2016 Northeast Conference men's basketball tournament

{{Infobox NCAA Basketball Conference Tournament |

| Year =2016

| Conference =Northeast Conference

| Gender =Men's

| Image =2016NECBasketballLogo.png

| ImageSize =200px

| Caption =

| Teams =8

| Arena =campus sites

| City =

| FinalArena = Spiro Sports Center

| FinalCity = Staten Island, NY

| Champions =Fairleigh Dickinson

| TitleCount =5th

| Coach =Greg Herenda

| CoachCount =1st

| MVP =Earl Potts Jr.

| MVPTeam =FDU

| Attendance =9,258

| OneTopScorer =

| TwoTopScorers =

| TopScorer =

| TopScorerTeam =

| TopScorer2 =

| TopScorer2Team =

| Points =

}}

The 2016 Northeast Conference men's basketball tournament was held from March 2–8, 2016. The tournament featured the league's top eight seeds, with higher seed hosting all games. The winners of the tournament, Fairleigh Dickinson, will receive the conference's automatic bid to the 2016 NCAA Tournament. This is Fairleigh Dickinson's fifth Championship.

Format

For the twelfth straight year, the NEC Men's Basketball Tournament consisted of an eight-team playoff format with all games played at the home of the higher seed. After the quarterfinals, the teams were reseeded so the highest remaining seed plays the lowest remaining seed in the semifinals.{{cite web|title=2016 NEC men's bracket|url=http://northeastconference.org/documents/2016/2/3/bracket16_mbb_wbb.pdf|publisher=NortheastConference.org|accessdate=11 February 2015}}

Seeds

Teams were seeded based on the final regular season standings, with ties broken under an NEC policy.{{cite web|title=NEC Basketball Tiebreaker Procedure|url=http://northeastconference.org/sports/2011/9/22/mbball_741.aspx?path=mbball|publisher=NortheastConference.org|accessdate=4 February 2015}}

class="wikitable" style="white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; text-align:center"

!Seed

!School

!Conference

!Tiebreaker

1

| align=left|Wagner‡

| 13–5

|

2

| align=left|Fairleigh Dickinson

| 11–7

| align=left|1–1 vs. SHU, 1–1 vs. SFC, 1–1 vs. Wagner, 2–0 vs. LIU, 2–0 vs. SFU

3

| align=left|Sacred Heart

| 11–7

| align=left|1–1 vs. SFC, 1–1 vs. FDU, 1–1 vs. Wagner, 1–1 vs. LIU, 1–1 vs. SFU

4

| align=left|St. Francis Brooklyn

| 11–7

| align=left|1–1 vs. FDU, 1–1 vs. SHU, 0–2 vs. Wagner

5

| align=left|Mount St. Mary's

| 10–8

|

6

| align=left|LIU Brooklyn

| 9–9

| align=left|1–1 vs. SFU, 2–0 vs. Wagner

7

| align=left|Saint Francis (PA)

| 9–9

| align=left|1–1 vs. LIU, 1–1 vs. Wagner

8

| align=left|Robert Morris

| 8–10

|

Bracket

Teams were reseed after each round with highest remaining seeds receiving home court advantage.

{{8TeamBracket-reseed

| RD1=Quarterfinals
Wednesday, March 2
NEC Front Row

| RD2=Semifinals
Saturday, March 5
NEC Front Row, MSG+, and FCS

| RD3=Championship
Tuesday, March 8
ESPN2

| RD1-seed1=1

| RD1-team1=Wagner

| RD1-score1=59

| RD1-seed2=8

| RD1-team2=Robert Morris

| RD1-score2=50

| RD1-seed3=4

| RD1-team3=St. Francis Brooklyn

| RD1-score3=51

| RD1-seed4=5

| RD1-team4=Mount St. Mary's

| RD1-score4=60

| RD1-seed5=2

| RD1-team5=Fairleigh Dickinson

| RD1-score5=74

| RD1-seed6=7

| RD1-team6=Saint Francis (PA)

| RD1-score6=72

| RD1-seed7=3

| RD1-team7=Sacred Heart

| RD1-score7=76

| RD1-seed8=6

| RD1-team8=LIU Brooklyn

| RD1-score8=84

| RD2-seed1=1

| RD2-team1=Wagner

| RD2-score1=81

| RD2-seed2=6

| RD2-team2=LIU Brooklyn

| RD2-score2=65

| RD2-seed3=2

| RD2-team3=Fairleigh Dickinson

| RD2-score3=80

| RD2-seed4=5

| RD2-team4=Mount St. Mary's

| RD2-score4=75

| RD3-seed1=1

| RD3-team1=Wagner

| RD3-score1=79

| RD3-seed2=2

| RD3-team2=Fairleigh Dickinson

| RD3-score2=87

}}

All games will be played at the venue of the higher seed

Game summaries

=Quarterfinals: #1 Wagner vs. #8 Robert Morris=

Series History: Robert Morris leads 41–28

{{basketballbox

| bg = #ffdead

| date = March 2

| time = 7:00 PM

| report = [https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400868317 Recap]

| team1 = #1 Wagner

| score1 = 59

| team2 = #8 Robert Morris

| score2 = 50

| H1 = 24–19

| H2 = 35–31

| points1 = Mike Aaman 12

| rebounds1 = Michael Carey 14

| assist1 = Michael Carey 3

| otherstat1 =

| points2 = Isaiah Still 11

| rebounds2 = Rodney Pryor 7

| assist2 = Kavon Stewart 6

| otherstat2 =

| place = Spiro Sports Center
Staten Island, NY

| attendance = 1,012

| referee = Robert Testa, Art Jackson, Mike Pearson

| TV = NEC Front Row

}}

----

=Quarterfinals: #2 Fairleigh Dickinson vs. #7 Saint Francis (PA) =

Series History: Fairleigh Dickinson leads 44–40

{{basketballbox

| bg = #e3e3e3

| date = March 2

| time = 7:00 PM

| report = [https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400868318 Recap]

| team1 = #2 Fairleigh Dickinson

| score1 = 74

| team2 = #7 Saint Francis (PA)

| score2 = 72

| H1 = 40–44

| H2 = 34–28

| points1 = Darian Anderson 22

| rebounds1 = Earl Potts Jr. 6

| assist1 = Stephen Jiggets 7

| otherstat1 =

| points2 = Ronnie Drinnon 21

| rebounds2 = Ronnie Drinnon 22

| assist2 = Greg Brown 5

| otherstat2 =

| place = Rothman Center
Hackensack, NJ

| attendance = 1,127

| referee = John Hughes, Rod Mrakovich, Dave Fernandez

| TV = NEC Front Row

}}

----

=Quarterfinals: #3 Sacred Heart vs. #6 LIU Brooklyn=

Series History: LIU Brooklyn leads 20–11

{{basketballbox

| bg = #ffdead

| date = March 2

| time = 7:00 PM

| report = [https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400868319 Recap]

| team1 = #6 LIU Brooklyn

| score1 = 84

| team2 = #3 Sacred Heart

| score2 = 76

| H1 = 47–33

| H2 = 37–43

| points1 = Joel Hernandez 22

| rebounds1 = Joel Hernandez 7

| assist1 = Martin Hermannsson 6

| otherstat1 =

| points2 = Cane Broome 35

| rebounds2 = Cane Broome 8

| assist2 = Jordan Allen 3

| otherstat2 =

| place = William H. Pitt Center
Fairfield, CT

| attendance = 710

| referee = Guy Pagano, Douglas Grant, Tom Regan

| TV = MSG, FCS, NEC Front Row

}}

----

=Quarterfinals: #4 St. Francis Brooklyn vs. #5 Mount St. Mary's=

Series History: Mount St. Mary's leads 30–26

{{basketballbox

| bg = #e3e3e3

| date = March 2

| time = 9:00 PM

| report = [https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400868327 Recap]

| team1 = #5 Mount St. Mary's

| score1 = 60

| team2 = #4 St. Francis Brooklyn

| score2 = 51

| H1 = 24–34

| H2 = 36–17

| points1 = Yunus Hopkinson 18

| rebounds1 = Amdy Fall 9

| assist1 = Chris Hooper 5

| otherstat1 =

| points2 = BK Ashe 18

| rebounds2 = BK Ashe 7

| assist2 = BK Ashe 4

| otherstat2 =

| place = Generoso Pope Athletic Complex
Brooklyn, NY

| attendance = 675

| referee = Steve Ruppenthal, Gary Prager, Brandon Williams

| TV = MSG, FCS, NEC Front Row

}}

----

=Semifinal: #1 Wagner vs. #6 LIU Brooklyn=

Series History: Wagner leads 40–39

{{basketballbox

| bg = #ffdead

| date = March 5

| time = 4:00 PM

| report = [https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400868890 Recap]

| team1 = #1 Wagner

| score1 = 81

| team2 = #6 LIU Brooklyn

| score2 = 65

| H1 = 29–33

| H2 = 52–32

| points1 = Michael Carey 28

| rebounds1 = Michael Carey 10

| assist1 = Corey Henson 4

| otherstat1 =

| points2 = Joel Hernandez 19

| rebounds2 = Jerome Frink 8

| assist2 = Martin Hermannsson 4

| otherstat2 =

| place = Spiro Sports Center
Staten Island, NY

| attendance = 1,814

| referee = Jim Bruno, Brandon Cruz, Tom Courtney

| TV = MSG+, FCS, NEC Front Row

}}

----

=Semifinal: #2 Fairleigh Dickinson vs. #5 Mount St. Mary's=

Series History: Fairleigh Dickinson leads 27–23

{{basketballbox

| bg = #e3e3e3

| date = March 5

| time = 2:00 PM

| report = [https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/game?gameId=400868891 Recap]

| team1 = #2 Fairleigh Dickinson

| score1 = 80

| team2 = #5 Mount St. Mary's

| score2 = 75

| H1 = 39–39

| H2 = 41–36

| points1 = Earl Potts Jr. 20

| rebounds1 = Mike Holloway 17

| assist1 = Darian Anderson 4

| otherstat1 =

| points2 = Junior Robinson 21

| rebounds2 = BK Ashe 7

| assist2 = Junior Robinson 2

| otherstat2 =

| place = Rothman Center
Hackensack, NJ

| attendance = 1,562

| referee = Lionel Butler, Andrew Maira, James Ostwalt

| TV = MSG+, FCS, NEC Front Row

}}

----

=Championship: #1 Wagner 79 vs. #2 Fairleigh Dickinson 87=

Series History: Fairleigh Dickinson leads 41–37

{{basketballbox

| bg = #ffdead

| date = March 8

| time = 7:00 PM

| report = [https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/game?gameId=400870175 Recap]

| team1 = #2 Fairleigh Dickinson

| score1 = 87

| team2 = #1 Wagner

| score2 = 79

| H1 = 33–35

| H2 = 54–44

| points1 = Darian Anderson 28

| rebounds1 = Earl Potts, Jr. 7

| assist1 = Dairan Anderson 5

| otherstat1 =

| points2 = Corey Hensen 24

| rebounds2 = Michael Carey 11

| assist2 = Michael Carey 5

| otherstat2 =

| place = Spiro Sports Center
Staten Island, NY

| attendance = 2,358

| referee = Earl Walton, Robert Riley, Donnie Eppley

| TV = ESPN2

}}

----

----*All times EST

All-tournament team

Tournament MVP in bold.{{cite web|title=NCAA-Bound: Fairleigh Dickinson Storms Back to Top Wagner for #NECMBB CrownTitle|url=http://northeastconference.org/news/2016/3/8/MBB_FDU_MBB_NEC_Champs_16.aspx|publisher=NortheastConference.org|accessdate=March 9, 2016}}

class="wikitable"

!Name

!School

! Pos.

! Year

! Ht.

! Hometown

Earl Potts Jr.

| Fairleigh Dickinson

| Guard

| Sophomore

| 6-6