LIU basketball is making its first tournament appearance since the merger of LIU Brooklyn and LIU Post, and the Sharks enter March on a roll.
It’s Rod Strickland’s first time leading LIU to a tournament appearance. Many people are aware of that. But people may not know that Rod was such a dog on the court in the NBA that Raekwon included him on a line in Wu-Tang’s 1997 song “Triumph“: “guaranteed, made ’em jump like Rod Strickland.”
LIU basketball might not win the NCAA tournament, but they’re certainly a cool story with a cool coach. The NCAA tournament is a much better place when 24-win mid-majors can earn a spot instead of a middling Power Five institution that’s one game above .500.
How they got there:
LIU almost took down Mississippi State in the non-conference portion of the schedule, and was hanging with Georgia for a decent amount of time in their game against the other Bulldogs school in the SEC. Once conference games started, LIU basketball began on a five-game winning streak. When that was snapped with a road loss to Le Moyne, the Sharks reeled off six wins in a row after that. A season finale victory over FDU moved the team’s NEC record to a league-leading 15-3 before the conference tournament.
LIU basketball was actually the first team in the country to punch its ticket to the Big Dance, by way of technicality. After defeating Chicago State in the quarters, LIU was slated to play Wagner in the semifinals. But Mercyhurst, which is ineligible for a tournament as they transition to D-I, had already defeated Stonehill in the other semifinal, meaning the winner of Wagner and LIU would automatically go to the tournament regardless of the championship result. LIU clinched its spot with a win over Wagner, but beat Mercyhurst anyway, leaving no doubt.
General information:
Team: LIU
Location: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Record: 24-10 (15-3)
Head Coach: Rod Strickland (4th season overall, all at LIU)
What to know about LIU basketball:
LIU basketball scores a decent amount of points on the fast break and in the paint. Over the course of the season, the Sharks rank 12th nationally with an average of 19.6% of their total points coming on the fast break. Their rate of 14.5 fast break points per game has them at 21st out of 365 D-I teams. When it comes to interior defense, the Sharks are pretty efficient. Their block rate of 13.9% ranks 15th nationally. Forwards Shadrak Lasu and Jamal Fuller both average over a block per game.
On the individual level, the team is led by Fuller and guard Greg Gordon. Over the team’s last 10 games, Fuller is averaging 16.3 PPG, and Gordon is at 15.5 PPG. Both players are seniors, as is Malachi Davis, who has a season average of 14.4 PPG. Fuller is quite efficient from behind the arc for a forward, making 43.8% of his threes on 3.7 attempts per game, and he and Gordon are tied for the team lead on the boards with a season average of 5.5 RPG. In terms of distribution, Davis is the team’s leading assist-man with 3.4 APG, but Gordon has an average of 4.4 APG over the team’s last five games, all victories.
NCAA Tournament prediction for LIU basketball: Round of 64 exit
Seed: 16
In the history of the NCAA tournament, 16 seeds are just 2-158 all-time against their 1 seed opponents. The odds of LIU joining UMBC and FDU in the winners’ circle are far less likely than the Sharks being loss number 159 against a very good Arizona team. Now, it’s March. Anything can happen. But we’re dealing with a historically good top three between Duke, Arizona, and Michigan, and the odds of a 16 seed winning over the course of 40 minutes is quite low.