Category: St. Francis Brooklyn

NEC Power Rankings – Version 1

To put it honestly and succinctly, the NEC has been a mess in what could be construed as the 1st inning of the 2015-16 season. As of this post, the 10 programs of the conference have combined to win 10 games in 52 tries against Division I competitors, sinking the league’s standing among the 32 conferences to 30th overall, ahead of only the lowly MEAC and SWAC, according to Ken Pomeroy. Continue reading “NEC Power Rankings – Version 1” →

North Florida 78, St. Francis Brooklyn 65 : Three Thoughts

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The last time reigning Atlantic Sun champions North Florida saw a team from the NEC, it was on a neutral court, just as it was Saturday at Hartford’s Chase Family Arena.

Of course, there were quite a few more people in attendance back in March when Robert Morris upended North Florida in an NCAA Tournament play-in game. It could have been St. Francis Brooklyn with a break here or there in the NEC finals, remember.

But a season later, North Florida – with most of its core group returning – appears ready to make a return NCAA run, while the Terriers – like most of the NEC – are still trying to find their way, as the Ospreys scored a whopping 1.63 points per possession in the first half to build a huge lead and coasted to a 78-65 win in front of about 100 diehards on a neutral floor.

Continue reading “North Florida 78, St. Francis Brooklyn 65 : Three Thoughts” →

Work To Do For St. Francis Brooklyn, But Time Too

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Glenn Braica had seen the season-opening movie he was watching Saturday afternoon at Boston College before. Fortunately, he knows it probably it’s quite as bad as it looked.

Defending NEC regular season champion St. Francis Brooklyn missed its first 13 shots from the field and went 8:28 without scoring a point to open the season, and never really recovered, getting blown out 75-49 at Conte Forum.

It was eerily similar to Glenn Braica’s first game in charge of the Terriers five years ago when Boston College raced to a 24-2 start and led 38-15 at the break en route to a 79-49 rout. St. Francis Brooklyn scored just 15 points and shot just 5-27 from the field that day. Saturday, after that opening drought, St. Francis finished 5-29 from the field in the first half and trailed 41-16 at the intermission.

Continue reading “Work To Do For St. Francis Brooklyn, But Time Too” →

The NEC 2015-16 Season Preview

It’s been a quiet offseason for yours truly for a number of reasons that you probably could care less about. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t kept track of the league; in fact, just the opposite! I was on the scoop for Blue Ribbon, so allow me (and John) to muddle some thoughts together for my NEC 2015-16 season preview. Continue reading “The NEC 2015-16 Season Preview” →

Top Impact NEC Freshmen for the 2015-16 Season

This almost feels a bit like cheating – waiting this long to release my top impact freshmen for the 2015-16 season. The timing was purposeful as I wanted to gather as much information as I could from coaches and scrimmage box scores. Continue reading “Top Impact NEC Freshmen for the 2015-16 Season” →

KenPom Releases NEC Rankings for 2015-16 Season

With less than three weeks remaining from the first jump ball in the college basketball season, Ken Pomeroy was gracious enough to unveil his highly anticipated rankings this past weekend. Prognostication is usually a fool’s game for the most part, yet breaking down a well-respected advanced statistics projection system such as KenPom is a fun exercise nonetheless. Continue reading “KenPom Releases NEC Rankings for 2015-16 Season” →

Is St. Francis Brooklyn’s Tyreek Jewell Underrated?

A few weeks ago, I posted my Way Too Early NEC All-Conference Teams thoughts. Given the turnover and roster youth in the NEC, narrowing down my top 15 players of 2015-16 was rather difficult. In particular, one player heading into his senior season, St. Francis Brooklyn’s Tyreek Jewell, wasn’t really considered as a candidate by yours truly. But after interviewing head coach Glenn Braica nearly two weeks ago, I’m starting to have serious doubts. Continue reading “Is St. Francis Brooklyn’s Tyreek Jewell Underrated?” →

Way Too Early NEC All-Conference Teams

As the NEC writer for the upcoming Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, I’ve started my deep analysis for each individual program. I still have several coaches to speak with throughout the summer, but I wanted to convey my current thoughts on the conference’s returning individual talent. Because 10 of 15 players have graduated or transferred from last year’s Big Apple Buckets all-NEC teams, this Way Too Early exercise would surely garner a ton of differing opinions. Continue reading “Way Too Early NEC All-Conference Teams” →