Local college hoops teams vying for chance to be NCAA darling
By Howie Kussoy and Zach Braziller
March 4, 2019 | 1:17am
Cinderella can be born anywhere.
Last year, UMBC and Loyola-Chicago created one of the most memorable editions of the always-exhilarating NCAA Tournament.
This year, Cinderella can come from your backyard.
Here’s The Post’s postseason preview of the area’s smaller schools, hoping to secure a double-digit seed in the NCAA Tournament:
Hofstra
Record: 25-6, 15-3
Conference: CAA
Coach: Joe Mihalich (Sixth season, 113-82)
NET: 67
Regular-season recap: One of the most memorable seasons in school history produced the Pride’s first outright CAA regular-season title since 2001. With the seventh-highest scoring offense in the country, Hofstra won its most games since joining Division I (1966-67), and captured a rare spotlight with a nation-best 16-game winning streak.
Best win: 99-95 at Charleston (Feb. 14)
Player to watch: Senior Justin Wright-Foreman saved his best for last. A career that started with the Queens native scoring 44 total points as a freshman ended with the 6-foot-2 guard becoming the nation’s second-leading scorer (26.8), while shooting over 44 percent from the perimeter.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2001
Tournament odds: 5/2
Can win it if: The pressure isn’t too much. The senior-led Pride have their best shot at ending the school’s 18-year NCAA Tournament drought, but the burden of validating a special regular season with a postseason championship has sunk the top teams in tournament play many times.
Next up: Top-seeded Hofstra plays the winner of No. 8 James Madison/No. 9 Towson in the quarterfinals of the CAA Tournament on Sunday (Noon) in North Charleston, S.C.
Iona
Record: 14-15, 12-6
Conference: MAAC
Coach: Tim Cluess (Ninth season, 196-107)
NET: 211
Regular-season recap: The three-time defending champions returned only two players — dismissing preseason All-MAAC second-team selection Roland Griffin from the program, following a physical altercation with assistant coach Ricky Johns — and failed to win 20 games for the first time since Tim Cluess arrived in New Rochelle, but the inexperienced group recovered from a 2-9 start to snatch another regular-season title.
Best win: 80-75 vs. Hartford (Nov. 21)
Player to watch: Senior guard Rickey McGill remained the constant in another revamped roster, averaging 15.6 points and 4.6 rebounds, along with the second-most assists (5.2) in the MAAC, and a conference-best 2.3 steals.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2018
Tournament odds: 5/1
Can win it if: Momentum matters. In a wide-open tournament, the Gaels enter as the slight favorite, entering with seven straight wins — three straight championships, and six straight title-game appearances.
Next up: Top-seeded Iona plays the winner of No. 8 Marist/No. 9 St. Peter’s in the MAAC Tournament quarterfinals Friday (7 p.m.) in Albany.
Stony Brook
Record: 23-7, 11-4
Conference: America East
Coach: Jeff Boals (Third season, 54-40)
NET: 150
Regular-season recap: Despite playing just two home games in the first five weeks of the season, the Seawolves got off to their best start since joining Division 1 (1999). With only two upperclassmen, Boals led the young team to its second-best record over the past two decades, topped only by the 2016 NCAA Tournament team.
Best win: 83-81 at South Carolina (Nov. 9)
Player to watch: Junior wing Akwasi Yeboah led the Seawolves in scoring (16.9) and rebounding (7.9) for the second straight season, and has shot nearly 42 percent on 3-pointers in his past four games.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2016
Tournament odds: 6/1
Can win it if: A trip to Burlington isn’t on the schedule. The Seawolves will likely have home court until a potential championship game against the first-place Catamounts, who have won their past seven meetings with Stony Brook.
Next up: Stony Brook closes the regular season Tuesday at Hartford (7 p.m.), then hosts an America East Tournament quarterfinal Saturday.
Manhattan
Record: 10-20, 8-10
Conference: MAAC
Coach: Steve Masiello (Eighth season, 126-129)
NET: 322
Regular-season recap: The Jaspers finished with a losing record for the fourth straight year, following the departure of five of their top six scorers from last season, and the loss of reigning MAAC Defensive Player of the Year Pauly Paulicap to a season-ending foot injury. However, the young group finished strong, and won six of their final 10 games.
Best win: 55-53 vs. Coastal Carolina (Nov. 16)
Player to watch: On the nation’s only team without a double-digit scorer, 6-foot-9 freshman Warren Williams has become the most consistent option, averaging 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in his past five games, while shooting 64.9 percent from the field.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2015
Tournament odds: 50/1
Can win it if: The defense gets some help. Masiello constructed the conference’s most efficient unit — which forces 15 turnovers per game — but the Jaspers have the third-lowest scoring offense in the country, and shoot less than 41 percent from the field.
Next up: Seventh-seeded Manhattan plays 10th-seeded Fairfield in the first round of the MAAC Tournament Thursday (7 p.m.) in Albany.
LIU Brooklyn
Record: 15-15, 9-9
Conference: NEC
Coach: Derek Kellogg (Second season, 33-32)
NET: 252
Regular-season recap: The Blackbirds returned from a trip to the NCAA Tournament, and failed to capitalize on the momentum without star Joel Hernandez. The fast-paced offense largely found mixed results in an up-and-down campaign, following nine wins, and nine losses, with the opposite result.
Best win: 69-66 at St. Francis (Pa.) (Feb. 23)
Player to watch: 6-foot-6 former walk-on Raiquan Clark led the Northeast Conference in scoring (19.4) as a senior, adding a team-high 6.8 rebounds, along with 1.3 steals.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2018
Tournament odds: 20/1
Can win it if: History repeats. The Blackbirds, who closed this season with three straight wins, rode a pair of season-ending wins to last year’s title as a 4-seed.
Next up: Sixth-seeded LIU plays third-seeded Robert Morris in the NEC Tournament quarterfinals Wednesday (7 p.m.).
Wagner
Record: 13-16, 8-10
Conference: NEC
Coach: Bashir Mason (Seventh season, 123-95)
NET: 293
Regular-season recap: The Seahawks were the best defensive team in the NEC, allowing a league-low 67.5 points per game, but the offensively challenged group shot just 39 percent as a team — the 345th-worst mark in the country — and suffered its first losing season in four years.
Best win: 83-79 at St. Francis (Pa.) (Jan. 24)
Player to watch: Romone Saunders does everything but wipe down the court for Wagner. The senior guard is the Seahawks’ leading scorer (16.4), rebounder (7.1), distributor (3.5 APG) and defender (1.5 SPG).
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2003
Tournament odds: 25/1
Can win it if: The late-season slump is out of its system. The Seahawks closed with four straight losses, and will begin the postseason on the road for the first time in four years.
Next up: Seventh-seeded Wagner plays second-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson in the NEC Tournament quarterfinals Wednesday (7 p.m.).
By Howie Kussoy and Zach Braziller
March 4, 2019 | 1:17am
Cinderella can be born anywhere.
Last year, UMBC and Loyola-Chicago created one of the most memorable editions of the always-exhilarating NCAA Tournament.
This year, Cinderella can come from your backyard.
Here’s The Post’s postseason preview of the area’s smaller schools, hoping to secure a double-digit seed in the NCAA Tournament:
Hofstra
Record: 25-6, 15-3
Conference: CAA
Coach: Joe Mihalich (Sixth season, 113-82)
NET: 67
Regular-season recap: One of the most memorable seasons in school history produced the Pride’s first outright CAA regular-season title since 2001. With the seventh-highest scoring offense in the country, Hofstra won its most games since joining Division I (1966-67), and captured a rare spotlight with a nation-best 16-game winning streak.
Best win: 99-95 at Charleston (Feb. 14)
Player to watch: Senior Justin Wright-Foreman saved his best for last. A career that started with the Queens native scoring 44 total points as a freshman ended with the 6-foot-2 guard becoming the nation’s second-leading scorer (26.8), while shooting over 44 percent from the perimeter.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2001
Tournament odds: 5/2
Can win it if: The pressure isn’t too much. The senior-led Pride have their best shot at ending the school’s 18-year NCAA Tournament drought, but the burden of validating a special regular season with a postseason championship has sunk the top teams in tournament play many times.
Next up: Top-seeded Hofstra plays the winner of No. 8 James Madison/No. 9 Towson in the quarterfinals of the CAA Tournament on Sunday (Noon) in North Charleston, S.C.
Iona
Record: 14-15, 12-6
Conference: MAAC
Coach: Tim Cluess (Ninth season, 196-107)
NET: 211
Regular-season recap: The three-time defending champions returned only two players — dismissing preseason All-MAAC second-team selection Roland Griffin from the program, following a physical altercation with assistant coach Ricky Johns — and failed to win 20 games for the first time since Tim Cluess arrived in New Rochelle, but the inexperienced group recovered from a 2-9 start to snatch another regular-season title.
Best win: 80-75 vs. Hartford (Nov. 21)
Player to watch: Senior guard Rickey McGill remained the constant in another revamped roster, averaging 15.6 points and 4.6 rebounds, along with the second-most assists (5.2) in the MAAC, and a conference-best 2.3 steals.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2018
Tournament odds: 5/1
Can win it if: Momentum matters. In a wide-open tournament, the Gaels enter as the slight favorite, entering with seven straight wins — three straight championships, and six straight title-game appearances.
Next up: Top-seeded Iona plays the winner of No. 8 Marist/No. 9 St. Peter’s in the MAAC Tournament quarterfinals Friday (7 p.m.) in Albany.
Stony Brook
Record: 23-7, 11-4
Conference: America East
Coach: Jeff Boals (Third season, 54-40)
NET: 150
Regular-season recap: Despite playing just two home games in the first five weeks of the season, the Seawolves got off to their best start since joining Division 1 (1999). With only two upperclassmen, Boals led the young team to its second-best record over the past two decades, topped only by the 2016 NCAA Tournament team.
Best win: 83-81 at South Carolina (Nov. 9)
Player to watch: Junior wing Akwasi Yeboah led the Seawolves in scoring (16.9) and rebounding (7.9) for the second straight season, and has shot nearly 42 percent on 3-pointers in his past four games.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2016
Tournament odds: 6/1
Can win it if: A trip to Burlington isn’t on the schedule. The Seawolves will likely have home court until a potential championship game against the first-place Catamounts, who have won their past seven meetings with Stony Brook.
Next up: Stony Brook closes the regular season Tuesday at Hartford (7 p.m.), then hosts an America East Tournament quarterfinal Saturday.
Manhattan
Record: 10-20, 8-10
Conference: MAAC
Coach: Steve Masiello (Eighth season, 126-129)
NET: 322
Regular-season recap: The Jaspers finished with a losing record for the fourth straight year, following the departure of five of their top six scorers from last season, and the loss of reigning MAAC Defensive Player of the Year Pauly Paulicap to a season-ending foot injury. However, the young group finished strong, and won six of their final 10 games.
Best win: 55-53 vs. Coastal Carolina (Nov. 16)
Player to watch: On the nation’s only team without a double-digit scorer, 6-foot-9 freshman Warren Williams has become the most consistent option, averaging 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in his past five games, while shooting 64.9 percent from the field.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2015
Tournament odds: 50/1
Can win it if: The defense gets some help. Masiello constructed the conference’s most efficient unit — which forces 15 turnovers per game — but the Jaspers have the third-lowest scoring offense in the country, and shoot less than 41 percent from the field.
Next up: Seventh-seeded Manhattan plays 10th-seeded Fairfield in the first round of the MAAC Tournament Thursday (7 p.m.) in Albany.
LIU Brooklyn
Record: 15-15, 9-9
Conference: NEC
Coach: Derek Kellogg (Second season, 33-32)
NET: 252
Regular-season recap: The Blackbirds returned from a trip to the NCAA Tournament, and failed to capitalize on the momentum without star Joel Hernandez. The fast-paced offense largely found mixed results in an up-and-down campaign, following nine wins, and nine losses, with the opposite result.
Best win: 69-66 at St. Francis (Pa.) (Feb. 23)
Player to watch: 6-foot-6 former walk-on Raiquan Clark led the Northeast Conference in scoring (19.4) as a senior, adding a team-high 6.8 rebounds, along with 1.3 steals.
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2018
Tournament odds: 20/1
Can win it if: History repeats. The Blackbirds, who closed this season with three straight wins, rode a pair of season-ending wins to last year’s title as a 4-seed.
Next up: Sixth-seeded LIU plays third-seeded Robert Morris in the NEC Tournament quarterfinals Wednesday (7 p.m.).
Wagner
Record: 13-16, 8-10
Conference: NEC
Coach: Bashir Mason (Seventh season, 123-95)
NET: 293
Regular-season recap: The Seahawks were the best defensive team in the NEC, allowing a league-low 67.5 points per game, but the offensively challenged group shot just 39 percent as a team — the 345th-worst mark in the country — and suffered its first losing season in four years.
Best win: 83-79 at St. Francis (Pa.) (Jan. 24)
Player to watch: Romone Saunders does everything but wipe down the court for Wagner. The senior guard is the Seahawks’ leading scorer (16.4), rebounder (7.1), distributor (3.5 APG) and defender (1.5 SPG).
Last NCAA Tournament appearance: 2003
Tournament odds: 25/1
Can win it if: The late-season slump is out of its system. The Seahawks closed with four straight losses, and will begin the postseason on the road for the first time in four years.
Next up: Seventh-seeded Wagner plays second-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson in the NEC Tournament quarterfinals Wednesday (7 p.m.).
