Central Islip, N.Y. – With regular season play wrapping up on Sunday afternoon, the brackets for the 2015 East Coast Conference Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships are now set.
Tournament action begins on Wednesday, March 4 with the play-in round quarterfinals on campus sites. LIU Post's Pratt Recreation Center will host the semifinals and finals of both tournaments on Saturday, March 8 and Sunday, March 9.
Men’s Basketball
After advancing to the ECC Championship game for the first time ever as the No. 5 seed last season, St. Thomas Aquinas carried the momentum into the 2014-15 season, sharing the conference's Regular Season Championship and earning the top seed. They enter the tournament with a 20-10 (17-3 ECC) record. This is the first time since the 1998-99 season, before they were even NCAA Division II members, that the Spartans have won 20 games in a season.
As the top seed, St. Thomas Aquinas earns a bye into the semifinals where they will face off against the winner of the No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup of LIU Post hosting Molloy. The schools split their two regular season meetings, with each game finishing within a margin of at least five points. LIU Post (16-12, 11-9 ECC) is making their 13th straight appearance in the ECC Championship, while Molloy (16-12, 11-9 ECC) is in the field for the eighth consecutive season.
Two-time defending ECC Champion and Co-Regular Season Champion, Bridgeport, receives the other bye after posting a 22-6 (17-3 ECC) record during the regular season.
In the semifinals, Bridgeport will take on the winner of the No. 3 vs. No. 6 quarterfinal matchup which features the New York Institute of Technology Bears hosting the Dowling College Golden Lions. NYIT (14-14, 11-9 ECC), is back in the ECC Championship after a one-year hiatus. The Golden Lions (12-15, 10-10 ECC) swept the season series between the two schools, including an exciting 86-85 win at NYIT on February 4th.
Women’s Basketball
On the women’s side, defending ECC Champion, University of the District of Columbia earned their first-ever ECC Regular Season Championship with an 18-2 record in conference play. As the top seed the Firebirds, who have set a program record with 25 wins, earn a bye into the semifinals. This is the third time in their four years in the conference that UDC has earned a first round bye.
The quarterfinal which will see the winner advance to take on UDC has No. 5 seed, LIU Post (17-11, 13-7 ECC), taking on their Northern Boulevard rival and No. 4 seed, New York Institute of Technology (18-10, 13-7 ECC). The game is a rematch of a semifinal game from the 2014 Championship that LIU Post won. The two teams split their regular season match-ups with each winning on their home courts.
Joining UDC with a first round bye is Queens College. The Knights earned the second seed with a 15-5 record (20-7 overall) in conference action.
Roberts Wesleyan earns the No. 3 seed and will host the No. 6 seed, St. Thomas Aquinas College. Roberts is making their first-ever appearance in the ECC Championship. The Redhawks are in their first season as full NCAA Division II members after a three-year transition process from the NAIA. Roberts also finished with a 15-5 ECC mark (20-6 overall) but lost out on the No. 2 seed to Queens due to conference tie-breakers. St. Thomas Aquinas (13-16, 9-11 ECC) are back in the tournament after having a streak of 11 straight appearances snapped a season ago. Roberts Wesleyan swept the season series between the two, but won in overtime, 50-46, in Rochester on February 21st.
Tip-off times for some games are yet to be determined. All games during the championship will be broadcast live. The quarterfinal match-ups will be available on the ECC website and ECC iHigh network (www.ihigh.com/eccsports). The semi-finals and finals broadcast, provided by the Birdseye Sports, will be high-quality broadcasts on the ECC website. To read Twitter updates throughout the tournament, follow us @ECCsports. Tournament recaps, highlights, interviews, and box scores will also be available on www.eccsports.org at the tournament specific web pages.
2015 East Coast Conference Men’s Basketball Championship
Quarterfinals – Wednesday, March 4 at campus sites
7:00 p.m. - No. 5 Molloy at No. 4 LIU Post
7:30 p.m. - No. 6 Dowling at No. 3 NYIT
Semifinals – Saturday, March 7 at LIU Post
5:00 p.m. - MOL/LIUP vs. No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas
7:30 p.m. - DOW/NYIT vs. No. 2 Bridgeport
Final – Sunday, March 8
2:30 p.m. - Semifinal winner vs. Semifinal winner
To view the ECC Men's Basketball Tournament page, click here.
2015 East Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Championship
Quarterfinals – Wednesday, March 4 at campus sites
5:00 p.m. - No. 5 LIU Post at No. 4 NYIT
Time TBA - No. 6 St. Thomas Aquinas at No. 3 Roberts Wesleyan
Semifinals – Saturday, March 7 at LIU Post
12:00 p.m. - LIUP/NYIT vs. No. 1 Dist. Columbia
2:30 p.m. - STAC/RWC vs. No. 2 Queens
Final – Sunday, March 8 at LIU Post
12:00 p.m. - Semifinal winner vs. Semifinal winner
To view the ECC Women's Basketball Tournament page, click here.
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