Biography

2023–24 LIU Sharks men's basketball
2023–24 LIU Sharks men's basketball
Conference	Northeast Conference
Record	7–22 (6–10 NEC)
Head coach	Rod Strickland (2nd season);
Assistant coaches	Chris Thomas (2nd season); Charles Jones (1st season); Maurice Hicks (2nd season);
Home arena	Steinberg Wellness Center
	Seasons ← 2022–23 2024–25 →

2023–24 Northeast Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Central Connecticut	13	–	3	.813	20	–	11	.645
Merrimack	13	–	3	.813	21	–	12	.636
Sacred Heart	10	–	6	.625	16	–	16	.500
Le Moyne*	9	–	7	.563	15	–	17	.469
Fairleigh Dickinson	9	–	7	.563	15	–	17	.469
Wagner †	7	–	9	.438	17	–	16	.515
LIU	6	–	10	.375	7	–	22	.241
Saint Francis	3	–	13	.188	8	–	22	.267
Stonehill*	2	–	14	.125	4	–	27	.129
* ineligible for the 2024 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division II

† 2024 NEC tournament winner

The 2023–24 LIU Sharks men's basketball team represented Long Island University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Sharks, led by second-year head coach Rod Strickland, played their home games at the Steinberg Wellness Center in Brooklyn, New York as members of the Northeast Conference. They finished the season 7–22, 6–10 in NEC play to finish in seventh place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the NEC tournament to Merrimack.^[1]

Previous season

The Sharks finished the 2022–23 season 3–26, 1–15 in NEC play to finish in last place.^[2] They lost to Merrimack in the first round of the NEC tournament.^[3]

Preseason polls

Northeast Conference poll

The Northeast Conference released its preseason coaches' poll on October 24, 2023. The Sharks were picked to finish in seventh in the conference.^[4]^[5]

Rank	Team
1.	Sacred Heart (7)
2.	Central Connecticut (1)
3.	Fairleigh Dickinson (1)
4.	Merrimack
5.	Wagner
6.	Stonehill
7.	LIU
8.	Saint Francis
9.	Le Moyne

() first place votes

Roster

2023–24 LIU Sharks men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
G	2	Eric Acker	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Fr	East New York, NY
F	3	Greg Kenney	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	176 lb (80 kg)	Fr	Williston Park, New York
G/F	4	Tre'shawn Sheppard	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Fr	Brooklyn, NY
G	5	Andre Washington	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	178 lb (81 kg)	Jr	Staten Island
G/F	6	Tana Kopa	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	178 lb (81 kg)	Jr	Perth, Australia
F	8	Jason Steele	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Fr	Flushing, NY
G	10	R.J. Greene	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	So	Bronx, New York
G/F	11	Terell Strickland	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	RS Jr	Tampa, Florida
G	13	Tai Strickland	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	GS	Tampa, Florida
C	15	C.J. Delancy	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	So	Jonesboro, Arkansas
G	21	Ahmed Essahaty	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	201 lb (91 kg)	So	Wellington, NZ
F	23	Nikola Djapa	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Fr	Belgrade, Serbia
C	43	Gezim Bajrami	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	264 lb (120 kg)	Fr	Tampere, Finland

Head coach

Rod Strickland (DePaul)

Assistant coach(es)

Chris Thomas (Dayton)
Shasha Brown (Wesleyan)
Maurice Hicks (Loyola (MD))

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: November 7, 2022

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 8, 2023* 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row		Fisk	Canceled		Steinberg Wellness Center Brooklyn, NY
November 10, 2023* 1:00 pm, SNY		Air Force	L 67–82	0–1	Steinberg Wellness Center (812) Brooklyn, NY
November 13, 2023* 10:00 pm, ESPN+		at Pepperdine	L 53–88	0–2	Firestone Fieldhouse (327) Mailbu, CA
November 15, 2023* 10:00 pm, P12N		at UCLA	L 58–78	0–3	Pauley Pavilion (4,751) Los Angeles, CA
November 22, 2023* 7:00 pm, SNY, ESPN+		at Columbia	L 67–77	0–4	Levien Gymnasium (622) Manhattan, NY
November 24, 2023* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		vs. Texas A&M–Corpus Christi NKU Thanksgiving Tournament	W 83–68	1–4	Truist Arena (358) Highland Heights, KY
November 25, 2023* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		at Northern Kentucky NKU Thanksgiving Tournament	L 64–72	1–5	Truist Arena (2,340) Highland Heights, KY
December 2, 2023* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at FIU	L 59–74	1–6	Ocean Bank Convocation Center (681) Miami, FL
December 6, 2023* 7:00 pm, ACCNX		at No. 15 Miami	L 49–97	1–7	Watsco Center (5,818) Coral Gables, FL
December 12, 2023* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at UMass Lowell	L 65–78	1–8	Costello Athletic Center (475) Lowell, MA
December 16, 2023* 1:00 pm, BTN+		at Rutgers	L 61–83	1–9	Jersey Mike's Arena (8,000) Piscataway, NJ
December 23, 2023* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Mount St. Mary's	L 59–87	1–10	Knott Arena (1,782) Emmitsburg, MD
December 28, 2023* 7:00 pm, SNY		Albany	L 69–86	1–11	Barclays Center (1,704) Brooklyn, NY
NEC regular season
January 4, 2023 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row		Wagner	W 69–67	2–11 (1–0)	Steinberg Wellness Center (489) Brooklyn, NY
January 6, 2024 2:00 pm, NEC Front Row		at Stonehill	W 73–68	3–11 (2–0)	Merkert Gymnasium (340) Easton, MA
January 13, 2024 2:00 pm, NEC Front Row		at Sacred Heart	L 55–89	3–12 (2–1)	William H. Pitt Center (485) Fairfield, CT
January 19, 2024 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row		at Saint Francis(PA)	L 66–72	3–13 (2–2)	DeGol Arena (640) Loretto, PA
January 21, 2024 7:00 pm, SNY		Central Connecticut	L 63–72	3–14 (2–3)	Steinberg Wellness Center (458) Brooklyn, NY
January 25, 2024 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row		Stonehill	W 63–60	4–14 (3–3)	Steinberg Wellness Center (534) Brooklyn, NY
January 27, 2024 2:00 pm, NEC Front Row		at Le Moyne	L 74–87	4–15 (3–4)	Ted Grant Court (943) DeWitt, NY
February 1, 2024 7:00 pm, YES		at FDU	L 75–82	4–16 (3–5)	Bogota Savings Bank Center (557) Hackensack, NJ
February 3, 2024 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row		Saint Francis	W 70–67	5–16 (4–5)	Steinberg Wellness Center (792) Brooklyn, NY
February 8, 2024 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row		Merrimack	L 79–82 ^OT	5–17 (4–6)	Steinberg Wellness center (521) Brooklyn, NY
February 10, 2024 8:00 pm, SNY		Sacred Heart	W 75–58	6–17 (5–6)	Steinberg Wellness Center (366) Brooklyn, NY
February 15, 2024 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row		Fairleigh Dickinson	L 82–84 ^OT	6–18 (5–7)	Steinberg Wellness Center (251) Brooklyn, NY
February 17, 2024 3:00 pm, NEC Front Row		at Merrimack	L 68–83	6–19 (5–8)	Hammel Court (1,347) North Andover, MA
February 22, 2024 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row		Le Moyne	W 76–64	7–19 (6–8)	Steinberg Wellness Center (347) Brooklyn, NY
February 25, 2024 1:00 pm, CBSSN		at Wagner	L 57–72	7–20 (6–9)	Spiro Sports Center (1,276) Staten Island, NY
February 29, 2024 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row		Central Connecticut	L 64–78	7–21 (6–10)	William H. Detrick Gymnasium (1429) New Britain, CT
NEC Tournament
March 6, 2024 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row	(7)	at (2) Merrimack Quarterfinals	L 66–72	7–22	Hammel Court (1,076) North Andover, MA
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Sources^[6]^[7]

References

^ "Merrimack 72-66 Long Island University (Mar 6, 2024) Game Recap". ESPN. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
^ "2022-23 LIU Sharks Men 's Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
^ "Merrimack 91-76 Long Island University (Mar 1, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
^ "In Pursuit of First-Ever #NECMBB Crown, Sacred Heart Enters 2023–24 Season As Clear Favorite". Northeast Conference. October 24, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
^ Federman, Sam (November 3, 2023). "NEC Season Preview: Sacred Heart, Merrimack aim to make last run memorable". Mid-Major Madness. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
^ "2022–23 Men's Basketball Schedule". Long Island University. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
^ "2022-23 Long Island University Sharks Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved November 7, 2022.

[1] "Merrimack 72-66 Long Island University (Mar 6, 2024) Game Recap". ESPN. Retrieved April 18, 2024.

[2] "2022-23 LIU Sharks Men 's Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 16, 2024.

[3] "Merrimack 91-76 Long Island University (Mar 1, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved January 16, 2024.

[coachpoll-4] "In Pursuit of First-Ever #NECMBB Crown, Sacred Heart Enters 2023–24 Season As Clear Favorite". Northeast Conference. October 24, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023.

[5] Federman, Sam (November 3, 2023). "NEC Season Preview: Sacred Heart, Merrimack aim to make last run memorable". Mid-Major Madness. Retrieved January 16, 2024.

[6] "2022–23 Men's Basketball Schedule". Long Island University. Retrieved November 7, 2022.

[7] "2022-23 Long Island University Sharks Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved November 7, 2022.

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LIU Sharks men's basketball
Venues	Schwartz Athletic Center (1962–2005) Steinberg Wellness Center (2006–present) Barclays Center (2012–present; alternate)
Rivalries	St. Francis Brooklyn
Culture & lore	Point-shaving scandal
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold