Northeastern Hopes To Win Its First Ever CAA Tournament Championship

By Gregory Hunt

The Northeastern Huskies men's basketball team has high hopes for the Colonial Athletic Association tounament this weekend at Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. Since joining the CAA in 2005, the Huskies have never won the tournament, and their only appearance in the tournament finals came two years ago when they lost to James Madison 70-57. This year, the Huskies finished the regular season with a 12-6 conference record, putting them in a four-way tie for first place with James Madison, William & Mary and UNCW. Tiebreakers resulted in the Huskies getting the No. 3 seed, putting them in the quarterfinals against Delaware (seeded sixth) Saturday night.

Northeastern split the season series with Delaware, with each team winning on the other team's home court. On January 3, Northeastern opened the CAA season at Newark and came away with an impressive 72-53 victory. Senior forward Scott Eatherton led all scorers with 15 points, while sophomore guard T.J. Williams added 12 points, five rebounds and four assists. The Huskies held the Blue Hens without a field goal in the final three minutes of the first half to take a 32-22 lead at halftime, then the Huskies extended that lead with a 17-2 run midway through the second half. That victory ended Northeastern's four-game losing streak to Delaware.

The Blue Hens got their revenge when they came to Matthews Arena February 7. Thanks to a 16-3 run in the second half, Delaware was able to come away with a 73-68 victory. At one point in that second half, the Huskies were held without a field goal for nearly eight minutes. Williams led Northeastern with 18 points while senior forward Reggie Spencer came off the bench to add 14 points.

Delaware finished the season 9-9 in the conference, 11-19 overall. The Blue Hens lost their first 10 games of the season before getting a 82-77 win over St. Bonaventure on December 30. Delaware never had a winning streak of more than two games this season, but the Blue Hens have won four of their last five games coming into the tournament. Their only loss in that stretch was a 83-75 setback in overtime against Elon.

With a 20-11 record, the Huskies and head coach Bill Coen have reached 20 or more wins in two of the last three seasons. In 2012-13, the Huskies went 20-13 and received an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). A 14-4 record in the CAA gave the Huskies the #1 seed going into the conference tournament, but they eventually lost to James Madison in the finals. In 2013-14, the Huskies fell back to an 11-21 record (7-19 in the CAA) before they rebounded this year.

The Huskies have not reached the NCAA Tournament since 1991, when it faced North Carolina in the first round and lost 101-66. Overall, the Huskies have qualified for the NCAA Tournament seven times, with six of those times coming in the 1980s. Northeastern is 3-7 in the tournament, with its last win coming in 1984 against Long Island. The Huskies won that Preliminary Round game 90-87 before losing to VCU in the Second Round 70-69.

Gregory Hunt is a Boston native and a life-long fan of the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics. He's also particularly fond of lacrosse, IndyCar racing and women's college basketball. He currently works for Examiner.com where he serves as the Senior Manager of Content and Media Access. He also writes for Examiner.com as the New England Patriots Examiner. His work can be found on Examiner.com.