ESPN’s Division II Basketball Showcase Heads to the Northeast

With conference play in full swing, January is arguably the most crucial time of the year in college basketball. Teams at all levels embark on their conference schedules, going against teams and rivals that will be heavily scouted.

In the same breath, this is an exciting time for Division II basketball’s national recognition in the tri-state area. The Division II Basketball Showcase, as part of ESPN3, will cover two great nights of inner conference rivals from the ECC and NE-10 conferences. It begins with the ECC on January 24th, where Queens College will take on St. Thomas Aquinas College.

On the women’s side, Queens College is led by recent 1,000 point scorer Merrick Rowland and is coming off an Elite Eight run last season. After graduating some key pieces, Queens will have to be locked in defensively, or St Thomas Aquinas will look to steal the show on the road.

Second-year coach head coach Matt Collier also leads a young and tenacious Queens College Knights team in the men’s game. They will square off against pre-season nationally ranked St. Thomas Aquinas College who, despite falling out of the top 25, is still a favorite to win the ECC. This will be a David & Goliath battle between an ECC powerhouse and a team on the rise, so look for Queens to try and make some noise in their home gym.

Next, on January 31st, NE-10 powerhouse LeMoyne College will go up against Adelphi University. In the women’s game, both teams are currently tied with a 5-4 record. This will be an important game in regards to jockeying for position for the NE-10 conference tournament.

In the men’s game, LeMoyne currently sits up-top the NE-10 south division. This is a team capable of making a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, especially after beating Division I Sienna at the start of the season. LeMoyne has also already defeated Adelphi on the road back in November, so look for the Dolphins to try to hold serve at home.

All in all, this month will be an excellent opportunity to catch high-level Division II basketball from around the northeast.