Having success at the NCAA Division II level is a double-edged sword, especially in the NIL era and with the transfer portal being busier than an airport at Thanksgiving.

While teams no doubt are grateful for the wins and championships that might come their way, those windows seem to be smaller than ever.

Success brings attention, and nowadays, that often means losing the star players who helped make it all happen.

That’s exactly what the Saint Anselm men’s basketball team is dealing with after a dominant 2025-2026 season in the Northeast 10 Conference.

• Subscribe To FloCollege To Watch College Sports Live And On-Demand
• When Is The 2027 NCAA Division II Basketball Tournament?
• 5 Things To Know About NE10 Women's Basketball
• 5 Things To Know About GLIAC Men's Basketball

The Hawks found momentum late last season and cruised to the conference’s regular-season title, which came with a first-round bye for the NE10 Championship.

Saint Anselm went on to win the tournament and claim the NE10’s automatic bid to the 2026 Division II Men’s Basketball Championship, and the Hawks made the most of the opportunity by winning two games before bowing out as one of the last 16 teams standing.

During the run, the spotlight continued to shine on sophomore guard Will Davies, who averaged 13.7 points, 7.1 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game on the way to being named the Northeast 10 Conference Player of the Year and the Division II Conference Commissioners’ Associate East Region Player of the Year, along with a flurry of additional honors.

Not long after the memorable campaign concluded, however, Davies was in the transfer portal and on to bigger and better things. He didn’t go far – only about 166 miles by car to the University of Vermont – but it might as well have been another continent. 

The 6-foot-5, 195-pounder will look to make a similar impact at the Division I level, and he won’t be alone. Two other top-performers from the Saint Anselm championship team also moved on.

Redshirt sophomore guard Jovan Ristic (11.8 ppg) took his talents to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and freshman guard Hayden Johns (10.9 ppg) opted to join Davies at Vermont.

The three accounted for 36.4 of the team’s 83.2 points per game during the 2025-2026 campaign.

But wait, there’s more.

On May 1, Saint Anselm announced that head coach Chris Santo was stepping down after two seasons to pursue a new professional opportunity.

So, without three key players and the coach who guided them to the NE10 mountaintop, will the Hawks’ reign be over immediately after it began?

Fans of Saint Anselm and the rest of the Northeast 10 will get that answer and more, with live coverage of the conference games and tournament all season long on FloCollege and the FloSports app. 

But before we get bogged down by stats, scenarios and postseason predictions, let’s take a look at some interesting things to know about Northeast 10 men’s basketball, what happened last season and what to expect during the new campaign.

The NE10 includes 10 men’s teams and 10 women’s teams, and the schedule for each squad will feature 18 conference games – nine at home and nine on the road.

More Saint Anselm News For The 2026-2027 Season

Regardless of how Saint Anselm performs this season, it will be the swan song for the Hawks, who ALL will be moving on after the completion of the 2026-2027 season. 

Saint Anselm College will begin a transition to the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference to compete at the Division III level. 

The school has accepted an invitation to join the NEWMAC, effective July 1, 2027.

So, What Teams Play Men’s Basketball In The Northeast 10 Conference?

For the 2026-2027 season, the 10 men’s basketball programs in the NE10 are:

• Adelphi
• American International
• Assumption
• Bentley
• Franklin Pierce
• Pace University
• Saint Anselm
• Saint Michael's
• Southern Connecticut State
• Southern New Hampshire

What Happened In The Northeast 10 Conference During The 2025-2026 Season?

Saint Anselm (21-7, 14-4 NE10) finished the regular season by winning nine of its last 12 games to take the regular-season title and clinch the first-round bye for the NE10 Championship. 

The Hawks had the top-scoring offense (82.7 points per game) in the NE10, including six players averaging double figures. 

The top-seeded squad earned its 11th Northeast 10 Conference Championship crown with a 75-69 win over No. 6 Saint Michael’s at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium. 

The victory came with the NE10’s automatic bid to the Division II Men’s Basketball Championship, but the Hawks weren’t the only ones who got to see their season continue.

The Northeast 10 Conference represented more than half the field in the tournament’s East Regional, with Bentley, Saint Michael's, Assumption and Adelphi earning at-large bids.

In the 64-team bracket, Saint Anselm defeated Assumption and Felician, before falling to Daemen. 

Saint Michael’s topped Bentley in the opening round and then got bounced by Daemen, while Adelphi was eliminated by Felician in the first round. 

Individually, as mentioned above, Davies led the way for Saint Anselm as the NE10 Player of the Year, becoming the first Hawk to win the award since Tim Guers won in 2018 and 2019. He also became the first sophomore to earn the honor since Stonehill’s Shaun Fein during the 1997-1998 season. 

Saint Anselm had a league-high four players selected to All-Conference teams, while Adelphi and Saint Anselm tied with four overall selections between the All-Conference and All-Defensive teams. Assumption, Pace and Southern Connecticut all had three selections. 

2025-2026 NE10 Men’s Basketball Standings

Team (Overall, NE10)

1. Saint Anselm (14-4, 25-8)
2. Bentley (12-6, 19-10)
3. Pace (11-7, 16-11)
4. Assumption (11-7, 17-13)
5. Adelphi (10-8, 18-12)
6. Saint Michael's (10-8, 19-14)
7. Southern New Hampshire (8-10, 15-14)
8. Southern Connecticut (7-11, 11-15)
9. American International (4-14, 5-23)
10. Franklin Pierce (3-15, 7-21)

• Regular-season champion: Saint Anselm 
• NE10 Men's Basketball Championship: Saint Anselm def. St. Michael’s, 75-69

2025-2026 NE10 Men’s Basketball Award Winners

• Player of the Year: Will Davies, Saint Anselm

• Defensive Player of the Year: Jarnel Rancy, Adelphi
• Rookie of the Year: Edward Onyia, Saint Anselm
• Coach of the Year: Chris Santo, Saint Anselm

Legendary Bentley Coach Jay Lawson Retired In May

After more than four decades on the hardwood at Bentley, Jay Lawson announced his retirement at the beginning of May 2026.

He was the longest-tenured and winningest men’s basketball coach in program history. 

Lawson led the Falcons to nine NE10 regular-season championships, four conference tournament titles and 13 trips to the Division II Men’s Basketball Championship, where his teams compiled a 23-13 record.

Overall, his players produced 12 seasons with 20 or more wins, including three with 30 or more.

Lawson’s career spanned 41 years, with the last 35 as the head coach, but this isn’t the end for the Lawson name at the school.

The Bentley athletic department announced in June that the reigns would go to a former Falcons standout, who also happens to be Lawson’s son, Danny.

Danny Lawson excelled on the court for Bentley over four years, graduating in 2007, and went on to have a successful coaching career at UMBC at the Division I level. 

When Is The 2027 Northeast 10 Basketball Tournament?

The seven-team single-elimination Northeast 10 Men’s Basketball Championship will take place Feb. 27 through March 6.

First-round play will be Feb. 27, semifinal action will take place March 3 and the final will be played March 6. The higher seed for each game will host.

All selections and seeding for the national tournament will be announced March 7, and regional competition at campus sites around the country will begin March 13.

Saint Anselm owns the most NE10 tournament titles with 11, while Assumption, American International, Bentley and SNHU are tied for second with four apiece. Former conference member Stonehill also had four. 

More About The Northeast 10 Conference

The NE10 includes 10 schools that serve student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports.

Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships, making the NE10 the largest Division II conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. 

Who Makes The Division II Basketball Tournament?

Once again, 64 teams will participate in the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Championship.

That includes 23 automatic qualifiers (conference champions/representatives) and 41 at-large bids based on regional rankings, overall records, strength of schedule and head-to-head results.

From the quarterfinals to the title tilt, the 2027 Division II Men’s Basketball Championship will unfold at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum Arena in Fort Wayne, Indiana. 

The quarterfinals will take place March 23, the semifinals will be March 25 and the champion will be determined March 27.

Who Won The 2026 NCAA Division II Basketball Championship?

Gannon won the 2026 NCAA Division II Men’s Championship with an 84-61 victory over Lander University at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. It was the first title for Gannon and first title game for Lander. 

The other semifinalists were Oklahoma Baptist (lost to Gannon, 98-80) and Nova Southeastern (lost to Lander, 91-81).

Final 2025-2026 NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Rankings 

National Association of Basketball Coaches Rankings (as of March 10, 2026)

1. Nova Southeastern, Fla. (27-1) – 392 – Prev. 1
2. Cal State East Bay (30-0) – 385 – Prev. 2
3. Washburn, Kan. (31-1) – 375 – Prev. 3
4. Daemen, N.Y. (30-1) – 352 – Prev. 4
5. Anderson, S.C. (29-2) – 331 – Prev. 7
6. Gannon, Pa. (28-3) – 313 – Prev. 5
7. West Liberty, W. Va. (27-4) – 298 – Prev. 9
8. Oklahoma Baptist (27-3) – 269 – Prev. 6
9. Walsh, Ohio (27-3) – 232 – Prev. 14
10. Black Hills State, S.D. (27-4) – 225 – Prev. 13
11. Palm Beach Atlantic, Fla. (26-5) – 221 – Prev. 12
12. Fairmont State, W. Va. (26-5) – 214 – Prev. 10
13. Eastern New Mexico (26-5) – 207 – Prev. 11
14. Lubbock Christian, Texas (27-5) – 200 – Prev. 8
15. DBU, Texas (27-6) – 179 – Prev. 20
16. Michigan Tech (26-6) – 139 – Prev. 15
17. West Alabama (26-5) – 126 – Prev. 16
18. Saint Martin's, Wash. (25-5) – 116 – Prev. 21
19. Point Loma, Calif. (25-5) – 114 – Prev. 22
20. Northern Michigan (27-6) – 95 – Prev. 17
21. Felician, N.J. (27-3) – 93 – Prev. 23
22. Grand Valley State, Mich. (25-6) – 75 – Prev. T25
23. Lander, S.C. (25-5) – 62 – Prev. T25
24. Rockhurst, Mo. (23-6) – 59 – Prev. 18
25. St. Cloud State, Minn. (25-6) – 55 – Prev. 19

Others receiving votes: Saint Anselm (N.H.) 22, Virginia Union 16, William Jewell (Mo.) 9, St. Edward’s (Texas) 7, Central Missouri 6, Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) 4, California (Pa.) 3, Catawba (N.C.) 2, Fayetteville State (N.C.) 2, Florida Southern 1, Missouri Western 1.

Dropped out: Virginia Union (24).

Saint Michael’s vs. Saint Anselm Basketball Free Live Stream | NE10 Men’s Basketball Championship

Watch the entire title game of the 2026 NE10 Men’s Basketball Championship.

Top-seeded Saint Anselm won its 11th NE10 Men’s Basketball Championship title, defeating No. 6 Saint Michael’s 75-69 at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Archived Footage On FloCollege

Video footage from all games will be archived and stored in a video library for FloCollege subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscriptions

How To Watch College Basketball

Stream college basketball games on FloHoops and the FloSports app.

Don’t miss the latest college basketball action by bookmarking the FloCollege schedule page for the latest games.

Join The College Basketball Conversation

• Follow us on Twitter @FloCollegeHoops
• Follow us on Instagram @FloCollegeBasketball
• Follow us on TikTok @FloHoopsTV
• Watch us on YouTube 
• Like us on Facebook