LIU punches ticket to March Madness after NEC semifinal victory

Long Island University is going dancing.

The Sharks punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament after defeating Wagner College, 64–56, in the semifinals of the Northeast Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament on Saturday.

Because Mercyhurst University — which advanced to the NEC Championship Game — is ineligible for the NCAA Tournament while transitioning to Division I, LIU secured the conference’s automatic qualifier with the semifinal win. Because of this, the Sharks officially became the first team to punch their ticket to the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

The berth marks a historic milestone for the program: it is the first time LIU has reached the Big Dance since merging its Long Island and Brooklyn athletic programs under the Sharks banner in 2019.

The last LIU program to make the tournament came in 2018, when LIU Brooklyn fell to Radford University in the First Four. In program history, LIU is 0–7 in NCAA Tournament play.

As the final seconds ticked away, the Steinberg Wellness Center crowd rose to its feet. Fans lifted their hands in LIU’s viral “Fins Up” gesture — the free-throw tradition that has become the heartbeat of Sharks basketball this season — saluting a team officially headed to the Big Dance.

Tuesday’s NEC Championship Game will mark LIU’s ninth conference final appearance and its first of the Sharks era. The program’s last trip to the title game came during the 2017–18 season, when LIU defeated Wagner to advance to March Madness.

LIU will face Mercyhurst in the NEC Championship Game on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Steinberg Wellness Center in Brooklyn — but regardless of the result, the Sharks are already headed to the NCAA Tournament.

Top: LIU forward Shadrak Lasu reacts during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Georgia, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)