SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The Long Island University men's basketball team (24-10, 15-3 NEC), the NEC Men's Basketball Tournament champions, are set to take on the No. 1 seed University of Arizona (32-2, 16-2 Big 12) in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament on Friday in San Diego, California.
LIU enters Friday's game after defeating No. 3 seed Mercyhurst University 79-70 in the NEC Championship Game, led by 24 points apiece by senior Greg Gordon and redshirt senior Malachi Davis.
Friday's game will mark LIU's eighth appearance in the NCAA tournament in program history, and the first in the Sharks era of the program. LIU's last appearance came in the 2017-18 season.
Tip-off between the Wildcats and Sharks will be at 1:35 p.m. ET in Viejas Arena in San Diego, California. Friday's game will be televised on TNT, with Kevin Harlan (play-by-play), Robbie Hummel, Stan Van Gundy (analysts), and Lauren Shehadi (sideline reporter) on the call.
Additional audio coverage will be available on the LIU Sharks Audio Network vis the Varsity Network App, with "The Voice of the Sharks" Phil Constantino (play-by-play) on the call.
Quick Facts
-WILDCAT HISTORY: Friday's game will be the second meeting between LIU and Arizona, with the Wildcats winning the previous matchup 62-61 in Tucson on Jan. 29, 1951. LIU's last meeting against an active Big 12 opponent was on Nov. 24, 2019 when the Sharks played Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas (96-66 loss).
-LAST TIME OUT: LIU won its 7th NEC Tournament title in program history on March 10, defeating No. 3 seed Mercyhurst 79-70 in Brooklyn. Malachi Davis and Greg Gordon tied for a team-high 24 points in LIU's win.
-BACK IN THE BIG DANCE: LIU will make its 8th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history on Friday, and the first in the Sharks era of the program (since 2019). LIU's last appearance came in 2017-18, falling to Radford in the First Four.
-OUT WEST: LIU returns to the Golden State for the first time since Nov. 15, 2024, when the Sharks took on California Baptist in a 90-77 road loss. LIU will return to Viejas Arena for the first time since the 2019-20 season, when the Sharks traveled to San Diego State in an 81-64 loss.
-NEC CHAMPS: LIU won both the NEC regular season and tournament championships in the same year for the 5th time in program history this season, joining the 1983-84, 1996-97, 2010-11, and 2011-12 LIU teams.
MAJOR NEC HONORS
-COACH OF THE YEAR: Rod Strickland became the third LIU head coach to receive NEC Coach of the Year honors in program history, joining Ray Haskins (1996-97) and Jim Ferry (2x; 2004-05, 2010-11).
-DPOY: Greg Gordon became the first LIU student-athlete to receive NEC Defensive Player of the Year honors. Gordon led LIU in both total rebounds (174) and steals per game (1.7) this winter, and finished 3rd on the team in blocks per game (.8).
-1st-TEAM ALL-NEC HONORS: Malachi Davis and Jamal Fuller were both 1st-Team All-NEC selections, the conference announced on March 3. Davis received 1st-team honors for the second consecutive season, becoming the 12th student-athlete in program history to receive two First-Team All-NEC honors. Fuller was a 2nd-Team All-NEC selection in the 2024-25 season.
-2nd-TEAM ALL-NEC: Greg Gordon was selected to the 2nd-Team All-NEC list, along with being named to the NEC All-Defensive Team. LIU's last All-Defensive team honoree was Brent Davis in 2024-25.
STATISTIC NOTES
-OFFENSIVE LEADERS: Through 34 games, the Sharks lead the NEC with 74.1 ppg. Jamal Fuller (16.4 ppg, 4th), Malachi Davis (14.4, 8th), and Greg Gordon (14.1, 9th) all sit in the top 10 of the NEC in points per game.
-BUCKET GETTERS: The Sharks lead the NEC in team field goal percentage with a 48.1% mark, with Greg Gordon (56.5%, 4th in NEC), Jamal Fuller (52.5%, 5th) both in the top 5 of individual field goal percentage.
-SHOT BLOCKING SHARKS: LIU leads the NEC and is 10th in Division I in blocked shots per game, posting an average mark of 5.4. Shadrak Lasu (1.5 BPG), Jamal Fuller (1.1), and Greg Gordon (.8) all sit in the top 10 of the NEC in blocks per game.
-CONFERENCE-HIGHS: LIU leads the NEC in blocked shots per game (5.4), fastbreak points per game (14.53), field goal percentage (48.1), free throw attempts/makes per game (19.8/13.2), scoring margin (3.0), scoring offense (74.1), and three-point percentage defense (31.9%).
