Previously known as the Northeast Conference, this league simply goes by the NEC now, so this is the first NEC Conference Tournament with the acronym over the full name. There are a lot of notes and nuggets besides that for this one. There are three teams – Mercyhurst, Le Moyne, New Haven – that cannot win this tournament because of their transitional status. New Haven can’t even play in the conference tournament.

In the event that Mercyhurst or Le Moyne win the conference tournament, the runner-up gets the automatic bid. If those two teams both make the final game, then the conference will stage an automatic qualifier game with the non-advancing semifinalists. In other words, this could get very messy.

New Haven isn’t the only conference member not in the field. Saint Francis, who is going to Division III after the season, did not qualify. That leaves us with eight of the 10 conference members. Games are on the higher-seeded campus and the NEC does re-seed after the quarterfinals, which every team plays in.

How to Watch the NEC Conference Tournament

When: March 4, March 7, March 10

Where: Campus sites; higher-seeded team hosts the game

Format: All teams play in the quarterfinals, field gets re-seeded for the semifinals

Watch: NEC Front Row, YES, NESN Nation, ESPN+; Championship Game on ESPN2 on Mar. 10 at 7 p.m. ET

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NEC Conference Tournament Bracket

Coming soon.

NEC Conference Tournament Seeds, Teams and Odds

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1. LIU (-200)

2. Central Connecticut (+400)

3. Mercyhurst (+600)

4. Le Moyne (+1200)

5. Stonehill (+6000)

6. Fairleigh Dickinson (+15000)

7. Wagner (+10000)

8. Chicago State (+30000)

Current Odds

(odds from DraftKings Sportsbook accurate at time of publish)

Favorite To Win NEC Conference Tournament

LIU is one of the biggest conference tournament favorites that we will see. The Sharks are ranked well above the rest of the conference and finished three games better than anybody else in conference play, with losses to Le Moyne, New Haven, and Mercyhurst on the road. As the No. 1 seed, they won’t have to worry about the road at all here.

While Central Connecticut was the best team by adjusted offensive efficiency and Stonehill was the best by adjusted defensive efficiency, LIU was the most balanced team in the conference. The Sharks finished second in eFG% offense, third in eFG% defense, and first in 3P% defense. One thing to hold against LIU is that they have the lowest 3P Rate in the conference and one of the lowest in the nation. In a one-and-done format, an opponent shooting well from 3 could make it very hard for the Sharks to keep pace.

One other thing to hold against the Sharks is that they were ninth in TO% on offense in the 10-team conference. They got a lot of those giveaways back on defense and led all NEC teams in ORB%, but the -200 price does seem a little optimistic here, even if the conference is theirs to lose.

NEC Conference Tournament Darkhorse

By the definition of darkhorse, Le Moyne is the team to get some run here, as they are a double-digit shot to win this. The Dolphins were second in eFG% offense and first in eFG% defense during conference play. They don’t take good care of the basketball and don’t get many offensive rebounds, so that lowers their margin for error from the floor. But, they’ve been a pretty good team all in all. They beat LIU 83-77 in the first meeting before losing 83-61 in the rematch 10 days later.

Both Central Connecticut and Mercyhurst are interesting on the opposite side of the bracket from LIU. Even with re-seeding, neither one can see the Sharks prior to the final and LIU’s odds-on price does present some potential value. Central Connecticut is a very good shooting team and Mercyhurst takes better care of the basketball than anybody. LIU’s worst defensive performance of the NEC schedule came against Central Connecticut in the first meeting, but they did crush the Blue Devils in the second meeting. Not darkhorse odds, but pretty big for a No. 2 and No. 3 seed relative to what we see in the other conferences.

Betting Pick to Win The NEC Conference Tournament

The odds, the rankings, and so many other things point towards LIU winning this, but I’m not interested in -200 and there are enough vulnerabilities for this team to find a way not to secure that automatic NCAA Tournament bid. Le Moyne already beat them once if the top four seeds hold up and Mercyhurst beat them as well.

Mercyhurst went 10-8 in conference play and their eight losses were by a combined total of 27 points. They play a ton of close games, so things can hinge on a handful of possessions. At the 6/1 price, they would have to probably win road games at Central Connecticut and LIU to get it done. The Lakers were around +150 at CCSU on Feb. 26 (+3.5) and around +325 (+8.5) at LIU on Jan. 8. A moneyline rollover is definitely going to yield a better price than 6/1, so you may want to consider betting the Lakers on the moneyline and then rolling over the bet amount plus the winnings into the next game and then the next game after that if they win.

Pick: Mercyhurst (+600)

Makinen Power Ratings for NEC

Coming soon.

  • Eighteen of the last 24 quarterfinal games in the Northeast Conference tourney went Under the total (75%), including 3-1 a year ago.
  • Underdogs in the Northeast Conference tourney championship game are on a 16-3 ATS (84.2%) run, including 13 outright upsets. In the 2025 title game, St Francis (+11.5) upset Central Connecticut, 46-43.

Check out the other previews in our 2026 College Basketball Conference Tournament Betting Guide.

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