Under the Radar Game of the Day: Long Island University-Brooklyn at St. Francis College (Brooklyn), 1:00 PM Eastern, ESPNU
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Rivalry Week kicks off today on the ESPN networks and, although it may be nothing much more than a way to stretch the hype around some game that is being played Wednesday night in Chapel Hill, NC into a week-long event, the network does get credit for starting it off this afternoon with one of the best Under the Radar rivalries out there. The 105th meeting in the Battle of Brooklyn will be taking place this afternoon as the Terriers of St. Francis College host the Blackbirds of LIU-Brooklyn. Long Island holds the all-time lead, 63-41, in this matchup between two schools that are practically right across the street from each other. However, the Terriers have won the last four games including the win at LIU back on January 23.
The LIU-Brooklyn Blackbirds enter play today with a record of 12-12 overall and 6-7 in Northeast Conference play. They are coming off of one of their better wins of the season, defeating the team that had been leading the conference, Wagner, by a convincing 82-69 margin at home. Jerome Frink led the way for the Blackbirds in that win, scoring 26 points and pulling down 14 rebounds, while also getting 3 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocked shots. The Blackbirds do have several players that can light up the scoreboard beyond Frink, including Aakim Saintil, Martin Hermannsson and Joel Hernandez. Hernandez was their top player in the earlier loss to St Francis College, with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
St. Francis is currently 11-15 overall and 7-6 in conference play. Despite being only one game above .500 in the NEC, the Terriers are also only one game in the loss column behind what is now a four-way tie for first place. The Terriers are led by Chris Hooper and Tyreek Jewell. Hooper had 15 points in the earlier win over LIU, and Jewell has been in double-figures each of his last three games, including a double-double in a win last week over Fairleigh Dickinson. As we have noted before, the Terriers are one of only five teams that have been members of Division I since divisions began in the NCAA that have never made it to the Big Dance. Given the parity in the Northeast Conference this season, they certainly will have a chance to win the automatic bid — though finishing high in the standings and getting home court advantage for the conference tournament may be the key. Picking up a win over their top rival will certainly go a long way in helping that cause today.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTED GAMES (David Griggs)
-NC STATE AT VIRGINIA (ACC). Virginia is coming off a close and controversial loss at Duke over the weekend, but they’re still in very good shape and should remain that way so long as they hold serve in games like this.
-MANHATTAN AT MONMOUTH (Metro Atlantic). The Hawks get their 3rd chance to avenge an earlier loss in the season; this time the 2-time defending champion Manhattan is the opponent. As King Rice said during the postgame Friday night, they cannot look ahead to Iona (a Friday game this week) and overlook the Jaspers.
-NEW MEXICO STATE AT WICHITA STATE. This is a makeup game from earlier in the season. It’s suddenly a game that Wichita really cannot afford to lose.
-OKLAHOMA STATE AT KANSAS (Big Twelve). Kansas is coming off one of their biggest wins of the season, and is in the drivers seat for first place in the Big Twelve.