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Record: 20-13
RPI: 180
BPI: 197
Conference: Northeast Conference
How They Qualified: NEC Tournament Champions
You could call them a mini dynasty of the mid-major variety if you’d like because after a 91-70 thumping of Mount St. Mary’s in the NEC Tournament championship game, the Long Island Blackbirds are dancing for a third consecutive season.
LIU did not dominate conference play like you would think, finishing league play with a 12-6 mark. However, Long Island buckled down, got a big win over Wagner in the semifinal round of the conference tournament and advanced through with their rout of the Mountaineers in the title bout.
What You Need to Know:
Leading Scorer: Jamal Olasewere (19.0 ppg)
Leading Rebounder: Jamal Olasewere (8.5 rpg)
Leading Passer: Jason Brickman (8.5 apg)
Bad Losses: St. Peter’s, Lamar, Sacred Heart
Good Wins: Wagner, Manhattan, Bryant
First year head coach Jack Perri took over a Long Island program this past off-season that was fresh off back-to-back trips to the Big Dance. Some off-the-court issues before the season put their season in doubt before things ever got started, but everything was smoothed over in time for the start of regular season play.
Long Island features a very talented and experienced roster, led by Jamal Olasewere, who is averaging 19.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Jason Brickman is among the nation’s top assist leader at 8.5 per contest and you can’t forget about C.J. Garner. Just think of how much more dangerous this team would be if Julian Boyd didn’t suffer a season-ending knee injury.
Either way, the Blackbirds will be a dangerous threat amongst the lower seeds in the NCAA Tournament, but they certainly cannot be taken lightly.
The Long Island Blackbirds are dancing!
Follow Paul Seaver on Twitter: @PaulSeaverRS
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