All right, so how does the NEC playoff race shake down with just one day of games left? Heavens to Betsy, we thought you’d never ask.
Last night: St. Francis (NY) beat Bryant 69–60, in overtime, but whatever, they got the win they needed. (Note, again, that one of the two NYC teams we’re holding out hope for making the NCAA Tournament needed overtime to beat a team that’s 1–28. It has been a long year.) Long Island, however, fell to Central Connecticut State 74–65, causing all kinds of problems.
So. In a fevered rush last night, we e-mailed Ron Ratner, associate commissioner
(communications and TV) of the Northeast Conference, a massive manifesto asking all the different tie-breaking scenarios heading into the final weekend of league play. (This e-mail was way too long, barely had spaces between words, and might have been constructed by cutting out letters from newspaper headlines. A colleague asked us: “Did your dog tell you to send that?”) Ratner, cheerfully, sent us to this tiebreaker site. And then, presumably, called the police.
Essentially: It all comes down to that St. Francis (NY)–Central Connecticut State game, which will be played at 1 p.m. tomorrow. The winner is in the eight-team NEC Tournament, which begins Wednesday and earns as high as a No. 7 seed. The loser is out. Long Island needs a win to clinch a home game and No. 4 seed in the tourney, and since they play Bryant, you’d have to think they get it.
The real game, though, is that St. Francis–CCSU contest. It’s on the road, which is a shame, because there’s no way we’d ever miss that if it were a few blocks from our apartment. Instead: Refresh, refresh, refresh. Catch the excitement. Catch the hysteria.