PREMIUM
Rogers' 10* NCAAB PLAY OF THE DAY **$20 TUESDAY**
(NCAAB) LIU-Brooklyn vs. Wagner,
Point Spread: 8.00 | -110.00 LIU-Brooklyn (Away)
Result: Win
Point Spread: 8.00 | -110.00 LIU-Brooklyn (Away)
Result: Win
The set-up; Tuesday night it's the championship game of the Northeast Conference from the Spiro Sports Center in Staten Island, N.Y. The Wagner Seahawks are the host team by virtue of their 14-4 regular season mark (tops in the NEC) and will welcome the LIU-Brooklyn Blackbirds, who at 10-8 were the No. 4 seed in this tourney. These teams have split the regular season series, with the home team taking each game. LIU-Brooklyn won 69-67 back on Jan. 13 and Wagner returned the favor at this venue on Feb. 17, winning 78-74.
LIU-Brooklyn: The Blackbirds are just 17-16 overall but a win tonight will earn them an automatic invitation to the Big Dance. In their last game, the Blackbirds led 71-64 with 5:30 remaining before Fairleigh Dickinson mounted an 11-0 run to lead 75-71 with 1:58 left. It was the Knights' first lead since midway through the first half. LIU's Julian Batts hit a wide-open three to tie 76-76 and set up the final minute. Missed free throws hurt Fairleigh Dickinson (19 of 27) and it which missed four of its last six. After Kaleb Bishop missed two with nine seconds remaining, Jashaun Agosto drove the length of the court and was fouled at the rim, setting up the winning free throws of a 78-77 LIU win. The Blackbirds feature a four-guard lineup and all average in double figures. Raiquan Clark scored 28 points, Joel Hernandez added 25 in the win over Fairleigh Dickinson, while Agosto made both free throws in his only trip to the line with 3.6 seconds on the clock. Hernandez (20.5 & 5.8) is the leading scorer, followed by Clark (17.3 & 7.1), Agosto (11.0-4.1-4.2) and Batts (10.1- & 4.2).
Wagner: The Seahawks have won five of their last six games and enter this game 23-8 on the season. JoJo Cooper scored 20 points with six assists, Romone Saunders added 18 points and top-seeded Wagner beat No. 7 seed Robert Morris 75-64 in Saturday's Northeast Conference semifinal. Blake Francis added 15 points with three 3-pointers for Wagner, which shot 51 percent from the floor and held the Colonials (16-17) to 39 percent. Like LIU, Wagner's top players are all guards. Francis leads the way averaging 17.4 PPG, followed by PG Cooper (14.6-5.3-6.2) and Saunders (14.4 & 6.4).
The pick: Wagner is playing at home but note that LIU lost at this venue less than a month ago, by just four points. LIU has won four in a row since that contest and the Blackbirds are making their first championship appearance since 2013. I realize that Wagner is a perfect 16-0 SU at home on the season but the pressure is always high on regular season champs from leagues like the NEC, as those teams "must win" their respective conference tourneys, or find themselves in the NIT. That is the case here and with LIU beating Wagner by two points at home and then losing to them by just four points in the rematch (at this venue), I see the Blackbirds making the Seahawks 'sweat' until the final buzzer. Take the points and make LIU a 10* play.
LIU-Brooklyn: The Blackbirds are just 17-16 overall but a win tonight will earn them an automatic invitation to the Big Dance. In their last game, the Blackbirds led 71-64 with 5:30 remaining before Fairleigh Dickinson mounted an 11-0 run to lead 75-71 with 1:58 left. It was the Knights' first lead since midway through the first half. LIU's Julian Batts hit a wide-open three to tie 76-76 and set up the final minute. Missed free throws hurt Fairleigh Dickinson (19 of 27) and it which missed four of its last six. After Kaleb Bishop missed two with nine seconds remaining, Jashaun Agosto drove the length of the court and was fouled at the rim, setting up the winning free throws of a 78-77 LIU win. The Blackbirds feature a four-guard lineup and all average in double figures. Raiquan Clark scored 28 points, Joel Hernandez added 25 in the win over Fairleigh Dickinson, while Agosto made both free throws in his only trip to the line with 3.6 seconds on the clock. Hernandez (20.5 & 5.8) is the leading scorer, followed by Clark (17.3 & 7.1), Agosto (11.0-4.1-4.2) and Batts (10.1- & 4.2).
Wagner: The Seahawks have won five of their last six games and enter this game 23-8 on the season. JoJo Cooper scored 20 points with six assists, Romone Saunders added 18 points and top-seeded Wagner beat No. 7 seed Robert Morris 75-64 in Saturday's Northeast Conference semifinal. Blake Francis added 15 points with three 3-pointers for Wagner, which shot 51 percent from the floor and held the Colonials (16-17) to 39 percent. Like LIU, Wagner's top players are all guards. Francis leads the way averaging 17.4 PPG, followed by PG Cooper (14.6-5.3-6.2) and Saunders (14.4 & 6.4).
The pick: Wagner is playing at home but note that LIU lost at this venue less than a month ago, by just four points. LIU has won four in a row since that contest and the Blackbirds are making their first championship appearance since 2013. I realize that Wagner is a perfect 16-0 SU at home on the season but the pressure is always high on regular season champs from leagues like the NEC, as those teams "must win" their respective conference tourneys, or find themselves in the NIT. That is the case here and with LIU beating Wagner by two points at home and then losing to them by just four points in the rematch (at this venue), I see the Blackbirds making the Seahawks 'sweat' until the final buzzer. Take the points and make LIU a 10* play.
