There is officially an automatic qualifier into the NCAA Tournament! The Long Island Sharks, out of the Northeast Conference, have the wonderful distinction of being the very first team to qualify for the 2026 NCAA Tournament. Long Island qualified after beating Wagner in the semi-finals of the conference tournament because the Sharks' opponent in the Championship game was the Mercyhurst Lakers, who are not eligible for the NCAA Tournament during their transition from Division II.
It is the first time the Sharks have made the NCAA Tournament since the 2017-2018 season, when they were known as the Blackbirds. Rob Strickland took over Long Island 4 seasons ago, and it has been a steady improvement every season, culminating in a 22-win season and an NCAA Tournament appearance. Long Island is most likely headed to Dayton for the First Four, but that will give it a chance to win a game in the NCAA Tournament. Why will the Sharks win their First Four game?
Greg Gordon, Malachi Davis, and Jamal Fuller
Those are the three names you will hear almost every time the Sharks score, get a rebound, get a steal, or get an assist. Long Island has three legitimate stars who are the best players on the floor every night they take the floor, and head coach Rod Strickland has built his offense and defense around them.
Gordon is a physical player who gets downhill and will get to the rim at all costs. He has a quick first step and is not a shooter. He is going to get to the rim and will finish. Gordon is a 43% free throw shooter, but somehow rarely gets fouled even though he gets to the paint a lot. Davis is the point guard who was unbelievable down the stretch of the NEC season and was excellent in the qualifying win in the semifinals. He doesn’t shoot the ball from deep all that well, but he can make enough of them to keep the defense honest.  Â
Fuller is the leading scorer, leading three-point shooter, and all-around best player for Long Island. The forward is a true three-level scorer and the go-to guy on offense. Fuller is one of the best individual defenders in the league as well, and if he has a good game, there is no chance that Long Island is going to lose. Those three stars are the horses that are going to lead Long Island to victory.
Old School Basketball
This one sounds weird, but it is the one thing about Long Island that makes it a matchup problem. Sure, their three stars are going to pose a matchup problem for just about everyone they play. It's the style of play that really creates a matchup problem and will be hard to prepare for in two days. Â
Long Island will pass up wide-open threes to get into the lane, where they finish at over 50%. They also don’t pass up wide-open threes all the time, but don’t like to shoot them and take on average about 17 threes a night, which is one of the lowest numbers in the country. It doesn’t hurt that the three stars are all excellent off the bounce and extremely athletic. They make it very hard to keep them in front of you.
The old-school style is so different from what everyone else in the country is playing right now. Teams have built their defenses around taking away the three-point line and want to force teams to take jump shots. The Sharks thrive in that style and want teams to play it. Given how different they play it, it puts a lot of pressure on opposing defenses to change on the fly, and that does make teams uncomfortable.
The one thing that could backfire for the Sharks, given they are not built to take a ton of threes, is if a team plays zone and forces Long Island to get to the rim, either one-on-one or by starting to take threes. Fuller and Davis can make threes, and all three of the stars are elite at getting to the rim. Long Island just has to hope the opponents don’t foul them, because they are a bad free-throw shooting team.
Rebounding and Rim Protection
Long Island doesn’t have much height, but, as has been mentioned numerous times, they do have a ton of athleticism, and that athleticism helps them in a lot of ways. One way is that they are averaging over 7 steals per game, which enables them to get out in transition and get easy baskets. This isn’t about the offense, though it is about the ability of the Sharks to rebound and block shots.
Even without a ton of height, Long Island is a very competitive rebounding team and usually outrebounds its opponents, hauling in 12 offensive rebounds per night, which leads to second-chance opportunities that ultimately lead to backbreaking second chances. Â
Just remember, rebounding is about 20% skill and 80% want-to. Long Island has the want, especially when it is time to close out a game.
The biggest X-factor in any game the Sharks play is their ability to protect the rim. Long Island isn’t anywhere near the tallest teamsamong in the country, but they are top 15 in total blocks per game. Shadrak Lasu is an athletically gifted player who can jump out of a gym and is a problem at the rim. The ability to protect the rim is the one thing that can turn this game on its head and get the Sharks out in transition when they are an elite offense.