It’s conference title or bust for all the locals now.
Seton Hall’s overtime loss to Marquette on Sunday ended the Pirates’ hopes of earning an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. So, the Big East hopefuls are now in the same boat with the rest of the locals. While St. John’s, Seton Hall and Rutgers have one more of regular season hoops, the rest put their season on the line as the smaller conference tournaments kick off this week.
(previous ranking), (record, conference record)
1. Seton Hall (1) (16-11, 7-9 in Big East) — Now it’s about conference seeding for the Pirates, who if they can win out at Rutgers and Providence this week would have the chance to move up to eighth in the Big East. That would at least give them an opening-round bye. But with only one conference road win this season (St. John’s) that seems unlikely. Seton Hall knocked off Rutgers 76-70 earlier in the week before falling 84-83 to the Golden Eagles.
2. Stony Brook (2) (21-8, 13-3 in America East Conference) — The Seawolves took care of business with an 82-78 win over Vermont on Thursday that earned them the top seed in the America East Tournament, which tips off in Hartford on Thursday. While the first three rounds will be played in Connecticut the championship game will be played on the higher seed’s home floor. So, if Stony Brook gets there, they will be hosting.
Stony Brook would have taken over the top spot if not for a disappointing 77-55 loss to 12-16 New Hampshire that broke up the Seawolves’ 10-game winning streak. They will not play their quarterfinal game until noon Saturday when they take on last place Albany.
3. Fairfield (5) (20-9, 13-5 in MAAC) — The Stags ended the regular season with four wins in their final five games. They routed Iona on Friday night 71-54 to secure second place in the MAAC then used overtime to beat Niagara 80-74. They will face the winner of the Canisius-Marist opening-round game on Saturday.
4. Rutgers (4) (15-14, 5-11 in Big East) — The Scarlet Knights continued their improved Big East play by sticking close with Seton Hall on the road and beating DePaul at home. If they can win the rematch with their in-state rivals on Thursday, Rutgers should edge out St. John’s for 13th in the Big East.
5. Hofstra (7) (18-13, 10-8 in Colonial Athletic Association) — The Pride is peaking at the right time. Hofstra finished the CAA schedule winning nine of their final 10 games including Tuesday’s win at Northeastern, who was leading the conference going in.
Hofstra opens the CAA Tournament on Friday with a matchup against Georgia State, who they beat 87-74 to close out the regular season. If they advance, they will take on Northeastern again in the CAA quarters.
6. St. John’s (3) (15-13, 5-11 in Big East) — The Red Storm can relate to the Pirates as they also lost a home game overtime heartbreaker to Marquette this week. St. John’s followed that up with a loss to Pittsburgh at home and are now tied for 13th in the Big East. Norm Roberts’ crew finished off the regular season at No. 1 Syracuse and DePaul.
7. Iona (6) (21-9, 12-6 in MAAC) — The Gaels lost out on the No. 2 seed by losing to Fairfield, but secured third with a win over St. Peter’s on Sunday. They have to be on upset alert in the first round when they take on dangerous Niagara, who is the only team to beat Siena in the MAAC.
8. St. Peter’s (8) (16-13, 11-7 in MAAC) — The Peacocks buried Marist like everyone else, but Sunday’s 49-48 home loss to Iona made them the fourth seed in the MAAC Tournament. That means if they can get past Rider in the first round they have to play heavily-favored Siena in the semis.
9. LIU (9) (13-16, 11-7 in Northeast Conference) — The Blackbirds loss at Central Connecticut dropped them to the NEC’s fourth seed and set up a quarterfinal matchup with Fairleigh Dickinson in the conference tournament, which opens up Thursday night.
10. Fairleigh Dickinson (11) (11-20, 10-8 in Northeast Conference) — The Knights were 1-12 in non-conference play this season, so finishing fifth in the NEC wasn’t the worst thing for the program. FDU gets LIU in the NEC Tournament on Thursday night.
11. Princeton (10) (17-8, 8-3 in Ivy League) — The Tigers had a chance to climb into a tie with Cornell atop the Ivy League, but for the second time this season lost to the Big Red by three points on Friday night. The Ivy League remains the only conference that does not have a tournament to determine which teams get the automatic bid to the Big Dance.
Princeton kept their hopes alive with a victory over Columbia on Saturday, but would need a miracle to surpass Cornell.
12. Monmouth (12) (12-18, 8-10 in Northeast Conference ) — The Hawks won a tiebreaker with St. Francis, NY just to finish eighth in the NEC and qualify for the conference tournament. But they don’t enter postseason play on a high note after losing three straight. One of those losses was an 82-63 thumping by Quinnipiac, the NEC’s top seed, who they play in the opening round.
13. St. Francis, N.Y. (13) (11-18, 8-10 in Northeast Conference) — The Terriers could have gotten into the conference tournament, but fell to Central Connecticut 68-56 on Saturday. St. Francis led by 10 in the second half, but couldn’t hold on and now look toward next season.
14. NJIT (17) (9-17, 4-5 in Great West) — The Highlanders continue their slow rise from the depths of a recent 50-game losing streak. NJIT knocked off North Dakota for their ninth win of the season and have a chance to reach double digits wins with two games left.
15. Manhattan (15) (10-19, 4-14 in MAAC) — The Jaspers will be a longshot in the MAAC Tournament, where they will be the ninth seed and take on Loyola, MD, who they lost to 71-59 to closeout the regular season. Manhattan’s season likely ends on Thursday.
16. Columbia (16) (10-16, 4-8 in Ivy League) — The Lions showed how far they have to come with a 67-52 home loss against Princeton on Saturday.
17. Army (14) (14-14, 4-10 in Patriot League) — After double-digit home losses to Lafayette and Bucknell, the Black Knights fell to last in the Patriot League. They will take on regular season champ Lehigh in the conference quarterfinals Thursday.
18. Wagner (20a) (5-26, 3-15 in Northeast Conference) — After the embarrassing loss to winless Bryant, the Seahawks finished their season on a winning note with an 81-76 victory over St. Francis, PA. They didn’t qualify for the NEC Tournament.
19. Fordham (18) (2-24, 0-14 in Atlantic 10) — The Rams couldn’t take advantage of their final realistic chance at a conference win. Fordham fell to St. Bonaventure at home 73-68 on Wednesday night.
20. Marist (20b) (1-28, 1-17 in MAAC) — The Red Foxes’ season will thankfully come to an end Thursday night in the conference tournament against Canisius.
