An unassuming lecture hall at Long Island University, typically reserved for Tuesday’s biology class, more closely resembled an active volcano on Selection Sunday.
Packed inside were the university marching band, the cheer squad and, of course, the men’s basketball team, all brimming with anticipation to learn where March would take them.
Soon enough, the classroom erupted in bedlam.
Rod Strickland’s NEC champion Sharks are taking their viral “Fins Up” celebration to the NCAA Tournament, capturing the West Region’s No. 16 seed and a first-round matchup with top-seeded Arizona in San Diego on Friday.
The bid marks LIU’s first trip to March Madness since 2018 and first under the former Knicks guard.
“Arizona is a great team,” Strickland told reporters after the announcement, admitting that he was mostly focused on the blue and gold “LIU” displayed on the CBS broadcast.
“Just seeing LIU back on that board, knowing us as a group — at the beginning of this season, we talked about being here — and then actually seeing it is a great feeling for everyone in the room.”
The Sharks’ collective euphoria wasn’t rooted in shock. In fact, they were the first team invited to the Big Dance, thanks to regular-season dominance and one curious technicality.
Because Mercyhurst is transitioning from Division II to Division I, LIU secured an automatic NCAA Tournament bid with last week’s NEC semifinal win over Wagner — punching a ticket without even having to win their conference championship.
They did it anyway.
On Tuesday night in downtown Brooklyn, the top-seeded Sharks (24–10, 15–3 NEC) erased all doubt by notching a 79–70 win over the Lakers to secure the seventh NEC title in program history.
“It feels earned,” said senior guard Malachi Davis, who scored 24 points in Tuesday’s championship game. “We came out and showed them why we deserve to go to the Dance.”
A first-round date with the Big 12 champion and No. 2-ranked Wildcats (32–2, 16–2 Big 12) punctuates the program’s remarkable turnaround under Strickland, whose Sharks went from just three wins in his first season in 2022–23 to 24 victories in Year 4.
After falling just short of the conference title last season, a determined band of college basketball outcasts turned key starters under Strickland — including first-team All-NEC members Davis and Jamal Fuller, along with standout big man Shadrak Lasu — returned to help LIU capture its first regular-season title since 2011–12.
Greg Gordon, a UAB transfer, earned the NEC Defensive Player of the Year nod in his first season with the Sharks before dropping 24 points and four assists against Mercyhurst to take home the tournament’s MVP nod.
Strickland, 59, was named the NEC Coach of the Year.
“No one really believed in us,” Gordon said after the championship game. “Coach [Strickland], he genuinely believed in us — like every single player. I’ve never seen him give up on a single person on our team.”
LIU’s road to the NCAA Tournament hit the national radar in an unexpected fashion: The team’s upstart spirit section — created by best friends and college basketball fanatics Cameron Koffman and David Pochapin in 2023 — set the internet ablaze earlier this month with its novel “Fins Up” free-throw tradition.
The simple yet infectious hand gesture swept the nation, even being adopted by Nebraska’s student section during the Cornhuskers’ regular-season finale against Iowa.
After the NEC title game, Koffman and Pochapin confirmed that “The Reef” is hitting the road with “America’s Team” for its March Madness run — inviting college basketball fans from across the country to join the wave of excitement.
“Wherever we end up, everyone’s doing ‘Fins Up,’” Pochapin told The Post during the NEC net-cutting ceremony. “We include everyone. You can be a Nebraska fan or whoever — if you’re doing it, you’re one of us.”
Of course, it’ll take more than some exceptional vibes to take down the Wildcats, who started the season with a perfect 23–0 record and finished in the nation’s top five on both ends of the floor, according to KenPom’s national college basketball ratings.
But the Sharks — oozing championship confidence and New York grit — certainly aren’t backing down from the challenge.
“Our team is fearless,” Gordon told reporters after the NEC championship game. “We’re just going to let the world know we’re here.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
