The 2024–25 Northeast Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2024, followed by the start of the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season on November 4. Conference play started on January 3, and the regular season ended on March 1, 2025. This was the 44th season of Northeast Conference men's basketball. Central Connecticut and Merrimack were the 2023–24 regular-season co-champions, but only Central Connecticut defended their title, since Merrimack left the NEC and joined the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). Wagner was the defending conference tournament champion.
This was the first season of NEC membership for both Chicago State, which joined after two seasons as a Division I independent, and Mercyhurst, which began its transition from Division II.
Central Connecticut went 14–2 in conference play to win their second straight NEC regular-season championship, having shared the title in the 2023–24 season.
The NEC tournament was held in March with the higher seeded team hosting each game. All eight teams eligible under conference rules qualified for the tournament; Mercyhurst is ineligible until 2027. Saint Francis, picked in the preseason coaches poll to finish tied for last place, defeated Central Connecticut in the NEC tournament final and advanced to the 2025 NCAA Division I tournament. The tournament championship was the first for Saint Francis since 1991.
Saint Francis lost, 70–68, to Alabama State in a First Four game.
Offseason Following the resignation of Gerald Gillion to become the associate head coach at LIU, Chicago State promoted assistant coach Scott Spinelli to head coach. Spinelli had been an assistant for the Cougars during the 2023–24 season.
Merrimack and Sacred Heart left the conference after the 2023–24 school year to join the MAAC.
For the third straight year, the NEC changed its rules regarding eligibility for the conference tournament. Teams transitioning from Division II may participate in the NEC tournament starting with the third year of their transition. Therefore, Mercyhurst will not be eligible for the NEC tournament until 2027. The change was prospective rather than retroactive. Consequently, Le Moyne, in their second transition year, remained eligible for the 2025 tournament.
Head coaches Team Head coach Previous position Year at school Overall record NEC record NEC tournament championships NCAA tournament recordCentral Connecticut Patrick Sellers Fairfield(asst.) 4 0 —Chicago State Scott Spinelli Chicago State(asst.) 1 0 —Fairleigh Dickinson Jack Castleberry Fairleigh Dickinson(asst.) 2 0 —Le Moyne Nate Champion Florida Southern(asst.) 5 0 —LIU Rod Strickland NBA G League Ignite(program director) 3 0 —Mercyhurst Gary Manchel Ohio(asst.) 22 0 —Saint Francis Rob Krimmel Saint Francis (asst.) 13 0 —Stonehill Chris Kraus Stonehill(asst.) 11 0 —Wagner Donald Copeland Seton Hall(asst.) 3 1 1–1 Notes All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only. Year at school includes 2024–25 season. Overall and NEC/NCAA records are from time at current school and are before the beginning of the 2024–25 season. Previous jobs are head coaching jobs unless otherwise noted.
Preseason
Preseason coaches' poll and rankings The table below shows the preseason rankings of NEC teams based on a poll of the conference's coaches as well as each team's preseason Pomeroy rating among the 364 Division I teams. RankTeamPomeroyrating 1 (tie) Central Connecticut (5)303 Wagner (4)272 3 Fairleigh Dickinson352 4 Le Moyne335 5 LIU354 6 Chicago State340 7 Mercyhurst356 8 (tie) Saint Francis351 Stonehill358
() first-place votes
Preseason All-NEC team Source: Player School Malachi Davis ( Junior, Guard)LIU Jo'el Emanuel (Junior, Forward)Fairleigh Dickinson Darrick Jones Jr. (5th-yr. Senior, Guard)Le Moyne Jordan Jones (Senior, Guard)Central Connecticut Jeff Planutis (Graduate, Forward)Mercyhurst
Regular season Early-season multi-team events
Source:
Team Event Sponsor RecordCentral Connecticut None – –Chicago State Sunshine Slam Northeast Conference 0–3Fairleigh Dickinson Metro NY/NJ Classic Fairleigh Dickinson 1–1Le Moyne Island U Invitational Texas A&M–Corpus Christi 1–1LIU Lafayette Classic Lafayette 0–3Mercyhurst Cal Classic California 1–2Saint Francis Hoya MTE Georgetown 0–2Stonehill Urban-Bennett Invitational Robert Morris 1–2Wagner None – –
Pre-conference season highlights Le Moyne traveled just over three miles for their season opener at Syracuse on November 4, 2024. The Dolphins shocked the Orange by holding them to 32% shooting from the floor in the first half and led by five points at intermission. With Le Moyne leading by a point, a 9–0 Syracuse run gave the Orange a 76–68 lead with 4:31 to play. However, the Dolphins responded with a 6–2 spurt, getting three points each from Will Amica on a triple and Freds Pauls Bagatskis on three free throws. Trent Mosquera's three-pointer cut the Syracuse lead to two points with 1:02 left, and another triple from Bagatskis made it 83–82 with 22 seconds on the clock. After the Orange hit one of two from the line, the Dolphins turned the ball over with six seconds to play, and Syracuse hit two more free throws, handing the Dolphins a heartbreaking 86–82 loss. Bagatskis scored 18 points to lead five Dolphins in double figures.
After starting the game 0 for 4 from the floor, Mercyhurst found their shooting touch and earned their first win as a Division I program in just their second game, 78–73, at Morgan State on November 6. Freshman Mykolaus Ivanauskas scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds off the bench to lead the Lakers. Mercyhurst trailed, 71–69, with just over a minute remaining, when senior Aidan Reichert scored to tie the game. Graduate student Jeff Planutis scored the final seven points for the Lakers, first hitting a three-pointer with 29 seconds left that gave them the lead and then sinking four free throws in the closing seconds. Prior to this season, the only win over a Division I opponent for Mercyhurst came on December 28, 1974, on a neutral floor against Delaware State.
After opening the season with a tight 59–55 loss at Providence, Central Connecticut got 13 points each from Jordan Jones, Darin Smith Jr. and Jayden Brown and secured a 73–67 win at Saint Joseph's on November 8. The Blue Devils used a 9–0 second-half run to erase a four-point deficit. Clinging to a three-point lead, Smith hit a contested triple as the shot clock expired with 2:29 to play. On Central Connecticut's next possession, Davonte Sweatman, who finished with 11 points, hit a 27-footer off a pass from Jones, who had lost control of the ball in the lane but recovered possession. Abdul Momoh was 4 for 5 from the floor and finished with nine points, 11 rebounds and two blocks. The Blue Devils' win was their first over a team ranked in the KenPom top 100 in nearly 12 years.
Valentino Pinedo led a Saint Francis comeback from a 15-point deficit at Campbell on November 10. Pinedo tied the game with a layup with 1:39 to play and tied it again with a tip-in with 49 seconds left. After the Red Flash got a stop on the defensive end, Pinedo was fouled with one second left. He missed the first free throw but hit the second, after the Fighting Camels used a timeout to ice him, and gave Saint Francis a 65–64 victory. Sophomore Ace Talbert scored 18 points to lead the Red Flash and shot 4 for 6 from beyond the arc.
LIU got 17 points and five assists from Malachi Davis in a 63–54 victory at Air Force on November 11. The Sharks held the Falcons to 36% shooting from the field. Freshman guard Jalen “Roc” Lee scored 12 points off the bench, shooting 5 for 10 from the floor, for LIU.
Mercyhurst earned their first home victory against a Division I opponent, defeating Canisius, 62–52, on November 13. The Lakers were down one point midway through the second half and went on a 12–0 run, keyed by six points from Aidan Reichert, to snatch control of the contest. Bernie Blunt III scored 16 points to lead Mercyhurst.
Stonehill earned a 26-point win, their largest margin of victory as a Division I team against a Division I opponent, when they defeated New Orleans, 80–54, in an Urban-Bennett Invitational game on November 15. Josh Morgan had his first career double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Skyhawks. Stonehill held the Privateers to 26% shooting from the floor.
LIU built a 24-point lead with under 11 minutes to play at Charlotte on November 23. The 49ers then held the Sharks scoreless for 7:44 and went on an 18–0 run to get within 67–61 with 3:23 remaining. In the final two minutes, senior guard Terell Strickland scored on a layup and then found Jamal Fuller for a dunk with 34 seconds left to push the Sharks' lead to 75–70. Malachi Davis had a career high 31 points for LIU and was 4 for 4 from the free-throw line in the final 16 seconds. Charlotte missed a three-pointer at the buzzer, and LIU held on for a 79–76 victory, the first in program history over an American Athletic Conference opponent. Freshman Shadrak Lasu had his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Sharks. Strickland finished with 13 points and seven assists.
Stonehill faced an eight-point second-half deficit in their November 25 home game against East Texas A&M. The Skyhawks got within two points and had possession with 13 seconds to play. Todd Brogna drove to the basket, was fouled and hit a pair of free throws with 2.2 seconds left. Chas Stinson forced a quick turnover, as the Lions tried to inbound the ball, and then was fouled driving to the basket. With 0.8 seconds on the clock, Stinson drained both free throws to give the Skyhawks a 67–65 win. Josh Morgan scored a game-high 20 points on 6-for-13 shooting from the floor, including 4-for-8 from beyond the arc, to lead the Skyhawks. Morgan surpassed 1,000 career points in the game. Brogna added 16 points for Stonehill.
Saint Francis saw their 21-point lead disappear in their November 26 home game against Lehigh, when the Mountain Hawks tied the score at 78 with 1:45 to play. However, Bobby Rosenberger III hit a three-pointer that sparked a game-ending 10–0 run to give the Red Flash an 88–78 victory. Riley Parker scored 23 points and dished out seven assists to lead Saint Francis. Rosenberger finished with 21 points and eight rebounds.
Le Moyne shot 60.4% from the floor, a new program record for the Division I era, and held off a late charge in an 81–77 win at Manhattan on November 29. After the Jaspers cut the Dolphins' 16-point lead down to two, AJ Dancler hit a triple with 1:12 to play to stall the rally. A pair of free throws by Robby Carmody with nine seconds left sealed the Le Moyne victory. Dwayne Koroma scored 17 points on 8-for-9 shooting from the floor and added five rebounds and five assists. Ocypher Owens led the Dolphins with 18 points and nine rebounds and added six assists. Zek Tekin finished with 16 points and eight assists for Le Moyne.
Abdul Momoh led a strong finish by Central Connecticut in their 69–67 home victory over UMass Lowell on December 1. Momoh scored on drives to the basket on three straight possessions, while the Blue Devils got stops at the defensive end, to flip a one-point deficit with less than three minutes to play to a five-point lead. Sophomore Matt Frazier entered the game with one second remaining to guard the River Hawks' inbounds pass, and he deflected it and stole the ball to secure the win. Darin Smith Jr. scored 14 points to lead Central Connecticut and added three steals. Momoh finished with 13 points and five rebounds. Devin Haid scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Blue Devils.