It's everyone's favorite time of the year.

Ah yes, it's conference tournament time. For some of the bigger schools, it's pretty confusing. Win so many games in the conference tournament and sweat it out on Selection Sunday. But for the smaller conference schools, it's much simpler.

Win the tournament or you're not invited to the dance.

The Northeast Conference doesn't possess the best talent but that doesn't stop the teams from providing exciting basketball. And the NEC Tournament should be no different; every team besides one has lost to one or more "inferior" (5th or worse in the NEC) teams in conference so don't be completely surprised to see some upsets.

8. Monmouth Hawks (11-18, 8-10)

Monmouth has some solid conference wins against Quinnipiac, Central Connecticut State, and St. Francis (PA) twice but come in as the bottom seed in the NEC tournament. However, that win at home against conference champion Quinnipiac gives them slight hope against the Bobcats in the first round, and having stud sophomore Travis Taylor (17.5 PPG, 7.9 RPG) back really helps.

Since returning from suspension, Taylor has put up 30 points twice but the Hawks have lost three straight. Overall, they are a dangerous team to pull the first-round upset with Taylor, but I couldn't see them going any farther.

7. Central Connecticut State Blue Devils (12-17, 9-9)

This only team I didn't see play live in this group. The Blue Devils needed a win on the last day against St. Francis (NY) to qualify for the tournament. They hold wins against Fairleigh Dickinson, Monmouth and Long Island, but used the two times they played Bryant (1-29, 1-17) to their advantage.

In their only match-up with the Colonials, they fell 60-69 despite junior Shemik Thompson's 16 points and seven assists. Again they will face the Colonials - this time in the Charles L. Sewall Center - and I don't think I can see an upset happening here.

6. St. Francis (PA) Red Flash (11-18, 9-9)

One word can describe this team: inconsistent. They hold wins over Mount St. Mary's, Fairleigh Dickinson, Long Island, Central Connecticut State, and Quinnipiac. However, they hold losses against Ohio State by 63, Monmouth twice by 10 and 29, and Wagner just on the last day of the conference schedule. They are fully capable of pulling the first round upset against the Mountaineers or they'll get blown out by 20.

Watching this team in person and looking over the statistics; it's obvious they depend on senior Devin Sweetney (16.7 PPG, 7.4 RPG) to do it all and they'll need him to be on his A-game otherwise it'll be a short NEC Tournament for the Red Flash.

5. Fairleigh Dickinson Knights (11-20, 10-8)

A very balanced squad is locked into the #5 seed for the NEC Tournament. Fairleigh Dickinson hasn't gotten blown out by anyone in conference minus Robert Morris, but they don't have a win over the top four seeds.

Four players are scoring in double-digits, led by sharp shooting senior Sean Baptiste (16.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG). However, after their four top scorers, they really lack the offensive firepower and their bench isn't all that deep. Could they beat their first-round opponent? Yes. Could they go any farther than that? Doubtful.

4. Long Island Blackbirds (13-15, 11-7)

They aren't much of a sleeper at the four seed, but if anyone can break through the top three's stranglehold to get the NCAA automatic bid, it's Long Island. They have wins over Robert Morris and Mount St. Mary's, but they also fell to Wagner.

Senior Jaytornah Wisseh (17.3 PPG,. 5.7 APG) leads the Blackbirds into the tournament, but this guard oriented team will need more production from their big men (most productive: Freshman Jamal Olasewere - 8.2 PPG, 6.4 RPG) in order to make a run towards the NEC Championship.

3. Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers (15-14, 12-6)

The Mountaineers are definitely the hottest team coming into the NEC Tournament, winning 10 straight games after losing on January 23rd at Long Island. They possess all the right pieces to make another run and ESPN pegged them as the favorites to take home the NCAA automatic bid.

Four-year starting guard Jeremy Goode (14.0 PPG, 4.4 APG) was pegged as the NEC Pre-Season Player of the Year by many media outlets and leads his team into a first-round match-up with the St. Francis (PA) Red Flash. He has help in the paint with junior Shawn Atupem (10.8 PPG, 3.5 RPG) and senior Kelly Beidler (10.7 PPG, 7.0 RPG). Atupem was actually the man who ended Robert Morris's reign at the top of the NEC standings as the junior hit a lay-up with seven seconds left to defeat the Colonials on Saturday night.

2. Robert Morris Colonials (20-11, 15-3)

No one is talking about the Colonials right now...probably just like they want it. The Colonials were picked to finish third in the NEC by multiple media sources and called it a "rebuilding" year of sorts for Mike Rice's team. However, they jumped into the conference lead early and didn't fall from the head until they lost Saturday night to Mount St. Mary's.

Robert Morris is a very deep team and plays usually nine players a game. Freshman Karon Abraham (12.9 PPG, 2.1 RPG) has been a pleasant surprise in his first campaign as the 5'9" combo guard has shown unlimited range from deep. Senior big man Rob Robinson (10.2 PPG, 5.3 RPG) is starting to find his game again late in the season and fellow senior Mezie Nwigwe (8.5 PPG, 4.3 RPG) is good for a few buckets every game.

This team has only lost to the top half of the conference, so don't expect them to fall to Central Connecticut State in the opener.

1. Quinnipiac Bobcats (21-8, 15-3)

Quinnipiac's the conference champ for a reason; an undefeated home record (12-0) and three players that can light a team up at any time.

Senior James Feldeine (17.3 PPG, 6.0 RPG) reminds me of Grevis Vasquez in a way, because both players wear their emotions on their sleeve. The 6'4" shooting guard has gone for 20 or more points in 13 games. Junior Justin Rutty (15.0 PPG, 10.8 RPG) leads the NEC in rebounds and is possibly the strongest and hardest working player in the conference. He can get any big man in foul trouble, but can always draw some offensive fouls himself. Sophomore James Johnson (12.0 PPG, 3.6 APG) opened some eyes when he exploded for 28 against Robert Morris a little more than two weeks ago.

The one weakness for the Bobcats is their inability to hold a large lead. They were up by 17 at one point against St. Francis (PA) before falling by five and held a 13 point advantage against Fairleigh Dickinson before almost blowing that in the final game of the regular season.

FIRST ROUND PREDICTIONS
[1] Quinnipiac over [8] Monmouth
[4] Long Island over [5] Fairleigh Dickinson
[2] Robert Morris over [7] Central Connecticut State
[3] Mount St. Mary's over [6] St. Francis (PA)