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.