The East region is no joke in D2 and D3 basketball. Whether it's a winner or a runner-up, or just making the semifinals, they are not a region to mess with.
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Good thing FloCollege is home to all things D2 and D3 basketball, and we are streaming some of the top games this basketball season.
On the women's side in 2026, Scranton made the D3 National Championship game, and NYU made the D3 Tournament semifinals, and Daemen made the D2 East Region Final.
For men, Emory made the D3 National Championship game while Daemen made the D2 quarterfinals.
From ECC to UAA to Landmark, here are the top East Region teams to watch this season.
1. Emory Men's Basketball
Emory enters the preseason ranked fourth in the nation, with their third consecutive season ranked in the top 10.
Emory took on a generational run in 2026, ending their season as the NCAA D runner-up. On their journey to the NCAA D3 final, they set a program record with 27 wins in a season.
While on a revenge run in 2027, Emory returns 12 players from last year's history-defining squad.
As they enter their senior year, Ethan Fauss, AJ Harris, and Mario Awasum will lead the team with experience. Fauss earned Second Team All-UAA in his junior season while leading the UAA in rebounds per game (8.6) and averaging 15 points per game.
Veteran Jason Zimmerman continues his run at Emory as he enters his 19th season as head coach of the team. Over the last 13 years, Zimmerna has coached the team to 12 NCAA appearances. The team will look to continue what they have built over the past year with Zimmerman at the helm.
Emory will play RV Rhodes on November 15th, #6 Illinois Wesleyan on December 30th, in early-season ranked matchups, live on FloCollege!
2. Scranton Women's Basketball
Scranton made a name for themselves in 2026 after ruining NYU's 90-game win streak in the NCAA D2 national semifinals.
They ended their season with a 32-1 record after losing to Denison in the 2026 D2 Championship Game. The 2026 season was a clear turning point for the team after making their first national championship game since 1985. It was their 10th Final Four appearance in program history.
Scranton also earned their 11th straight Landmark Conference championship title and twelfth in thirteen years.
The team returns a large number of runner-up contributors. Meghan Lamanna, Katie Gorski, and Elizabeth Bennett all return as 2026 All-Landmark Second Team members. Sophia Talutto comes back after earning 2026 Landmark Rookie of the Year.
Scranton will play SUNY Cortland on November 13th.
3. NYU Women's Basketball
If you're not watching NYU women's basketball, what are you doing? You are forgiven if you start right now.
While the UAA consistently has multiple nationally ranked women's basketball programs, NYU has taken the Team Champion title for five years in a row.
After earning the 2025 and 2024 NCAA D2 Championships, their 2026 run was ended short in the semifinals.
In the first round, they threw up a monster 108 points to Me. -Farmington's 44. Messiah was defeated in the second round (70-47), and another 100+ game was achieved in the third round against Hardin-Simmons (103-61). The Violets played Wisconsin-La Crosse in the quarterfinals, where they earned their spot in the semifinals after a 72-47 finish.
After earning their 90th straight win against Wisconsin to become the second-longest win streak in NCAA basketball history, their streak was ruined by Scranton in the semifinals (52-60).
NYU will begin UAA play on January 9th against Brandeis University.
4. No. 5 Daemen Men's Basketball
After four years of taking the runner-up position in the ECC tournament, Daemen has won two consecutive championship titles. Their performance over the past two years has placed them as the ECC Preseason No. 1.
An already exceptional conference postseason, Daemen then went on to make it to the quarterfinals of the DII men's basketball tournament. Their 13-game win streak came to an end after #5-seeded Lander took them out of the tournament by 3 points (77-74).
Their 2025/26 season was filled with accolades, including East Region Champions, a program-best 33-2 record, and back-to-back ECC champions for the first time since 1994.
They enter the 2026/27 season with a 42 ECC regular-season win streak dating back to 2024.
The team brings in a lot of freshmen who are prepared to continue the legacy alongside the 7 returners who were key players in winning the conference title.
Ahead of the season, Daemen was picked 5th in the FloCollege D2 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll.
Daemen will start their season off with a bang as they play RV Saint Anselm on November 9th, #16 Saint Michael's on November 13th, and #3 Gannon on November 14th.
5. Daemen Women's Basketball
The Daemen programs are clearly dominant in D2, but the Daemen women liked to one-up the men's program. While the men earned their second consecutive conference title in 2026, the women earned their fifth consecutive ECC tournament championship. Alongside that accolade, they also earned their seventh straight regular-season title.
They entered the D2 Women's basketball tournament as the third seed in the East Region. In the tournament, they defeated Felician (75-62) in the first round and Bentley (58-55) in the second round. In the East Regional title round, they were defeated by Holy Family (78-62).
Star player Cecilia Paertosa returns for her fifth year. While she missed most of last season due to an injury, she still managed to average 13.7 points and 7 rebounds per game. Other top returners include Sophie Auer, Julia Fontanillo Aparicio, Kyleigh Chapman, and Brianna Caliri.
Daemen will open their season against Saginaw Valley State on November 9th.
FloCollege D2 Men’s Basketball Preseason Rankings
- Washburn (0-0)
- Nova Southeastern (0-0)
- Gannon (0-0)
- Lander (0-0)
- Daemen (0-0)
- Dallas Baptist (0-0)
- Black Hills State (0-0)
- West Liberty (0-0)
- Walsh (0-0)
- Cal State East Bay (0-0)
- St. Cloud State (0-0)
- West Alabama (0-0)
- Minnesota State (0-0)
- Michigan Tech (0-0)
- Eastern New Mexico (0-0)
- Saint Michael’s (0-0)
- CSU Pueblo (0-0)
- Palm Beach Atlantic (0-0)
- Western New Mexico (0-0)
- Jefferson (0-0)
- Point Loma (0-0)
- Alabama Huntsville (0-0)
- Grand Valley State (0-0)
- Cal Poly Pomona (0-0)
- Columbus State (0-0)
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