SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – After finishing the regular season with an 11-7 mark in Commonwealth Coast Conference play (13-12 overall), the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's basketball team has earned the number four seed in the upcoming Commonwealth Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament which begins on Tuesday, Feb. 21, at four on-campus sites.
Nichols and Endicott will share the CCC Regular-Season Championship after both finished 15-3 in conference play. The Bison (20-5) earned the top seed for the fourth season in a row after the second tiebreaking criteria, having gone 2-0 against third-seeded Roger Williams while the gulls were 1-1.
Endicott, the two-time reigning CCC Tournament Champions, also finished with a 20-5 overall record. The Gulls will be looking to return to the conference championship after making a run through the bracket as the No. 4 seed a year ago.
As the top two seeds, Nichols and Endicott will both be hosting quarterfinal matchups. The other two hosts for the first round of the tournament are No. 3 seed Roger Williams, which went 13-5 in the CCC (19-6 Overall), and No. 4 seed Gordon, which finished with a 12-6 CCC (15-10 Overall) record in the regular season.
The quarterfinal round begins on Tuesday, Feb. 21. No. 8-seeded University of New England, which went 5-13 (7-18 Overall) in conference play this year, will begin the postseason where they wrapped the regular season – at Nichols. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. Endicott's quest for a three-peat starts against No. 7 seed Salve Regina, which enters the postseason with a 6-12 CCC (8-16 Overall) record. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. Roger Williams will host No. 6 seed Eastern Nazarene at 7:30 p.m. The Lions went 9-9 in the CCC (12-13 Overall) this year. Gordon draws No. 5 seed Wentworth in the first round with game time scheduled for 7 p.m.
The winners of the quarterfinal games will meet in the semifinal round on Thursday, Feb. 23. The winner of the Nichols-UNE game will play the winner of Gordon-Wentworth game and the Endicott-Salve Regina winner will play the Roger Williams-Eastern Nazarene winner. Game times will be determined following the quarterfinal round.
The two semifinal winners earn a trip to the CCC Men's Basketball Championship which takes place on Saturday, Feb. 25. The CCC Tournament Champion will receive the conference's automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship.
Wentworth and Gordon split the two meetings this season, with each winning on the other's home court. On Jan. 17, The Leopards defeated the Fighting Scots, 86-78, and on Feb. 11, Gordon earned the season split with a 70-61 triumph. Tuesday night will mark the second time in the last three seasons the two schools have met in the quarterfinals and the fifth time in the last six seasons the schools have met in the postseason. Including the two games this season, the all-time series has Gordon with a 33-21 advantage. Included in the previous 54 series meetings are six playoff games with each team winning three. Wentworth is 1-3 all-time in playoff games at Gordon.
2017 CCC Men's Basketball Tournament Schedule
(Games hosted by the higher seed)
Quarterfinals – Tuesday, Feb. 21
#8 University of New England at #1 Nichols, 7 p.m.
#7 Salve Regina at #2 Endicott, 8 p.m.
#6 Eastern Nazarene at #3 Roger Williams, 7:30 p.m.
#5 Wentworth at #4 Gordon, 7 p.m.
Semifinals – Thursday, Feb. 23
#1/8 winner vs. #4/5 winner, TBA
#2/7 winner vs. #3/6 winner, TBA
Finals – Saturday, Feb. 25
Semifinal winners at higher seed, TBA
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