Central Connecticut is poised for a long-awaited return to the NCAA Tournament as the NEC frontrunner.
While the Northeast Conference didn’t make quite the statement in 2024 as it did the prior year when FDU beat top-seeded Purdue in the NCAA Tournament, Wagner enjoyed a Cinderella run of its own in March. The Seahawks were the 6-seed in the NEC Tournament before rattling off three consecutive road wins to capture the league’s auto bid, culminating in a First Four victory in the NCAA Tournament.
As is often the case, the NEC suffered its fair share of offseason departures by the way of exhausted eligibility or the transfer portal. The league lost two members as well as Merrimack and Sacred Heart — both top-3 finishers last season — left for the MAAC.
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Six schools are eligible for the NCAA Tournament this spring. Central Connecticut is most likely to dance as the Blue Devils bring back Player of the Year frontrunner Jordan Jones after sharing last year’s regular season title. CCSU last appeared in the NCAA Tournament way back in 2007.
With plenty of new faces in the mix, the NEC is wide-open for breakout contenders to emerge.
Projected Order of Finish
1. Central Connecticut Blue Devils
Central Connecticut appeared poised for a long-awaited run to the NCAA Tournament before a stunning NEC semis defeat on its home floor to 6-seed Wagner. It was a sour finish to what was the program’s most successful season in nearly two decades.
All-conference guard Jordan Jones (13.1 ppg, 3.6 apg, 1.8 spg) is back and figures to be on the shortlist of Player of the Year candidates. In his first season since transferring over from D-II Coker, Jones finished top 10 in the NEC in scoring, assists and steals.
Forward Jayden Brown (8.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg) improved mightily as a junior, enjoying a noticeable surge in scoring efficiency as his field-goal percentage grew from 44.9 percent to 52.6, while his offensive efficiency rating increased nearly 20 points from 96.1 to 115.0. Brown will be the obvious No. 2 option to Jones with Allan Jeanne-Rose (15.4 ppg) no longer on campus.
Three other key contributors are back with the potential of a fourth in Jay Rodgers (5.9 ppg in 9 games) once he’s fully recovered from a December ACL tear. Seniors Abdul Momoh (4.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.8 bpg), Joe Ostrowsky (4.2 ppg, 1.3 spg, 27 3PM) and Davonte Sweatman (4.1 ppg, 1.9 apg) all should compete for starting jobs after rounding out the rotation this past season. Momoh is the name to watch having connected on 63.5 percent of his field-goal attempts to go along with an eye-popping 7.4 percent block rate and 18.3 percent offensive rebounding rate in limited playing time.
The Blue Devils will be one of the most experienced teams in college basketball season. In the modern age of feverish transfer activity — particularly at the NEC’s level — now is the time for Patrick Sellers to capitalize on this opportunity.
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