March Madness 2026: 5 things to know about the LIU men's basketball team's NCAA Tournament bid
LIU Brooklyn guard Malachi Davis against Georgia on Dec. 29, 2025. Credit: AP/Colin Hubbard
The Long Island University men’s basketball team, which plays its home games in Brooklyn, became the first of 68 teams to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament with Saturday’s 64-56 win over Wagner in the NEC Tournament semifinals.
The top-seeded Sharks (23-10) host third-seeded Mercyhurst (17-16) in the NEC championship game at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Here are five things to know about LIU:
1. Why LIU is already in the NCAA Tournament
LIU received the NEC’s automatic bid because Mercyhurst, in only its second Division I season, is ineligible for the NCAA Tournament until 2028 as it transitions from Division II.
The Lakers defeated Stonehill, 56-51, in the NEC semifinals on Saturday. Had Stonehill — in its fourth Division I season and first with NCAA Tournament eligibility — won, the winner of Tuesday night’s game would have punched their ticket to The Big Dance.
While the result has no bearing on LIU’s tournament spot, it will look for its first conference tournament title since 2018, when the then-LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds won the NEC Tournament; LIU combined its Post (Division II) and Brooklyn athletic programs ahead of the 2019-20 academic year and rebranded as the Sharks.
2. Where does LIU play?
The Sharks play their home games at the Steinberg Wellness Center, which includes a 2,500-seat arena and is located on the corner of Ashland Place and DeKalb Avenue in Brooklyn.
The NEC plays its tournament games at the campus sites of the higher seeds, and LIU owned home-court advantage throughout as the outright regular-season champion.
The Steinberg Wellness Center also is home to LIU’s women’s basketball, women’s swimming, women’s volleyball and women’s fencing teams. The LIU Brooklyn men’s basketball team debuted there on Jan. 26, 2006.
The last game LIU’s Division I team played on Long Island was on Dec. 12, 2018, when Stony Brook notched an 83-79 home win over LIU Brooklyn. LIU Post played its final game on Long Island on Feb. 27, 2019, and went 0-25 during the 2018-19 season.
3. Who is the coach?
LIU head coach Rod Strickland Credit: AP/Colin Hubbard
Rod Strickland, the Knicks’ first-round pick in 1988 who had a 17-year NBA career, is in his fourth season as LIU’s head coach. He has led quite the turnaround and was named the NEC Coach of the Year.
LIU went 3-26 in the 2022-23 season and 7-22 in 2023-24. The Sharks were much improved last season, going 17-16 and losing in the NEC Tournament semifinals. LIU ranks 217th nationally at KenPom.com, which would be its best rating to finish a season since it ended 192nd in 2012-13.
Strickland, 59, is a Bronx native and was the director of the NBA G League’s professional path program from 2018-22. He also had previous assistant and administrative stops at South Florida, Kentucky and Memphis.
Strickland averaged 13.2 points, 7.3 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 1,094 NBA games. The 6-3 guard was named to the All-NBA second team in 1998, when he played for the Wizards and led the league in assists.
4. LIU's NCAA Tournament history
LIU has not made the NCAA Tournament since the Post and Brooklyn programs combined, but LIU Brooklyn appeared in seven Division I NCAA Tournaments, most recently in 2018. The program has never won an NCAA Tournament game at the Division I level.
LIU Post made 17 appearances in the Division II NCAA Tournament, and LIU Brooklyn made three.
LIU Brooklyn won the NIT twice: in 1939, when it went 24-0, and 1941.
5. Who are the Sharks’ stars?
LIU guard Greg Gordon. Credit: AP/Colin Hubbard
LIU has four players who average at least 10 points, led by All-NEC first-teamer Jamal Fuller, a 6-5 guard/forward who averages 16.6 points and shoots 43.8% from three. Malachi Davis, a 6-4 guard who averages 14.1 points and a team-high 3.4 assists, joined Fuller on the All-NEC first team.
Greg Gordon, a 6-5 guard who averages 13.8 points and a team-high 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals, was named the NEC Defensive Player of the Year and All-NEC second-teamer. Jomo Goings, another 6-5 guard, averages 10.2 points.
The Sharks have one player from Long Island in Huntington’s Eddie Munyak, who has appeared in one game.
LIU had the best defensive efficiency and third-best offensive efficiency in the NEC during conference play, according to KenPom. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi projects the Sharks as a No. 16 seed with a First Four game in Dayton, Ohio, before the round of 64.
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
