Mansfield, Mass. - At the conclusion of the Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball regular season on Tuesday, the official bracket ahead of the tournament was determined, with Adelphi earning the no. 2 seed. 

 For the first time since the 2000-01 season, Saint Michael's has won the Northeast-10 Conference regular season championship and will be the top seed in the upcoming Men's Basketball Championship, which is scheduled to begin with four first round games on Friday. 

The Purple Knights (21-7, 17-5 NE10) are one of four teams to earn first round byes and automatically advance to Sunday's quarterfinals, along with No. 2-seeded Adelphi (18-10, 14-8 NE10), No. 3-seeded Bentley (19-10, 14-8 NE10) and No. 4-seeded Pace (18-10, 14-8 NE10). Saint Michael's looks to capture its first NE10 Championship title in 23 years and its third in program history (1999, 2001). 

The Panthers won a three-team tiebreaker with Bentley and Pace for the No. 2 seed and enters the Championship having won two of its past three games - including a convincing 90-75 win over Saint Michael's at home on February 24. They have two of the five wins over the top-seed in the conference this season and earn their best standing this year since the 2012 campaign when the Cats were also the no. 2 seed.

In looking at the overall history of the men's championship, it has been incredibly democratic over the last 20 years in the NE10 with 11 different teams claiming a crown (Saint Anselm, Bentley, Merrimack, Le Moyne, SNHU, AIC, Southern Connecticut, Stonehill, Adelphi, UMass Lowell, Assumption). The Panthers won its first and only crown in the 2010-11 season after earning the runner up trophy in the first year as members (2009-10). 

Adelphi will play the winner of the #10 New Haven/#7 Saint Anselm matchup, taking place Friday, Mar. 1 at 7:00 p.m.. Dave Duke and the men's squad put up split records against both the Chargers and the Hawks this season, most recently falling to the latter by a narrow 67-62 decision. 

Fans are encouraged to wear white inside the Center for Recreation and Sports on Sunday, March 3 at 2:30 p.m. Ticket prices are set at $10 for adults, $5 for youth (under 18)/seniors with free admission for all NE10 students.