BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The Long Island University men's basketball team (21-10, 15-3 NEC), the NEC regular season champion, begins the NEC Men's Basketball Tournament on Wednesday, March 4, at home against No. 8 seed Chicago State University.
LIU enters Wednesday's game after defeating FDU 74-60 in the regular season finale on Saturday afternoon, outscoring the Knights by 13 points in the second half. Jamal Fuller led the Sharks with 17 points, while Greg Gordon (14), Jomo Goings (12), and Mason Porter-Brown (11) all scored in double figures.
Wednesday's game is a rematch of last season's NEC quarterfinal matchup, when then-No. 2 seeded LIU defeated the No. 7 seeded Cougars 68-57 in Brooklyn. Malachi Davis led LIU with 35 points in the win.
The Sharks defeated Chicago State in the penultimate game of the regular season, taking down the Cougars 73-58 in Brooklyn last Thursday, Feb. 26.
Wednesday's game will be broadcast on NEC Front Row, with "The Voice of the Sharks" Phil Constantino (play-by-play) and Jon Gross (analyst) on the call. Additional audio coverage available on the LIU Sharks Audio Network via the Varsity Network App, with Mike Murabito (play-by-play) on the call.
QUICK FACTS
-COUGAR HISTORY: Saturday's game will be the 6th matchup between LIU and Chicago State, with the Sharks leading the all-time record 4-1. LIU won the previous matchup 73-56 on Feb. 26 in Brooklyn.
-LAST TIME OUT: LIU outscored FDU by 13 points in the second half, defeating the Knights 74-60 on senior day in Brooklyn. Jamal Fuller led the Sharks with 17 points, while Greg Gordon (14), Jomo Goings (12), and Mason Porter-Brown (11) all finished in double figures.
-NEC CHAMPS: With Thursday's win over Saint Francis, LIU secured a share of the 2025-26 NEC regular season title, later claiming the outright title with CCSU's loss to Chicago State. This is LIU's 7th NEC Regular Season title in program history, joining the 1982-83, 1983-84, 1996-97, 1997-98, 2010-11, and 2011-12 teams.
-NEC HONORS: Head Coach Rod Strickland received NEC Coach of the Year honors on Tuesday, while Greg Gordon was named the NEC Defensive Player of the Year. Malachi Davis and Jamal Fuller were 1st-Team All-NEC selections, while Gordon was placed on the 2nd-Team All-NEC and All-Defensive lists. Fuller, Gordon, and Davis have all earned two NEC Player of the Week awards this season.
-OFFENSIVE LEADERS: Through 31 games, the Sharks rank 2nd in the NEC with 74.1 ppg. Jamal Fuller (16.6 ppg, 4th) and Malachi Davis (14.5, 7th) 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 47.9% mark, with Greg Gordon (56.7%, 4th in NEC), Jamal Fuller (53.5%, 5th) both in the top 5 of individual field goal percentage.
-SHOT BLOCKING SHARKS: LIU leads the NEC and is 13th in Division I in blocked shots per game, posting an average mark of 5.3. Shadrak Lasu (1.5 BPG), Jamal Fuller (1), and Greg Gordon (.8) all sit in the top 10 of the NEC in blocks per game.
-NEC PRESEASON POLL: LIU was unanimously picked to finish first out of 10 teams by the conference's head coaches.
-RETURNING TO THE FLOOR: LIU returns 59.2% of its scoring from the 2024-25 season, headlined by returning their top two leading scorers from a season ago in Malachi Davis (565 points) and Jamal Fuller (413 points). The Sharks also returning their top two rebounders (Shadrak Lasu, 226 rebounds; Jamal Fuller, 199 rebounds) and blocks (Lasu, 42 blocks; Fuller, 25 blocks).
