Central Islip, N.Y. – With the conclusion of regular season play, the brackets for the 2014 East Coast Conference Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships are now set.

Each game will be played on campus sites. Tournament action begins on Tuesday, March 4 when the women's quarterfinals tip off and will conclude with the men's championship game on Sunday, March 9. 

The Dowling men’s basketball and LIU Post women’s basketball teams earned the top seeds and home-court advantage throughout in the respective tournaments. (Note: Daemen's men's basketball team won the ECC regular season championship but is ineligible to compete in the conference tournament as they continue their transition process from the NAIA to becoming a full NCAA Division II member.)

Men’s Basketball

After advancing to the ECC Championship game for the first time since 1991 as the No. 6 seed last season, Dowling carried the momentum into the 2013-14 season, earning the top seed. They enter the tournament with a 22-6 (16-4 ECC) record, marking the first time since the 1997-98 season the Golden Lions have won 20 games.

Dowling will take on the winner of the No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup that features LIU Post hosting St. Thomas Aquinas. LIU Post, who finished the regular season with a 17-11 (12-8 ECC) record, won both regular season meetings over the Spartans. St. Thomas Aquinas (13-13, 9-11 ECC) is making their first ECC Championship appearance since the 2008-09 season.

Reigning ECC Champion, Bridgeport, receives the other bye after posting a 16-10 (14-6 ECC) record during the regular season.

The other quarterfinal has No. 6 seed, Queens, traveling to face No. 3 seed, Molloy, in a rematch of a quarterfinal game from the 2013 Championship that Molloy won. After an 0-12 (0-6 ECC) start to the season, Queens reeled of wins in nine of their final 14 games to capture the final spot in the Championship field. Molloy finished the regular season with a 16-12 (13-7 ECC) mark to finish as the No. 3 seed. The two teams split their regular season match-ups with each winning on their home courts.

Women’s Basketball

On the women’s side, LIU Post earned their first-ever ECC Regular Season Championship with an 18-2 record in conference play. As the top seed, the Pioneers earn a bye into the semifinals.

In the semifinals, LIU Post will face off against the winner of the No. 4 vs. No. 5 quarterfinal matchup which features the New York Institute of Technology Bears hosting the Molloy College Lions. NYIT (17-9, 13-7 ECC), who advanced to the ECC Championship Final for the second time in program history in 2013, swept the season series against Molloy. The Lions (14-13, 11-9 ECC) return to the ECC Championship after a one-year hiatus.

Joining LIU Post with a first round bye is University of the District of Columbia. The Firebirds earned the second seed for the second time in their three seasons in the ECC with a 15-5 record in conference action.

Queens earns the No. 3 seed and will host the No. 6 seed, Dowling College. Queens continues their turn-around climbing from a one win team in 2012, to claiming the final seed in the ECC Championship in 2013, to finish tied for the second best conference record in 2014. The Knights also finished with a 15-5 ECC mark (19-7 overall) but lost out on the No. 2 seed due to conference tie-breakers. Dowling comes into the tournament as two-time defending champions. The Golden Lions, who also advanced to the NCAA Division II National Championship Game in 2013, finished the regular season with a 10-15 (9-11 ECC) record. Queens has won two close match-ups between the schools this year, winning by four and five points, respectively.

Tip-off times for all games are yet to be determined. All games during the championship will be broadcast live. The quarterfinal and semifinal match-ups will be available on the ECC iHigh network (www.ihigh.com/eccsports).  The final broadcast, provided by the Birdseye Sports, will be a high-quality broadcast 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.

2014 East Coast Conference Men’s Basketball Championship
Quarterfinals – Wednesday, March 5
No. 6 Queens at No. 3 Molloy
No. 5 St. Thomas Aquinas at No. 4 LIU Post

Semifinals – Friday, March 7
QC/MOL at No. 2 Bridgeport  
STAC/LIUP at No. 1 Dowling

Final – Sunday, March 9
at highest remaining seed

To view the ECC Men's Basketball Tournament page, click here.

2014 East Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Championship
Quarterfinals – Tuesday, March 4
No. 6 Dowling at No. 3 Queens  
No. 5 Molloy at No. 4 NYIT

Semifinals – Thursday, March 6
DOW/QC at No. 2 Dist. Columbia
MOL/NYIT at No. 1 LIU Post

Final – Saturday, March 8
at highest remaining seed

To view the ECC Women's Basketball Tournament page, click here.