BENNINGTON, Vt. – The New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) released its 2017 men’s basketball playoff bracket Saturday night with Southern Vermont College taking the top seed in the tournament for the third-straight year.
After starting the season at 2-9, the Mountaineers ripped off 14-consective victories through league play to once again win the regular season championship with a 14-2 record against the Conference (16-9 overall). SVC earned a first-round bye and will host a semifinal game on Thursday, February 23 at 7 p.m.
“I'm proud of our team for accomplishing the regular season championship; it is always one of our team goals entering the season,” commented Southern Vermont fourth-year head coach Dan Engelstad. “For our group to come together and play at this level is credit to the talented players and staff we have. We are trying to stay focused on each day. The guys have meshed very well in a short amount of time after winter break. We have shown we are capable of playing high-level basketball this semester.”
Southern Vermont’s opponent will be the winner of Tuesday’s first-round game between fourth-seeded Wheelock College (8-8 NECC, 11-14 overall) and No. 5 Mitchell College (7-8 NECC, 7-18 overall). With a victory in the semis, SVC will then host the championship round on Saturday at 3 p.m.
The other first-round game on Tuesday sees No. 6 Regis College (6-9 NECC, 9-16 overall) visit third-seeded Lesley University (9-6 NECC, 15-10 overall). The team that is to advance from that matchup will then go on to play at No. 2 Becker College which finished the year at 13-3 in league action (17-8 overall).
This is the first year in which the NECC’s tournament will be a Thursday/Saturday semifinal/championship format with the top two seeds each hosting a semi; the title game is then to be held by the highest-remaining seed instead of the top school in the bracket like previous tournaments have seen.
“We are going to need to defend and rebound at a high level,” Engelstad added. “This time of year, the game is played in the half court. We need to be sharp on both sides of the ball. Our guys are excited for this moment. They like the big stage. They know what is at stake.”
The Mountaineers are looking to claim their second-straight tournament crown and earn a berth into the NCAA Division III regional playoff; that would be the program’s third appearance in the national tournament.
2017 NECC Men's Basketball Championship Tournament
First Round – Tuesday, February 21st
Game 1: #5 Mitchell @ #4 Wheelock 7:30 p.m.
Game 2: #6 Regis @ #3 Lesley 8 p.m.
Semifinals – Thursday, February 23rd
Game 3: Winner of Game 1 @ #1 Southern Vermont – 7 p.m.
Game 4: Winner of Game 2 @ #2 Becker – 7 p.m.
Championship – Saturday, February 25th
Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner at highest remaining seed – TBA
– #LetsGoSVC –