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Northeast Basketball: Sacred Heart, St. Francis (PA) tournament favorites

By Jason Burgess

DAYTON, OH - MARCH 13: Donald Hicks #5 of the Radford Highlanders defends against Raiquan Clark #23 of the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds during the game at UD Arena on March 13, 2018 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
DAYTON, OH - MARCH 13: Donald Hicks #5 of the Radford Highlanders defends against Raiquan Clark #23 of the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds during the game at UD Arena on March 13, 2018 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /
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DURHAM, NC – DECEMBER 05: Keith Braxton #13 of the St. Francis (Pa) Red Flash tries to throw the ball in against Gary Trent Jr #2 of the Duke Blue Devils during their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on December 5, 2017 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NC – DECEMBER 05: Keith Braxton #13 of the St. Francis (Pa) Red Flash tries to throw the ball in against Gary Trent Jr #2 of the Duke Blue Devils during their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on December 5, 2017 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

Key Northeast Conference players

The conference may not have any household names, but there are plenty of players who are capable of putting up big performances in the tournament. Here are just a few of the names to keep an eye on when the NEC tournament gets underway on Wednesday, March 6.

JR Keith Braxton – St. Francis (PA)

2018-19 stats: 16.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists

The 6-4 Braxton is a Player-of-the-Year candidate and is one of the few players in the country that leads his team in points, rebounds, and steals. He’s a combo guard who can score at all three levels, having taken 111 three-pointers and a team-leading 143 free throws on the season.

SO Jahlil Jenkins – Fairleigh Dickinson

2018-19 stats: 13.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists

The diminutive 5-10 Jenkins is the Knights’ second-leading scorer but he contributes on the glass and leading the team in assists, and his 2.32 assist-to-turnover ratio is one of the best in the country. He is the type of guy who could fool around and get a triple-double like he nearly did against Army, he finished with 19 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists.

SO E.J. Anosike – Sacred Heart

2018-19 stats: 14.3 points, 8.1 rebounds

The 6-8 big man is a force in the middle for the Pioneers. Coming off a freshman year where he averaged four points and four rebounds, he has taken a big leap and quickly become a force in the NEC having registered seven double-doubles this season.

SR Raiquan Clark – Long Island

2018-19 stats: 19.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2 assists

The combo guard is hoping to lead the Blackbirds to back-to-back tournament titles while leading the team in scoring and rebounding. He likes to live inside the three-point arc, he has only made 19 three-pointers on the year and is shooting 50.7% from the field.

SR Romone Saunders – Wagner

2018-19 stats: 16.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists

Saunders is another small guard, at 6-3 he leads the Seahawks in every major offensive category, including rebounding. In three games this season he led the team in points, rebounds, and assists and averaged over 23 points per game in wins over the top three teams in the conference.