Since I'm probably the closest thing SB Nation has to a legitimate Seawolf fan, I figured I'd answer any questions you have, both about the town, getting in and out (to any Illini in NYC or LI interested in attending), and about the team, which was thisclose to making it to the Big Dance for the first time ever.

A few quick points on Stony Brook--it's a young, guard-heavy team that doesn't shoot all that well...I know, what a contradiction, right?  But aside from Bryan Dougher, the Seawolves really don't have a single good option from beyond the arc. Swingman Muhammad El-Amin is our top scorer, but he's a slasher and a scorer more than a shooter.  He's very prone to making mistakes, in the AEC semifinal against BU he killed us, turning the ball over 9 times including on a ton of crucial possessions down the stretch, but he can also go off for 30 if he gets hot, something nobody else on the team can really accomplish.

In another anomaly, despite having a starting lineup comprised almost entirely of undersized players, nobody on Stony Brook is really a true point. Chris Martin will usually handle the ball, but this isn't a team that runs a lot of set offense, it's a lot of one-on-one, which works in the AEC but probably not against a Big Ten team.  Martin is a pretty good defender, though, so Demetri McCamey won't go unpressured.

Tommy Brenton and Dallis Joyner are the frontcourt guys--Joyner was the best prospect Stony Brook ever pulled in, and is a pretty big body to muscle around, though at just 6'7. Tisdale will have his way with him.  Tommy Brenton is one of those typical mid-major hard working white guys who far outplays his athleticism--there's no reason a 6'5, 215 pounder should be averaging nearly 10 rebounds a game, but Brenton crashes the boards with dexterity, and also leads the team with a meager 2.7 assists per game.

Stony Brook didn't play too many marquee opponents on which to judge the merits going against an opponent like Illinois--against St. John's early in the year they got behind early and never caught up, though they never let St. John's really run away with the game and lost by just 8. Similarly, against URI, the Rams got up big early, but Stony Brook hung on to keep the score respectable.

Looking back to some of the biggest games of the year within the conference, Stony Brook played Vermont for what was, essentially, the conference title, and though the Seawolves got up huge midway through the second, the Catamounts came roaring back and nearly pulled off the win--Stony Brook went into a major rut and couldn't hit free throws or even get shots off before turning the ball over and a 20-point lead dissolved to 3. It was a similar situation in the semifinal against BU--down by 15 early the Seawolves came out of the second half on a 13-0 run and took a 5 point lead with a few minutes left, but down the stretch were burdened by turnover after turnover and more terrible foul shooting--10-21 bad--and collapsed like a lawn chair.  Because they're such a small team, teams get a ton of second chances against Stony Brook, so crashing the offensive boards would be a good strategy.

Stony Brook isn't going to shock you and win this one, even if it is a home game, because they're incredibly prone to the turnover, and you've got a legitimate post presence which will diminish the drive-and-dish possibilities.  The only chance we've got is if you really don't come to play, we start hitting shots like we haven't all year, and Tisdale inexplicably picks up a double-technical in the first five minutes.  They're not at all a deep team, and if you get any of the starters into foul trouble, we're fucked.  Though Stony Brook prides itself on their defensive intensity and disrupting passing and driving lanes, they lack a post presence and will largely try to stay in it by keeping the pace way down.

Any questions you have, feel free to ask.