NEC opens play tonight

Conference play starts early this week as a number of schools get their feet wet with a little action. The NEC opens play tonight with a full slate of six games pitting teams against conference opponents. The headliner is defending champion Long Island hosting Wagner. Here’s what you need to know about those six games.

LIU vs. Wagner – There are 51 games tonight in college basketball. Ken Pomeroy’s FanMatch ranks this as the #5 game of the night. It should be an exciting, up-tempo game featuring two talented teams. The gap between these two teams doesn’t appear to be very large at all. Can Wagner’s pressure bother Jason Brickman? He has been a little turnover prone early in the season. Can Naofall Folahan and company contain Julian Boyd and Kenny Onyechi in the paint? If it’s a tight game at the end Wagner’s 74.3% to LIU’s 67.7% at the free throw line could come into play. But the guess here is that the Blackbirds pull out a close win at home.

Bryant vs. Central Connecticut State – This game is on TV! It’s also the first NEC game in high definition. Bryant has had some disappointing losses early in the season to Army and Dartmouth and defense has been the culprit. That’s not good because Kyle Vinales, Ken Horton and Robby Ptacek can score on anyone. The Blue Devils look to be in line for a road win to open conference play.

Robert Morris vs. Fairleigh Dickinson – This game has the biggest blowout potential of NEC game tonight. According to Ken Pomeroy’s numbers this is the top team in the NEC vs. the bottom team and he projects a 22-point home victory for the Colonials. RMU has some real good wins already this season. Look out for Velton Jones, who averages 17.8 points per game.

Mount St. Mary’s vs. St. Francis (NY) – This game is the most even game of the evening in the NEC. Both teams come into the game with just one victory, the Mount beat Hartford 63-50 and the Terriers defeated NJIT 79-60. Even though the Terriers are on the road they certainly have the ability to get to victory. The problem is that MSM defends the three-point line with gusto, allowing opponents to only make 27.8% of their attempts (45th in the nation) and SFC’s offense relies on shooters like Travis Nichols, Ben Mockford and Stefan Perunicic to get their baskets. That battle on the arc will probably determine the outcome.

Quinnipiac vs. Sacred Heart– If the Pioneers were at home I’d recommend you take them in this game, but even though SHU has the second most wins of any NEC team with four, go with the Bobcats. Early in the season Quinnipiac has one of the oddest defensive profiles you’ll ever see. Basically, they’ve been pounded inside (DR%, Defensive FTA/FGA and Defensive 2PT% are all miserable). Look for a big game out of Sacred Hear’s Justin Swidowski, a 6’9″ forward averaging 12.1 points per game, but that probably won’t be quite enough.

St. Francis (PA) vs. Monmouth – The Hawks, still searching for their first win of the season, head on the road for their first conference game of the season. The guess here is that Don Friday’s club enjoys a night of open looks in a familiar setting and gets an easy victory. Because they open with two games at home Ken Pomeroy gives the Red Flash a 58.5% chance of opening NEC play at 2-0. That means that they have a chance of being #1 when the tempo-free NEC debuts next week.