Tipoff: 7 p.m., DeGol Arena, Loretto

Records: LIU (18-9, 12-2 NEC) at Saint Francis (6-20, 4-9 NEC)

TV: NEC Front Row (Pat Farabaugh, pxp; Bernie Jubeck, color)

Live stats: https://sfuathletics.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary

Notable: Fans are encouraged to wear black tonight as the Red Flash unveil their new, redesigned black uniforms. It’s the 93rd meeting between LIU and SFU dating back to 1963-64. SFU holds a 30-16 advantage at home and has won three straight games against the Rod Strickland-led Sharks. … Saint Francis is currently the No. 7 seed in the Northeast Conference Tournament, a half game ahead of both Wagner and Chicago State because the Red Flash has not made up the game against New Haven yet. LIU is currently the top seed and needs just two wins to lock up the regular-season title. … A win against the Sharks would be a secret lottery ticket because after the head-to-head tiebreaker, the next tiebreaker is winning percentage against the No. 1 team, and down until it’s broken. Saint Francis split its season series with FDU and Chicago State, has a win against Wagner, Stonehill, and a loss against New Haven, with one tilt left against each of those teams, so if those series also end in a split and the Red Flash is the only one in that group with a Shark win, it would be the higher seed if it ended tied. Remember, New Haven is not eligible for the postseason, but are accounted for in any tiebreaker. If SFU wins vs. Wagner on Saturday, it would win the season series and tournament seeding would not come down to a “who did you beat” scenario if the teams ended tied. If the Seahawks win on Saturday, they currently hold the tiebreaker with a win over Le Moyne. … Jamal Fuller leads the Sharks with 15.9 points per game, while Malachi Davis is second on the team with 14.6 points per game and Greg Gordon powers the team in rebounding (5.7 rpg) and is third in scoring with 13.6 ppg.

Mirror prediction: LIU 82, Saint Francis 71

Mirror prediction record: 20-6

— Dan Isenberg

Women: Saint Francis at LIU

Tipoff: 7 p.m., Steinberg Wellness Center, Brooklyn

Records: Saint Francis (2-22 overall, 2-11 Northeast Conference); Long Island University (16-8, 11-2 Northeast Conference)

TV: NEC Front Row

Notable: Saint Francis leads the all-time series 55-23. … This is the annual Play 4 Kay Game held at LIU. … Long Island, who has clinched a spot in the NEC tournament, is currently in second place, while SFU is in the ninth spot. … The Sharks captured a 77-61 win when the two programs met back on Jan. 10 inside DeGol Arena. LIU outscored the Red Flash by a 53-32 difference in the middle quarters. Kadidia Toure posted a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Sharks, while Gemma Walker collected 20 points for Saint Francis. … This is the second of three straight road games for SFU. … Toure received her third NEC player of the week honor for her play in last week’s contests. … The Sharks are looking for their sixth straight victory.

Mirror prediction: Long Island University 81, Saint Francis 59

Mirror prediction record: 21-3

— Nate Ritchey

Slow start sinks Nittany Lions

UNIVERSITY PARK — Tariq Francis had 22 points and seven assists, and Rutgers led the entire game in an 85-72 victory over Penn State on Wednesday, the Scarlet Knights’ first road win of the season.

Francis scored 15 points to help the Scarlet Knights take a 39-20 halftime lead, its largest on the road in conference play since coach Steve Pikiell took over in 2016. Penn State did not make its first field goal until nearly seven minutes into the game, and finished with 10 first-half turnovers that Rutgers (11-15, 4-11 Big Ten) converted into 19 points. The Nittany Lions’ had their lowest-scoring first half of the season.

The Scarlet Knights pushed the advantage to 20 points early in the second half, but Penn State (11-16, 2-14) gradually chipped away. A 12-4 stretch helped the Nittany Lions cut the deficit to 67-56, and Josh Reed’s 3-pointer with 2:54 remaining pulled them within eight.

Francis responded with a 25-foot 3-pointer and a pull-up jumper on Rutgers’ next two possessions to halt the rally and restore a double-digit cushion.

Dylan Grant added 15 points on 6 of 8 shooting for Rutgers, and Harun Zrno scored 13 with three 3-pointers. Lino Mark provided 12 points off the bench as Rutgers shot 57% from the field and went 20 of 23 at the free-throw line.

Reed led Penn State with 22 points, while Kayden Mingo had 16 points and six assists. The Nittany Lions shot 55% from the field, but made 3 of 17 (18%) from beyond the arc.

Up Next

Rutgers: Plays Saturday at Minnesota.

Penn State: Visits No. 9 Nebraska on Saturday.

RUTGERS (11-15): Grant 6-8 2-2 15, Ogbole 1-2 0-0 2, Francis 7-12 7-8 22, Powers 2-6 1-1 5, Zrno 4-10 2-2 13, Buchanan 3-7 1-2 7, Davis 2-2 0-0 4, Mark 5-6 2-2 12, Nwuli 0-0 5-6 5, Dortch 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-53 20-23 85.

PENN STATE (11-16): Juric 4-5 0-1 8, Reed 7-10 7-7 22, Dilione 5-10 0-0 11, Mingo 6-8 4-8 16, Stewart 0-3 6-6 6, Tunca 4-7 0-0 9, Rice 0-4 0-0 0, Blackwood 0-0 0-0 0, Ciani 0-0 0-0 0, Houser 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-47 17-22 72.

Halftime–Rutgers 39-20. 3-Point Goals_Rutgers 5-16 (Zrno 3-9, Grant 1-2, Francis 1-3, Buchanan 0-1, Powers 0-1), Penn State 3-17 (Reed 1-1, Dilione 1-3, Tunca 1-4, Juric 0-1, Mingo 0-2, Rice 0-3, Stewart 0-3). Fouled Out–Juric. Rebounds–Rutgers 23 (Ogbole 6), Penn State 22 (Reed 6). Assists–Rutgers 16 (Francis 7), Penn State 12 (Mingo 6). Total Fouls–Rutgers 18, Penn State 19. A–6,230 (15,261).