Who Will Win The 2010 NEC Tournament?

Sean Moore, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Mar 3, 2010 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

Let the madness begin. Beginning March 4, 2010 the 8 team NEC tournament is set to kick off. As in most mid major conferences, generally only one team from the North East Conference is awarded the opportunity to play in the 2010 NCAA tournament. This year figures to be no different. The NEC tournament appears to be highly competitive this year with several teams in the mix to take the title but no one team particularly standing out. The home court advantage should prove to be pivotal in securing first round wins.

First Round Matchups

- Quinnipiac looks to maintain their perfect record at home when they host 8^th seeded Monmouth. Quinnipiac (12-0) should prove to be the heavy favorite having just beat the Hawks on February 25^th by 19 points. Monmouth has to face the tall challenge of knocking off the top seeded Bobcats. The two teams split their two earlier meetings this year. Look for Quinnipiac to close this one out early in the contest.

- One of the hottest teams in the NEC right now is Mount St. Mary's. Coming off 10 straight wins within the NEC conference with 9 out of 10 of those wins coming by double digits. After starting off poorly within the NEC, the Mountaineers have been next to unstoppable since. They will be looking to keep the momentum going when they host #6 seeded Saint Francis (Penn.).

- Elsewhere Robert Morris will host Central Connecticut State. This should prove to be a blowout in favor of Robert Morris considering they've already beat the Blue Devils on their home court earlier this season. In addition, the Colonials have the big game experience that is crucial during early March having played #1 ranked team in the country Syracuse to open the season as well road games against Pittsburgh and Penn State.

- In a relatively even matchup across the board # 5 seeded Fairleigh Dickenson will face 4^th seeded Long Island University. The two teams faced off in mid February with LIU winning by a slim margin. Look for Fairleigh Dickenson to bounce back and avenge their earlier loss.

NEC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Thursday March 4, 2010

#8 Monmouth @ #1 Quinnipiac 7 p.m.

#7 CCSU at #2 Robert Morris 7 p.m.

#6 Saint Francis (PA) at #3 Mount St. Mary's 7 p.m.

#5 Fairleigh Dickinson at #4 Long Island 7 p.m.

Sunday March 7, 2010

Lowest Seed @ Highest Seed 2 p.m.

3^rd Highest Seed @Second Highest Seed

Wednesday March 10, 2010

NEC Championship 7 p.m.

CHAMPIONSHIP PREDICTION: ROBERT MORRIS