jamion Christian, MSM |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Josh Nebo, SFU |
| Rookie of the Year | Keith Braxton, SFU |
| Most Improved Player of the Year | Iverson Fleming, LIU |
| All-NEC First Team | Michael Carrey, WAG |
| All-NEC First Team | Elijah Long, MSM |
| All-NEC First Team | Jerome Frink, LIU |
| All-NEC First Team | Quincy McKnight, SHU |
| All-NEC First Team | Nisre Zouzoua, BRY |
| All-NEC Second Team | Darian Anderson, FDU |
| All-NEC Second Team | Keith Braxton, SFU |
| All-NEC Second Team | Corey Henson, WAG |
| All-NEC Second Team | Isaiah Still, RMU |
| All-NEC Second Team | Junior Robinson, MSM |
| All-NEC Third Team | Isaiah Blackmon, SFU |
| All-NEC Third Team | Iverson Fleming, LIU |
| All-NEC Third Team | Stephan Jiggets, FDU |
| All-NEC Third Team | Joseph Lopez, SHU |
| All-NEC Third Team | Josh Nebo, SFU |
| All-NEC Rookie Team | Rasheem Dunn, SFC |
| All-NEC Rookie Team | Jashuan Agosto, LIU |
| All-NEC Rookie Team | Keith Braxton, SFU |
| All-NEC Rookie Team | Adam Grant, BRY |
| All-NEC Rookie Team | Miles Wilson, MSM |

## Postseason
### NEC Tournament

| Quarterfinals Wednesday, March 1 | Quarterfinals Wednesday, March 1 | Quarterfinals Wednesday, March 1 | | | Semifinals Saturday, March 4 | Semifinals Saturday, March 4 | Semifinals Saturday, March 4 | Championship Tuesday, March 7 | Championship Tuesday, March 7 | Championship Tuesday, March 7 |
| 1 | Mount St. Mary's | 76 | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Sacred Heart | 73 | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Sacred Heart | 73 | | | 1 | Mount St. Mary's | 75 | | | |
| | | | | | 7 | Robert Morris | 66 | | | |
| 4 | Saint Francis (PA) | 100 | | | 7 | Robert Morris | 66 | | | |
| 5 | Bryant | 78 | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Bryant | 78 | | | | | | 1 | Mount St. Mary's | 71 |
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | 1 | Mount St. Mary's | 71 |
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | 4 | Saint Francis (PA) | 61 |
| 2 | LIU Brooklyn | 68 | | | | | | | | | 4 | Saint Francis (PA) | 61 |
| 7 | Robert Morris | 69 | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Robert Morris | 69 | | | 3 | Wagner | 70 | | | |
| | | | | | 4 | Saint Francis (PA) | 71 | | | |
| 3 | Wagner | 72 | | | 4 | Saint Francis (PA) | 71 | | | |
| 6 | Fairleigh Dickinson | 70 | | | | | | | | |
All games will be played at the venue of the higher seed

### NCAA tournament

| Seed | Region | School | First Four | First round | Second round | Sweet 16 | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
| 16 | East | Mount St. Mary's | W, 67–66 vs. #16 New Orleans – (Dayton) | L, 56–76 vs. #1 Villanova – (KeyBank Center) | | | | | |

### CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament

| School | 1st Round | 2nd Round | Quarterfinals | Semifianls | Championship |
| Saint Francis (PA) | W, 78–76 vs. #1 Jacksonville | L, 79–87 vs. #4 UMBC | | | |

## Milestones and records

* On November 11, 2016, the Wagner Seahawks upset 18th ranked UConn on the road, marking one of the most significant wins in program history.