This upcoming weekend is arguably the most exciting and unpredictable time in national sports. Men’s college basketball will give us some real and live March Madness. Full of brackets, predictions, underdogs and Cinderella teams. Young men we’ve never heard of will rise to the national stage at prime time to showcase their basketball skills. Colleges we’ve never heard of will force us to hear of them. Their will be upsets and tears, as there are every year.
This year, for the first time in a long while, Long Island is invited into all of this madness.
Hofstra University will be going to the big dance this year led by freshman point guard and Deer Park native, Preston Edmead. For the first time since 2001 Hofstra has won the ACC under the leadership of Coach Speedy Claxton. Claxton, a Hempstead native, led Hofstra to the NCAA tournament as a player a little over two decades ago. Now he leads them to the tournament as the head coach and it has Long Island buzzing. Hofstra (#13 seed) will take on Alabama (#4 seed) on Friday in Tampa.
Hofstra isn’t the only team invited to the “big dance.”
Long Island University ( LIU) will be playing in the NCAA tournament for the first under head coach Rod Strickland. Strickland was an All-NBA point guard and a member of the New York City basketball Hall of Fame. The LIU sharks received their ticket to dance after winning their league ( NEC) this season, in defeating Mercyhurst college in the championship game. They are placed at the #16 seed and will be taking on the top seeded Arizona Wildcats this Friday afternoon. ( March 20th).
Check your local listings for exact game times.
