Beginning Tonight Barclays Center Hosts Big Time College Basketball Action

The New York holiday season is often associated with miserable weather and last minute shopping, but for the third straight year Barclays Center offers a series of compelling men’s college basketball match-ups sure to warm the spirits of local fans. Over the next ten days squads from as far south as Louisiana and Florida will travel north to face—among others—local stalwarts St. Johns, LIU Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Barclays holiday hoops fare tips off tonight night at 7 p.m. with Long Island University facing Florida International University. The Panthers, based in sunny Miami, will travel to New York City for the first time since 1998 to take on a young Blackbirds squad (2-6) that’s beginning to round into shape.

FIU (6-4) is coached by Brooklyn native Anthony Edwards and features a pair of productive power forwards. Senior Dennis Mavin (17 points per game; 5.5 rebounds per game) and 6-10 junior Adrian Diaz (12 ppg; 7.1 rpg) form a potent 1-2 scoring punch.

The Blackbirds—winners of two straight—counter with a balanced combination of the raw, freshman Elvar Fridriksson (10.4 ppg), and the experienced, senior Gerrell Martin (10.3 ppg). LIU will call the Barclays court home for three games this season as the Blackbirds will face Hofstra on December 28 in the Brooklyn Hoops Winter Festival and Northeast Conference foe Mount St. Mary’s on January 17, 2015.

Following the LIU vs. FIU game is the Brooklyn Hoops Holiday Invitational, a doubleheader on Monday, December 22 that contrasts NYC grit with high profile out-of-towners. Two teams hailing from the Bronx—Manhattan (2-7) and Fordham (3-5), travel to Brooklyn to square off against each other at 6 p.m.

The Jaspers, led by Emmy Andujar’s 13.2 ppg and the Rams, with Eric Paschall averaging 18 ppg, are no strangers to each other, having played 105 times with Manhattan holding a narrow 54-51 lead in the series.

The 9 p.m. nightcap offers an intriguing match up between #18 Miami (9-1) and Big East stalwart Providence (8-3). The Hurricanes, who two years ago made a mad dash to the NCAA’s Sweet Sixteen, have rebounded nicely from a year ago when they failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament. Sheldon McClellan (16.2 ppg) and Angel Rodriguez (14.2 ppg) fuel a high-power Miami offense averaging 74 points per contest.

Providence, led by 6-6 senior LaDontae Henton (18.9 ppg) and sophomore guard Kris Dunn (12.8 ppg), is an ever-dangerous opponent familiar to local fans due to annual Madison Square Garden visits for the Big East tournament.

The Brooklyn Hoops Winter Festival on Sunday, December 28 is the final 2014 college hoops date at Barclays. This triple-header will give fans a chance to gauge just how good is 20th-ranked St. John’s, currently NYC’s top squad.

Earlier this month the Red Storm (9-1) beat long-time rival—and self-proclaimed “New York’s College Team”—Syracuse by 69-57 in the Carrier Dome, the Orange’s home court. St. Johns has a chance to capture the imagination of Brooklyn fans with its noon match-up against Tulane (8-1). The Green Wave—like Florida International a member of Conference USA—will be making their first visit to New York City since beating Hofstra 83-62 in 2012, Barclay Centers’ inaugural season.

Also on the bill at 2:30 p.m. is the are aforementioned game between LIU and Hofstra (7-2). With a strong start to their 2014-15 season, the Pride—led by juniors Ameen Tanksley (18.3 ppg) and Juan’ya Green (18 ppg)—appear ready to put last year’s dismal 10-23 campaign behind them.

The 5 p.m. nightcap features Fairfield (4-5) versus Loyola Maryland (3-6). In a battle of teams sporting fleet-of-foot mascots, the Stags (4-5), a perennial contender in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) face a Greyhound five that earlier this month surprised Columbia, capturing a 64-62 win in Manhattan’s Morningside Heights.

Tickets to all three dates are available at Barclays Center box office. For more information visit Barclays online or call 800-745-3000.

PHOTO CREDIT: © Magda Biernat 2008-2014