The Brooklyn Trolley Blogger: NCAA

Showing posts with label NCAA. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

LIU/Brooklyn Blackbirds: March Madness Begins Now

From the desk of: THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

NCAA TOURNAMENT

* * THE FIRST FOUR * *

EAST REGION @ DAYTON, OHIO

#16 LIU Brooklyn

BLACKBIRDS

Northeast Champions ~ (18-16)

vs.

#16 Radford University

HIGHLANDERS

Big South Champions ~ (22-12)

Tuesday, March 13, 6:40pm

The winner faces #1 Villanova Wildcats @ Pittsburgh.

These team previously faced each other only once in their respective history during the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament on Nov. 19, 2011 in which LIU emerged victoriously by a convincing 81-59 final margin of victory.

This is the Blackbirds seventh ever appearance in the NCAA tournament, and their first since getting knocked out of the First Four round in 2013 by the James Madison Dukes. They are yet to win a tourney game in six previous attempts. The Blackbirds nevertheless enter Tuesday's game winners of five straight, including their most recent upset over top seeded Wagner in the NEC Final. They were 5-11 on the road this season, and split two games at neutral sites. Joel Hernandez is LIU leading scorer, averaging 20.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. He averages 46 percent shooting from the field, and 38 percent three point range.

Radford is making third ever trip to the dance, and their first since 2009. They are presently in the midst of a seven game winning streak. The Highlanders are 7-10 road, and 4-0 at neutral sites. Ed Polite Jr. is the team's leading scorer, averaging 13.5 points per game, and 7.7 rebounds.

TeamRankings.com

LIU Brooklyn Bracketology Projection

BROOKLYN BLACKBIRDS STARTING FIVE

Julian Batts ~ Julius Van Sauer ~ Raiquan Clark ~ Joel Hernandez ~ Jashaun Agosto

GO BROOKLYN

GO BLACKBIRDS

Friday, November 22, 2013

LIU Blackbirds: West Coast Tip-Off Versus UC Irvine Anteaters

From the desk of: THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

TONIGHT

LIU BLACKBIRDS
vs.

UC Irvine Anteaters

FROM

The Left Coast

LIU/BROOKLYN BLACKBIRDS: California, Here They Come.

I'm sorry, but ten days is too long of a wait between games, especially as the Blackbirds pushed the Indiana Hoosiers to their limits last time on the floor, albeit in defeat, and in hostile territory no less. LIU put themselves into a great position to win, and lost on nothing more than a missed shot at the end. So, there's much about that game for the Blackbirds to feel good about, and build upon.

You might say Coach Perri's crew restarts their season this evening. Jason Brickman and the young Blackbirds of LIU are out west in California to oppose the UC Irvine Anteaters. The Anteaters hail out of the Big West Conference, and enter tonight's game with a 2-2 non-conference record. The Blackbirds hold an early lead in NEC Conference with a 1-1 non-conference record.

LIU will definitely have their hands full tonight. The Gladiators' 54% field goal percentage is 8th best in the country, and their 20 assists per game rank 5th in the nation. They're also the 12th leading scoring team in the country, averaging 93 points per game.

UC Irvine last played on Nov 17th, and coming off a lopsided 110-73 victory over the Pacifica College Gladiators. Joannis Dimakopoulos led the Gladiators with 16 points, while Luke Nelson issued 8 assists.

THE DISH ON JASON BRICKMAN:

He led all NCAA Division-1 players with 290 assists last season, as well as an 8.5 assists per game average as a Junior. After just two games as a senior, he's averaging 12 assists per. He entered the season as LIU's all-time assists leader with 719. The all-time NEC record is 804 assists. So far, Jason has 24 assists in two games, and needs another 62 to set the mark. With another 257 assists, he would become only the 4th NCAA player to amass 1,000 assists in a career.

Mike.BTB

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

LIU Blackbirds: The Madness Begins Against James Madison

From the desk of: THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

2013 NCAA MEN'S BASKEBALL TOURNAMENT

WEDNESDAY

James Madison Dukes

vs.

LIU/BROOKLYN BLACKBIRDS

from

Dayton, Ohio

LIU/BROOKLYN BLACKBIRDS - Flatbush Faces James Madison Dukes In First Bout Of March Madness.

Somehow, the lords of basketball and TV money changers found yet another brilliant method to increase the size of their ~~sanctimonious~~ revenue pie. Call Wednesday's contest what you will. We're being sold on the notion this is a first round game. In opposition to my biased home town fervor, I know better. But I'll call this the opening game of this year's tournament just to play along.

Playing in the East Region, the Blackbirds must first play through James Madison before truly earning the distinction of being the sixteenth seed. Should LIU win, they will have the pleasure of competing against number one seed Indiana on Friday.

In his first season as Blackbirds coach, Jack Perri helped his veteran team play through the loss of 2012 NEC Player of the Year, Julian Boyd. The Blackbirds finished as the three seed in the Northeast Conference with a 20-13 overall record. However, LIU defeated Mount St. Mary's to earn this year's NEC title, and a berth in this year's tournament. This will be the fifth NCAA tournament appearance for the men's program, and their third in a row; coinciding with their three consecutive Northeast Conference titles. In the university's last two bouts with March Madness under Coach Ferry, they fell to North Carolina and Michigan State.

The Blackbirds are a much more experienced club than the James Madison Dukes. Their top two scorers this season were 2013 NEC Player of the Year, Jamal Olasewere, who averaged 18.9 points, and 8.5 rebounds per game. Guard, C.J. Garner, this year's NEC Tourney MVP, was the Blackbirds second leading scorer, averaging 16.1 points per game. Guard Jason Brickman was the nation's leader in assists. He averaged 8.5 this season. All three players participated in last season's Madness. The Blackbirds have six players overall who've participated in a tournament game. Meanwhile, the James Madison Dukes, who finished with a 20-14 record this season and placed fourth in the Colonial Athletic Association, are making their first tournament appearance since the 1994 season.

These two teams only met twice before, with James Madison winning both. The last time came in 2000. Entering Wednesday's game, James Madison is the favorite, considered the more talented on offense. They might face a more daunting time defeating LIU this time around. This report says James Madison coach Matt Brady is suspending his top scorer and rebounder, Rayshawn Goins, as per James Madison policy, for the first half of Wednesday's game against the Blackbirds. He was arrested for minor offenses stemming from a party. LIU meanwhile, has averaged over ninety points per game over their last four contests, and have topped ninety points in five of their last six games. Their season long 79.9 points per game average ranked fifth in all the nation.

Mike.BTB

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

LIU Blackbirds: Flatbush Hoops Win Third Straight NEC Title

From the desk of: THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

Long Island University/Brooklyn Blackbirds

2012-2013

Northeast Conference

CHAMPIONS

FINAL

Mount St. Mary's 70

LIU/Brooklyn 91

LIU/BROOKLYN BLACKBIRDS - The Old Gang Did It Again. C.J. Garner Scores A Game High Thirty-One Points; Jamal Olasewere Leads All Players In Rebounding; Jason Brickman Leads Everyone In Assists.

Blackbirds Win Third Consecutive NEC Title

Heading Back To The NCAA Tournament

With 1:46 left in the second half, NEC Player of the Year, senior, Jamal Olasewere, punctuated Tuesday night's title game at the Wellness Center with a thunderous reverse dunk that put the Blackbirds ahead 86-67 over Mount St. Mary's. The ignited crowd stayed on their feet from then on. As time expired, the WRAC turned to revelry. The Hoops of Flatbush became three time repeat champions of the Northeast Conference.

Head Coach Jack Perri wins the NEC title in his first season at the helm. The way back to the title game was not a road easily travelled. The Blackbirds had quite a bit of adversity to overcome. However, LIU's overwhelming experience prevailed. Minus injured senior Julian Boyd, LIU's starting line-up stepped onto their home court replete with four returning champion players from last season. Some congratulations should perhaps be sent former coach Jim Ferry's way for the program he built, and left behind. This third championship is a testament to superior effort he put into the university.

Against the Mountaineers, the Blackbirds were led by senior guard, C.J. Garner. He led all scorers with thirty-one points with a stellar 13/17 shooting performance from the floor. Jamal Olasewere was second high for the Blackbirds with fifteen points. He led all players with ten rebounds; nine came on the defensive end. And junior, Jason Brickman; the nations leading ball distributor; led all players with eight assists. Also returning from last season, Kenny Onyechi added eleven points, and seven boards. Back-up guard, Gerrell Martin contributed twelve points off the bench.

The Mountaineers actually had five players score in double digits. Guard, Sam Prescott, led The Mount with twenty-one points.

Brooklyn shot 61.4% from the floor on 35/57 shooting. Mount St. Mary's struggled to shoot 39.7% from the floor. Perhaps born of desperation, the Mountaineers hoisted up thirty-one three-point attempts, only converting on nine for a 29% mark. Brooklyn only put up nine shots from behind the arch, converting on five. LIU nearly doubled Mount St. Mary's efforts at the foul line. Brooklyn took twenty-one shots from the stripe, making sixteen for a 76% mark. The Mountaineers, spending most of their time behind the three point line, didn't drive the lane much, and as a result, only took eleven shots from the free throw line. Brooklyn also won the battle of the boards, out-rebounding Mount St. Mary's by a 36-27 margin.

Next - Selection Sunday; March 17th.

Mike.BTB

Monday, March 12, 2012

LIU Blackbirds ~ #16 Seed in West; Will Play #1 Michigan St.

From the desk of: THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

LIU's full page from Sunday's 3/11/2012 New York Daily News

2011-2012

NCAA TOURNAMENT

Round of 64

WEST REGION

#1 - Michigan State

vs.

#16 - LIU-BROOKLYN BLACKBIRDS

From,

COLUMBUS

LIU-BROOKLYN BLACKBIRDS: Go West Young Men!

There are several things Brooklyn does well. Bagels and egg creams come to mind. Another thing we do very well is relish the role of underdog. We totally get that. So being seeded #16 in the West is probably more in line with how things are around here, and that's just fine with us. We are bred to know it's an urban jungle out there and that only the strong, the quick, and the brave survive. And I can't help but think, after spending a few years in Downtown Brooklyn, the out-of-state players on LIU; like Julian Boyd; understand and have come to embrace that by now. He comes from Texas where they like everything BIG. Over here, we just like it and want it all.

If the #16 Blackbirds plan on flying through to Phoenix, they'll need to beat #1 Michigan State in Columbus in the Round of 64 first. As per today's tabloids, Coach Ferry thought the team should have been seeded slightly higher. But Julian Boyd stated the team brought this seed on themselves. He pointed out some early season losses as to a reason why the Blackbirds didn't garner more respect. I will point to that dreadful blow-out loss to Monmouth which ended the regular season. It came a game after clinching the NEC regular season title.

None of that matters now. LIU is in the Dance. If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. Regardless of what happens from this point forward, thank you to the LIU-Brooklyn Men's Basketball team for another exciting season. And congratulations on winning your second consecutive NEC Championship. The fourth largest city in America is behind you and wish you well in this year's NCAA Tournament.

GO LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY BLACKBIRDS!