BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The Long Island University men's basketball team (22-10, 15-3 NEC), the NEC regular season champion, hosts No. 7 seed Wagner College on Saturday, March 7, in the semifinals of the NEC Men's Basketball Tournament.
LIU enters Saturday's game after a defeat of No. 8 seed Chicago State University in the NEC quarterfinals on Wednesday, taking down the Cougars 79-75 in Brooklyn.
The Sharks swept Wagner in the regular season, defeating the Seahawks 67-57 on the road on Feb. 12 and again on Feb. 16, winning 83-65 at home.
This is the second consecutive season that the Sharks have reached the NEC semifinals, having taken on Saint Francis University in last season's conference semifinals.
Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+, with Dave Popkin (play-by-play), Joe DeSantis (analyst) on the call. Additional audio coverage available on the LIU Sharks Audio Network via the Varsity Network App, with "The Voice of the Sharks" Phil Constantino (play-by-play) and Hevynne Bristow (analyst) on the call.
Quick Facts
-SEAHAWK HISTORY: Saturday's game will be the 125th matchup between LIU and Wagner, with LIU the all-time record 68-56. LIU swept Wagner in the regular season, winning the last matchup 83-65 in Brooklyn on Feb. 16.
-LAST TIME OUT: A late offensive foul drawn by Jamal Fuller helped seal LIU's quarterfinal victory over No. 8 Chicago State on Wednesday, as the Sharks claimed a 79-75 victory over CSU. Mason Porter-Brown led the Sharks with 21 points.
-NEC CHAMPS: With a win over Saint Francis on Feb. 19, 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.
-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). Strickland guided the Sharks to an NEC regular season title, posting a 21-10 overall record and 15-3 mark in the NEC.
-DPOY: LIU senior Greg Gordon became the first student-athlete in program history to receive Defensive Player of the Year honors from the NEC. Gordon led the Sharks in both total rebounds (174) and steals per game (1.7) this winter, and finished third on the team in blocks per game (.8). His 54 steals ranked 3rd in the NEC this winter.
-NEC HONORS: Malachi Davis and Jamal Fuller were 1st-Team All-NEC selections, while Greg 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.
-OFFENSIVE LEADERS: Through 32 games, the Sharks lead the NEC with 74.3 ppg. Jamal Fuller (16.5 ppg, 4th), Malachi Davis (14.2, 8 th), and Greg Gordon (13.6, 10th) 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% mark, with Greg Gordon (56.4%, 3 rd in NEC), Jamal Fuller (52.9%, 4 th) both in the top 5 of individual field goal percentage. Malachi Davis (41.8%) ranks 9th .
-SHOT BLOCKING SHARKS: LIU leads the NEC and is 13 th in Division I in blocked shots per game, posting an average mark of 5.31. Shadrak Lasu (1.4 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.
