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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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CHARLOTTE, NC – MARCH 20: The mascot of the Robert Morris Colonials in action against the Duke Blue Devils during the second round of the 2015 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Time Warner Cable Arena on March 20, 2015 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Bob Leverone/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC – MARCH 20: The mascot of the Robert Morris Colonials in action against the Duke Blue Devils during the second round of the 2015 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Time Warner Cable Arena on March 20, 2015 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Bob Leverone/Getty Images) /

Northeast Conference teams to watch

Favorite – Saint Francis (PA) Red Flash

Saint Francis (PA) hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 1991 and the preseason favorite and enter the tournament as the top seed. Rob Krimmel’s team has the conference’s best player in Keith Braxton but guards Jamal King and Isaiah Blackmon also have the ability to take over a game for one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country.

Top contenders

Robert Morris Colonials

The Colonials enter the tournament as the No. 4 seed but finished just one game behind Saint Francis (PA). They lost the season to the top seed by a total of six points, both games came down to the final seconds. The duo of Malik Petteway and Charles Bain gives Robert Morris the most formidable frontcourt in the conference.

Fairleigh Dickinson Knights

The Knights are one of the best shooting teams in the country, knocking down 47% of their shots, and from distance they are even better, shooting 39.3% which is 7th best in the country. Guard Darnell Edge is a knockdown shooter who is 5th in the country in three-point shooting at 47.6% and don’t send either him or Jahlil Jenkins to the free throw line as both make over 85%.

The team not to sleep on

Long Island Blackbirds

The Blackbirds won the tournament as a No. 4 seed last season and they return Raiquan Clark, Julian Batts, and Jashaun Agosto. Despite entering the tournament with just a 9-9 conference record, they have the ability to make another run this year, as they already hold wins over the top four teams in the conference.