Central Islip, N.Y. – After the conclusion of regular season play on Sunday afternoon, the brackets for the 2016 East Coast Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are now set.
Tournament action begins on Wednesday, March 2 with the play-in round on campus sites. University of the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C. will host the semifinals and finals of both tournaments on Saturday, March 5 and Sunday, March 6.
Men’s Basketball
After winning their second straight ECC Regular Season Championship, St. Thomas Aquinas (24-4, 18-2 ECC) earns the top seed in the men's bracket. The Spartans, who have advanced to the championship game in each of the past two seasons, enter the tournament on a roll as winners of 18 games in a row.
By earning 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 between LIU Post (17-11, 12-8 ECC) and three-time defending champion Bridgeport (15-13, 12-8 ECC). The two schools renew a post-season rivalry with their first matchup in the ECC Championship since 2012. Starting in 2009, Bridgeport and LIU Post met in the final of four straight ECC Championships, with the Pioneers winning three times. This season, the schools split their two regular season meetings with each team winning on their home court.
Daemen, in their first season as active members of NCAA Division II, will make their first-ever appearance in the ECC Championship as the No. 2 seed. The Wildcats earn the first round bye on the back of an 18-9 (14-6) record.
In the semifinals, Daemen will play the winner of the No. 3 vs. No. 6 quarterfinal matchup which features two teams ending multi-year ECC Championship appearance droughts. After finishing in the bottom two spots of the conference standings in 2014-15, District of Columbia (15-13, 13-7 ECC) and Mercy (12-14, 9-11 ECC) had turnaround seasons and will meet for a chance to advance to the semifinals. UDC is in the bracket for the first time since their first year in the ECC in 2011-12. Mercy ends a longer drought, with their first appearance since 2000-01 and only their fourth in the 27 year history of the tournament. Mercy swept the two games between the schools this season.
Women’s Basketball
On the women’s side, New York Institute of Technology earned their first-ever ECC Regular Season Championship with an 18-2 record in conference play. As the top seed, the Bears, who have set a program record with 24 wins, earn a bye into the semifinals.
NYIT's semifinal opponent will be either No. 4 seed Roberts Wesleyan (22-6, 14-6 ECC) or No. 5 seed Molloy (12-16, 11-9 ECC). Roberts is making their second straight appearance in the ECC Championship, while Molloy is back in the tournament after missing out a season ago. The two schools split the season series, with each team claiming victory on their home court.
Joining NYIT with a first round bye is defending champion, Queens College. The Knights earned the second seed with a 15-5 record (18-8 overall) in conference action. Queens enters the tournament on a roll, winning 13 of their past 15 games.
Queens will match up with either No. 3 seed District of Columbia (20-8, 15-5 ECC) or No. 6 seed St. Thomas Aquinas (18-10, 11-9 ECC). UDC, who is looking to win their second ECC Championship in three seasons, makes their fourth appearance in the bracket in their five seasons as a conference member. St. Thomas Aquinas is in the tournament field for the second straight season and is also the No. 6 seed for the second year in a row. The two teams split their matchups in 2015-16 with the road team winning each contest.
All games during the championship will be broadcast live. The quarterfinal match-ups will be available on the ECC website and host institution's websites. The semi-finals and finals will be broadcast by Monumental Sports with links available 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.
2016 East Coast Conference Men’s Basketball Championship
Quarterfinals – Wednesday, March 2 at campus sites
7:00 p.m. - No. 5 Bridgeport at No. 4 LIU Post
7:30 p.m. - No. 6 Mercy at No. 3 Dist. Columbia
Semifinals – Saturday, March 5 at District of Columbia
5:00 p.m. - UB/LIUP vs. No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas
7:30 p.m. - MER/UDC vs. No. 2 Daemen
Final – Sunday, March 6 at District of Columbia
2:30 p.m. - Semifinal winner vs. Semifinal winner
To view the ECC Men's Basketball Tournament page, click here.
2016 East Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Championship
Quarterfinals – Wednesday, March 2 at campus sites
5:00 p.m. - No. 6 St. Thomas Aquinas at No. 3 Dist. Columbia
7:00 p.m. - No. 5 Molloy at No. 4 Roberts Wesleyan
Semifinals – Saturday, March 5 at District of Columbia
12:00 p.m. - MOL/RWC vs. No. 1 NYIT
2:30 p.m. - STAC/UDC vs. No. 2 Queens
Final – Sunday, March 6 at District of Columbia
12:00 p.m. - Semifinal winner vs. Semifinal winner
To view the ECC Women's Basketball Tournament page, click here.
