# 2018–19 Northeast Conference men's basketball season

The 2018–19 Northeast Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2018, followed by the start of the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play started in January and concluded in March 2019.
The NEC tournament was held from March 3 through March 9 with the higher-seeded team hosting each game.

## Head coaches
### Coaching changes

On April 2, 2018, Bryant announced Jared Grasso as the 8th head coach in program history. Grasso replaced Tim O'Shea, who retired after last season.
On May 10, 2018, Mount St. Mary's announced Dan Engelstad as the 22nd head coach in program history. Engelstad replaced Jamion Christian, who went on to become the head coach at Siena.

### Coaches

| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Year at school | Overall record | NEC record | NEC tournament championships |
| Bryant | Jared Grasso | Iona (asst.) | 1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 |
| Central Connecticut | Donyell Marshall | Buffalo (asst.) | 2 | 20–41 | 11–25 | 0 |
| Fairleigh Dickinson | Greg Herenda | UMass Lowell | 6 | 60–94 | 38–50 | 1 |
| LIU Brooklyn | Derek Kellogg | UMass | 2 | 18–17 | 10–8 | 1 |
| Mount St. Mary's | Dan Engelstad | Southern Vermont | 1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 |
| Robert Morris | Andrew Toole | Robert Morris (asst.) | 9 | 150–123 | 91–51 | 1 |
| Sacred Heart | Anthony Latina | Sacred Heart (asst.) | 6 | 55–101 | 35–53 | 0 |
| St. Francis Brooklyn | Glenn Braica | St. John's (asst.) | 9 | 115–136 | 77–65 | 0 |
| Saint Francis (PA) | Rob Krimmel | Saint Francis (asst.) | 7 | 79–108 | 53–53 | 0 |
| Wagner | Bashir Mason | Wagner (asst.) | 7 | 110–79 | 70–36 | 0 |
Notes:
* All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only.
* Year at school includes 2018–19 season.
* Overall and NEC/NCAA records are from time at current school and are before the beginning of the 2018–19 season.
* Previous jobs are head coaching jobs unless otherwise noted.

## Preseason
### Preseason coaches poll

Source
| Rank | Team |
| 1. | Saint Francis (PA) (8) |
| 2. | Fairleigh Dickinson (1) |
| 3. | LIU Brooklyn (1) |
| 4. | Wagner |
| 5. | Robert Morris |
| 6. | Central Connecticut |
| 7. | St. Francis Brooklyn |
| 8. | Bryant |
| 9. | Sacred Heart |
| 10. | Mount St. Mary's |
 first place votes

### Preseason All-NEC team

Source
| Recipient | School |
| Raiquan Clark | LIU Brooklyn |
| Keith Braxton | Saint Francis |
| Mike Holloway | Fairleigh Dickinson |
| Jamaal King | Saint Francis |
| Tyler Kohl | Central Connecticut |

## NEC regular season
### Conference matrix

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. (x) indicates games remaining this season.
| | Bryant | Central Conn. | Fairleigh Dickinson | LIU Br'klyn | Mount St. Mary's | Robert Morris | Sacred Heart | St. Francis Brooklyn | Saint Francis (PA) | Wagner |
| vs. Bryant | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 |
| vs. Central Conn. | 1–1 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Fairleigh Dickinson | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. LIU Br'klyn | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| vs. Mount St. Mary's | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| vs. Robert Morris | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 |
| vs. Sacred Heart | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. St. Francis Brooklyn | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | – | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| vs. Saint Francis (PA) | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 1–1 |
| vs. Wagner | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | – |
| Total | 7–11 | 5–13 | 12–6 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 11–7 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 12–6 | 8–10 |

### Player of the week

Throughout the regular season, the Northeast Conference offices named player(s) of the week and rookie(s) of the week.
| Week | Player of the week | Rookie of the week |
| November 12, 2018 | Tyler Kohl, CCSU | Koreem Ozier, SHU |
| November 19, 2018 | Tyler Kohl (2), CCSU Josh Williams, RMU | Ian Krishnan, CCSU |
| November 26, 2018 | Darnell Edge, FDU | Nana Opuku, MSM |
| December 3, 2018 | Keith Braxton, SFU | Cameron Parker, SHU |
| December 10, 2018 | Raul Frias, LIU | Dee Barnes, MSM |
| December 17, 2018 | Jalen Jordan, SFBK | Cameron Parker (2), SHU |
| December 24, 2018 | Tyler Kohl (3), CCSU Malik Jefferson, MSM | Joe Kasperzyk, BRY |
| December 31, 2018 | Raiquan Clark, LIU | Joe Kasperzyk (2), BRY Vado Morse, MSM |
| January 7, 2019 | E. J. Anosike, SHU | Vado Morse (2), MSM |
| January 14, 2019 | Tyler Kohl (4), CCSU Romone Saunders, WAG | Joe Kasperzyk (3), BRY Ian Krishnan (2), CCSU |
| January 21, 2019 | Jalen Jordan (2), SFBK | Vado Morse (3), MSM |
| January 28, 2019 | Keith Braxton (2), SFU | Vado Morse (4), MSM |
| February 4, 2019 | Tyler Kohl (5), CCSU | Malik Jefferson, MSM |
| February 11, 2019 | Tyler Kohl (6), CCSU | Vado Morse (5), MSM |
| February 18, 2019 | Glenn Sanabria, SFBK Keith Braxton (2), SFU | Vado Morse (6), MSM |
| February 25, 2019 | Mike Holloway Jr., FDU | Damian Chong Qui, MSM |

## Postseason
### NEC tournament

Teams are reseeded after each round with highest remaining seeds receiving home court advantage.
| Quarterfinals Wednesday, March 6, 2019 NEC Front Row | Quarterfinals Wednesday, March 6, 2019 NEC Front Row | Quarterfinals Wednesday, March 6, 2019 NEC Front Row | | | Semifinals Saturday, March 9, 2019 ESPN3/NEC Front Row | Semifinals Saturday, March 9, 2019 ESPN3/NEC Front Row | Semifinals Saturday, March 9, 2019 ESPN3/NEC Front Row | Championship Tuesday, March 12, 2019 ESPN2 | Championship Tuesday, March 12, 2019 ESPN2 | Championship Tuesday, March 12, 2019 ESPN2 |
| 1 | Saint Francis (PA) | 67 | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Bryant | 63 | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Bryant | 63 | | | 1 | Saint Francis (PA) | 72 | | | |
| | | | | | 6 | LIU Brooklyn | 64 | | | |
| 4 | Robert Morris | 69$^{OT}$ | | | 6 | LIU Brooklyn | 64 | | | |
| 5 | St. Francis Brooklyn | 65 | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | St. Francis Brooklyn | 65 | | | | | | 1 | Saint Francis (PA) | 76 |
| (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 | Saint Francis (PA) | 76 |
| (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) | 2 | Fairleigh Dickinson | 85 |
| 2 | Fairleigh Dickinson | 84 | | | | | | | | | 2 | Fairleigh Dickinson | 85 |
| 7 | Wagner | 46 | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Wagner | 46 | | | 2 | Fairleigh Dickinson | 66 | | | |
| | | | | | 4 | Robert Morris | 62 | | | |
| 3 | Sacred Heart | 62 | | | 4 | Robert Morris | 62 | | | |
| 6 | LIU Brooklyn | 71 | | | | | | | | |

### NCAA tournament

| Seed | Region | School | First Four | 1st round | 2nd round | Sweet 16 | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
| 16 | West | Fairleigh Dickinson | 82–76 vs. (#16) Prairie View A&M – (Dayton, OH) | 49-87 vs. (#1) Gonzaga – (Salt Lake City, UT) | | | | | |

### National Invitational Tournament

| Seed | School | 1st round | 2nd round | Quarterfinals | Semifianls | Championship |
| 8 | Saint Francis (PA) | 72–89 at. (#1) Indiana – (Bloomington, IN) | | | | |

### CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament

| School | 1st round | 2nd round | Quarterfinals | Semifianls | Championship |
| St. Francis Brooklyn | 72–81 at. Hampton – (Hampton, VA) | | | | |
| Robert Morris | 98–89$^{OT}$ vs. Cornell – (Moon Township, PA) | 70–77 vs. Presbyterian – (Moon Township, PA) | | | |

## 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 | Keith Braxton, SFPA |
| Coach of the Year | Rob Krimmel, SFPA |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Jare'l Spellman, SHU |
| Rookie of the Year | Vado Morse, MSM |
| Most Improved Player of the Year | E.J. Anosike, SHU |
| All-NEC First Team | Keith Braxton, SFPA |
| All-NEC First Team | Raiquan Clark, LIU |
| All-NEC First Team | Darnell Edge, FDU |
| All-NEC First Team | Sean Hoehn, SHU |
| All-NEC First Team | Jamaal King, SFPA |
| All-NEC Second Team | E.J. Anosike, SHU |
| All-NEC Second Team | Jalen Jordan, SFBK |
| All-NEC Second Team | Romone Saunders, WC |
| All-NEC Second Team | Mike Holloway Jr., FDU |
| All-NEC Second Team | Tyler Kohl, CCSU |
| All-NEC Third Team | Ty Flowers, LIU |
| All-NEC Third Team | Glenn Sanabria, SFBK |
| All-NEC Third Team | Adam Grant, BRY |
| All-NEC Third Team | Sabastian Townes, BRY |
| All-NEC Third Team | Josh Williams, RMU |
| All-NEC Rookie Team | Joe Kasperzyk, BRY |
| All-NEC Rookie Team | Ian Krishnan, CCSU |
| All-NEC Rookie Team | Vado Morse, MSM |
| All-NEC Rookie Team | Koreem Ozier, SHU |
| All-NEC Rookie Team | Cameron Parker, SHU |