Conference

Tournament Overview

Academy Bus Sponsor of the NEC Basketball Tournament Headquarters

For the sixth straight year, the NEC Men’s Basketball Tournament will consist of an eight-team playoff format with all games played at the home of the higher seed. After the quarterfinals, the teams will be reseeded so the highest remaining seed plays the lowest remaining seed in the semifinals.

NEC Tournament quarterfinal play commences on Thursday, March 4, followed by the semifinal round on Sunday, March 7. One men’s semifinal game will be televised, with MSG Network. The championship game, to be televised by ESPN2, will be contested on Wednesday, March 10 at 7:00 pm.

The NEC’s return to a playoff format in 2005 came after an eight-year absence that saw the league’s annual postseason tournament contested at one campus site (1999), at a municipal arena (2000-01) and at a single campus site for the quarterfinals and semifinals, followed by the highest remaining seed hosting the championship game (1998, 2002-04). The conference had previously employed a high-seed hosting format from 1991-97, though teams were not reseeded after the quarterfinals as the tournament is currently constructed.

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