Northeast Conference Preview

The following preview is provided by Blue Ribbon. For the most thorough preview available of the upcoming season, order the 2002-03 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, on sale now at 1-800-775-2518.   Blue Ribbon Forecast No. Team  '01-02 Conf. Rec. (Overall) 1. Wagner  15-5 (19-9)  2. Central Conn. State  19-1 (27-4)  3. St. Francis (NY)  13-7 (18-11)  4. Quinnipiac  10-10 (14-16)  5. Fairleigh Dickinson  4-16 (4-25)  6. St. Francis (PA)  5-15 (6-21)  7. UMBC  15-5 (20-9)  8. Robert Morris  11-9 (12-18)  9. Sacred Heart  7-13 (8-20)  10. Long Island  5-15 (5-22)  11. Monmouth  14-6 (18-12)  12. Mount St. Mary's  2-18 (3-24)  All-Conference Team Did You Know? G: Damian Battles SR, Central Connecticut State G: Antawn Dobie SR, Long Island G: Maurice Bailey JR, Sacred Heart F: Jermaine Hall SR, Wagner F: Jeremy Bishop, SR Quinnipiac Player of the Year Jermaine Hall SR, Wagner Newcomer of the Year Tory Cavalieri SO, St. Francis (NY) Top Backcourts 1. Central Connecticut State 2. Quinnipiac 3. Wagner Top Frontcourts 1. St. Francis (NY) 2. Central Connecticut State 3. Wagner 2002-03 Conference Tournament March 8-9, Spiro Sports Center, Staten Island, NY March 12, Championship game at site of highest seed 2001-02 Champions Cen. Conn. State (Reg. season, conf. tournament) 2001-02 NCAA Tournament Postseason Record 0-2 (.000) NCAA Central Connecticut State NIT Wagner The NEC will have a team play in the Preseason NIT for the second straight year when Wagner tips off with UNC Greensboro on Nov. 19 at Greensboro Coliseum. CCSU lost to Oklahoma, 66-44, in Norman, Okla. last year. The league has shifted from a 20-game league schedule to an 18-game format, which means some teams will play only once during the regular season. CCSU finished ranked No. 53 in the final RPI, the highest ranking ever for an NEC team. The Blue Devils have won 19 straight NEC games. UMBC and Wagner will play defending NCAA Tournament champion Maryland this season on Dec. 23 and Jan. 4, respectively. NEC teams will play a total of 15 games against teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament. LIU is the only program to replace its head coach in the off-season, with Jim Ferry arriving from NCAA Division-II power Adelphi College. Wagner senior forward Jermaine Hall and Long Island guard Antawn Dobie both went over the 1,000-point mark for their careers last season. Hall and Dobie were also the top scorers in NEC play at 22.2 and 21.6 points per game, respectively. Quinnipiac junior forward Jeremy Bishop led the nation in rebounds at 12.0 per game. He was the first player from the league since LIU's Charles Jones to lead the NCAA in an individual category. Mount St. Mary's, FDU and LIU were a combined 1-29 before Jan. 1 last season. The teams won a total of 11 more games combined by the end of the season. Mount State Mary's coach Jim Phelan, entering his NCAA record 49th season, has 819 career wins while the rest of the other 11 coaches combined have 1,260 wins. Six NEC coaches, Ferry, Dave Calloway (Monmouth), Joe DeSantis (Quinnipiac), Mark Schmidt (Robert Morris), Bobby Jones (St. Francis, PA) and Dereck Whittenburg (Wagner) were not even born when Phelan arrived at the Mount.

 

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