Today: Mar 28, 2024

NE10 left wide open for basketball

Sam TapperSports Writer

The men’s basketball team is entering the stretch run of the season, as just six games remain on the schedule before the regular season ends and the NE-10 tournament begins.

These final six games for the Owls are crucial, as they are in the midst of a battle for a top seed in the conference tournament from the Southwest Division.

Of the seven teams in the Owls’ division, five teams are in the hunt for a top spot, themselves included. Currently, Le Moyne is the top team in the division and seems like the early favorite to finish in first.

The Dolphins are 12-2 in conference play and 16-6 overall. On average, they shoot 45 percent from the field and score an even 84 points per game. It is important to note that of their six losses, four of them came in November — the first month of the season. However, their last loss was 95-61 at Assumption College, a team the Owls recently beat.

After Le Moyne, the battle begins. Adelphi, New Haven and Southern are all within two games of each other. In conference play, Adelphi is 9-5, New Haven a shocking 8-6 despite a 10- 10 overall record, Southern 7-6, having played one fewer conference game than the rest of the league.

All of these teams remain on the Owls’ schedule in February. After the Owls’ matchup at AIC this weekend, they will play at Pace, before a huge final homestand where in order, they will host: Le Moyne, then New Haven and will close with Saint Rose, who is 4-19, before finishing the regular season at Adelphi.

The entire division is up for grabs, and despite some early mid-season struggles, they certainly have the talent to put themselves in a position to be in a top spot in the conference tournament as well as win once they get there, hopefully improving from last year.

Forward Greg Jones, a junior, has said he and senior forward Taurus Adams are the best big men in the NE-10. Head coach Scott Burrell has said that there are few better players than junior guard C.J. Seaforth when he is at his best. The pieces are all there.

“One loss [in the NE10], you drop two or three spots, one win we move up to second,” Burrell said after the win against New York Tech. “You’ve got to pay attention.”

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