Northeast Conference Unveils Men's and Women's Basketball League Slates

The Northeast Conference announced the 2024-25 men's and women's basketball conference schedules on Wednesday. The non-conference schedules for the CCSU men's and women's basketball teams will be announced at a later date.

Head coach Patrick Sellers will enter his fourth season at the helm of the Central men's basketball program and led the Blue Devils to a share of the 2023-24 league crown. CCSU will open NEC play at Saint Francis U. on January 3. Central will round out its 16-game NEC slate at Wagner on March 1 before beginning play in the NEC Tournament on March 5.

Head coach Way Veney enters her second season in charge of the CCSU women's basketball program looking to continue its upward trajectory. The Blue Devils begin the conference slate at home against Saint Francis U. on Thursday, Jan. 2. Central will play at LIU on Thursday, March 6, in its final tuneup for the NEC Tournament which will begin on Monday, March 10.

COMPLETE RELEASE

Click Here For the 2024-25 CCSU Men's Basketball Schedule
Click Here For 2024-25 NEC Men's Basketball Schedule Grid Graphic
Click Here For MBB Schedule Game to Watch by Ryan Peters
 
Click Here For the 2024-25 CCSU Women's Basketball Schedule
Click Here For 2024-25NEC Women's Basketball Schedule Grid
Click Here For WBB Schedule Analysis by Craig D'Amico

SCHEDULE NOTES

• Both the men and women will play 16-game double round-robin schedules with the men's conference season.
• The women will tip off on Thursday, January 2 and the men on Friday, January 3.
• Each team will have two bye dates.
• The men's and women's schedules will mirror each other for the most part.
• The men will complete their regular season schedule on Saturday, March 1, while the women wrap on Thursday, March 6.
• The men's will play three of the first four weeks with a Friday/Sunday format. Games will be played Saturday/Monday to coincide with Martin Luther King Day on January 18/20. The last five weeks of the season move to the traditional Thursday/Saturday schedule.
• The women's slate features a Thursday/Saturday rotation over seven weeks of the schedule. They will also play on Saturday and Monday, January 18th and 20th, in celebration of MLK Day. Additionally, there are single-game weeks scheduled for February 1st and March 6th.
• Game times are still to be determined.
• The 2024-25 NEC television slate will be announced in October.
• The NEC Basketball Championship will remain an eight-team playoff format with all games played at the home of the higher seed. After the quarterfinals, advancing teams will be reseeded so the highest remaining seed plays the lowest remaining seed in the semifinals.
• The 2024 NEC Men's Basketball Championship will take place on March 5, 8 & 11 at campus sites.
• The 2024 NEC Women's Basketball Championship will take place on March 10, 13 & 16 at campus sites.
• All eight schools that are NEC postseason eligible (CCSU, Chicago State, FDU, Le Moyne, LIU, Saint Francis U, Stonehill and Wagner) will qualify for this year's NEC Tournament.
• During its NCAA reclassiciation, Mercyhurst will become eligible to compete in the NEC postseason in 2026-27.
• If a reclassifying institution wins the NEC Tournament championship, the tournament runner-up will advance to the NCAA Tournament as the NEC's automatic qualifier as per current policy. If two reclassifying members reach the conference final, the NEC will stage an "AQ Qualifier" game between the two non-advancing semifinal teams. This will serve as a decisive game to determine the team that will secure the NEC's spot in the NCAA Tournament. The "AQ Qualifer" game will occur this season if Le Moyne and Stonehill reach the NEC final.