STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The Stony Brook men's basketball team begins its postseason journey on Wednesday night, taking on American foe South Florida at 7 p.m. at the Yuengling Center. The Seawolves will be preparing for their sixth postseason in the last seven seasons and playing the program's first game in the state of Florida when it takes on the Bulls tomorrow night. Stony Brook boasts the Sixth Man of the Year in redshirt-sophomore Andrew Garcia (Harlem, N.Y.) and Defensive Player of the Year Jeff Otchere (Bronx, N.Y.), along with three All-America East members.

THE OPPONENT

After starting the season 17-6, South Florida lost seven of its last nine games, including its first-round matchup with UConn in the American Athletic Conference Tournament. In a game which the Bulls fell down by as many as 18, Laquincy Rideau led South Florida with 19 points, while David Collins chipped in 15. Michael Durr and Mayan Kiir were also in double figures for USF.

On the season, Collins leads three double-figure scorers for USF, averaging 15.3 points per game. Rideau is scoring at a 13.1 per night pace and Alexis Yetna is averaging 11.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. The Bulls are very effective on the offensive glass, grabbing the fourth-most offensive rebounds in the country at 14 per night. The team also has the second-most free throw attempts in the country, sitting just one FTA behind Central Michigan for the top spot nationally. 

THE SERIES

This will be the first-ever meeting between the Seawolves and the Bulls. Stony Brook's only meeting against a team from the Sunshine State was in 2014, when they took down Florida Atlantic in Detroit, Mich.

IT'S AN HONOR TO BE INVITED

For the fourth time in the last six seasons, Stony Brook will be participating in the Roman College Basketball Invitational. The Seawolves played in the tournament in 2014 (Siena), 2015 (Mercer) and 2017 (Illinois-Chicago), all of which were road contests, like the impending one on Wednesday night. Overall, Stony Brook will be playing in the postseason for the seventh season in the last eight campaigns, with two NIT bids, four bids to the CBI and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2016.

FIRST TIME IN THE SUNSHINE (STATE)

Stony Brook will be playing its first-ever game in the Sunshine State when he heads to Florida to take on South Florida in the 2019 Roman CBI. This will make the 30th different state that the Seawolves have played in since the program turned Division I.

TROPHY CHASING

A pair of Seawolves were given major awards from the America East on Friday morning, as Andrew Garcia won Sixth Man of the Year and Jeff Otchere was named Defensive Player of the Year. Garcia is the first Seawolves player to win the honor since it was brought into the league in the 2013-14 season and Otchere is the fifth Seawolves player to win the award in the last nine seasons. Along with the awards, Akwasi Yeboah was named to the league's First Team, Elijah Olaniyi was a Third Team honoree and Miles Latimer was donned All-Rookie.

ROAD TOUGH

The Seawolves are tied with UC Irvine for the most wins on the road this season, accumulating 13 in true road contests. They are taking the home defensive toughness with them, allowing teams to score just 65 points and shoot 38 percent from the field. Stony Brook is also winning the battle on the glass when playing away from home, grabbing 40.1 rebounds per contest and outrebounding their welcoming hosts by 4.7 per night.

DEFENDING THE ISLAND

The Seawolves continued their stout defensive play in conference, holding UMBC to 63 points and 1-for-20 from outside the 3-point arc on Wednesday night at Island Federal Arena. This performance is a microscosm of what the Seawolves have been able to do defensively in conference play, limiting their opposition to 27.5 percent from beyond the 3-point line, which leads the conference. In all games this season, Stony Brook ranks 16th nationally, holding teams to 30.1 percent from downtown.

KARDIAC KIDS

The Seawolves have been able to win the close ones this season en route to the team's winningest regular-season in the Division I era. After the team's five-point victory against Hartford, Stony Brook has now won eight games by five points or less, going 8-2 in those contests. Overall, 19 games have been decided by single digits, with wins coming in 13 of those contests.