MARCH MADNESS
After missing out on postseason play a year ago, Wagner qualified for the 2011 Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament on Monday night when Quinnipiac defeated Sacred Heart. The Seahawks improved to 9-5 in the NEC with their five-point win over Mount St. Mary's on Saturday.

SETTING THE SCENE
Wagner (13-12; 9-5 NEC) will be looking a measure of revenge against a Long Island (20-5; 12-2 NEC) team that dominated the first meeting between the teams on January 15 in Brooklyn, winning by an 84-54 score. Today's game will be the second game in a row against a team that had previously defeated the Seahawks this season ... The first time was the last time out against the Mount, a game that the Green & White won by a 70-65 count after losing by 14 points to the Mountaineers on the road.

SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE
Wagner has won three-straight games at home is 6-1 in the Spiro Sports Center during NEC-play while Long Island has won a NCAA-best 12 road games and is 6-1 on the road during conference play.

SCOUTING LONG ISLAND
Long Island is a run-and-gun team that features the league's top-ranked scoring offense as well as the second-worst scoring defense as the Blackbirds try to outscore the opposition while taking advantage of their outstanding athleticism. LIU, which has won six-straight games and 14-of-15, enters with a NEC-best 20-5 overall mark, including a league-best 12-2 NEC record. The Blackbirds rank ninth in the nation with a NEC-best 82.1 ppg as all five starters average double-figures led by sophomore forward Julian Boyd, who leads the team in scoring (12.5 ppg) (18th NEC) and rebounding (8.7 rpg) (2nd NEC). Joining Boyd on the frontline is sophomore forward Jamal Olasewere, who is second on the team in scoring (12.1 ppg) (21st NEC) and rebounding (6.3 rpg) (8th NEC) while giving LIU one of the most dominant frontcourt tandems in the league. Senior guard Kyle Johnson leads the backcourt and is third on the team in scoring (11.5 ppg) (22nd NEC) and rebounding (5.8 rpg) (11th). Rounding out the double-figure scorers are senior David Hicks (10.6 ppg) and junior C.J. Garner (10.2 ppg).

NORTH OF THE BORDER
Canadian natives Kyle Johnson and Wagner junior guard Tyler Murray currently rank 1-2 in the NEC in three-point shooting. Johnson is connecting on a league-best 43.6 percent (41-94) while Murray is making good on 42.6 percent (52-122).

SEAHAWKS LIKE THE BRIGHT LIGHTS
Wagner's 90-80 win over Quinnipiac was broadcast live to a local audience thanks to Time Warner Cable. The game with the Bobcats marked the eighth time this season the Seahawks played on television with Wagner posting a 5-3 record during that time. Additionally, the Green & White are 3-1 when playing on TWC. The Seahawks tonight against LIU.

THREE POINT MATCH-UP
Despite being mired in a five-game slump beyond the arc in which the Seahawks are shooting just 28.7 percent (27-94) from beyond the arc, including failing to hit at least 40.0 percent in any one of those games, the Green & White continue to lead the league in three-point percentage (.378). Wagner will look to snap its recent funk against a LIU team that has the league's best three-point defense at 30.2 percent. In the team's first meeting, the Seahawks connected on just 2-of-8 from long range and are 2-7 when failing to convert at least six. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Wagner is 6-1 during conference play when converting at least eight.

KEY MATCH-UPS TO WATCH
Wagner is last in the league in both rebounding offense (30.0 rpg) and rebounding margin (-6.3) while LIU is second in the NEC in each category, posting marks of 41.9 rpg and +5.0 rpg, respectively. However of late the Seahawks have done a better job on the glass of late, winning the board battle in two of the last three games. The Green & White are committing a NCAA-high 24.9 fouls per game while the Blackbirds are converting 19.7 free throws per game, which is fourth-most in Division 1 and have converted more free throws than the opposition has attempted. However, Wagner is eighth in the nation with a league-best 77.7 percent mark from the line while LIU is making good on just 64.0 percent.

COACHING MATCH-UP
Head coach Dan Hurley is 13-12 (9-5 NEC) and will be squaring off with ninth-year coach Jim Ferry, who is 118-139 (78-80 NEC) at LIU. Hurley went 1-0 against the Blackbirds as a player, helping Seton Hall to a 110-72 win on December 2, 1994.

SEAHAWKS STRUGGLING FROM BEYOND THE ARC
Over the last four games, Wagner has converted just 26.3 percent (20-76) from beyond the arc - including just 25.4 percent (16-63) over the last three games - while seeing its league-leading three-point percentage tumble 24 points to 37.8 percent. The last time out, the Green & White won for the first time all season when failing to convert more triples than the opposition after losing the previous five games.

TYLER BOUNCES BACK
After going just 20-of-61 (.328) from the floor, including 7-of-29 (.241) over the previous four games, junior Tyler Murray responded with a team-best 16 points, on 6-of-11 shooting (2-4 3pt), with six assists, against just one turnover, over 38 minutes in Wagner's 70-65 victory over Mount St. Mary's. He has now led the Seahawks in scoring a team-best 13 times.

MARTIN ALSO BOUNCES BACK
After averaging just 4.5 ppg, on 7-of-31 shooting (.226), while failing to record double-figures over the previous four games junior Chris Martin responded with 10 points while converting 6-of-8 from the line in a five-point win over Mount St. Mary's.

RIVERS DELIVERS THE DAGGER
In Wagner's 70-65 win over Mount St. Mary's, freshman Latif Rivers scored eight of his 10 points after halftime - including sinking four free throws in the final minute to help close out the victory. In the Seahawks' nine NEC wins, the Elizabeth, NJ native is averaging a team-best 5.2 ppg while shooting 57.9 percent (11-19) over the game's final five minutes - including converting 91.7 percent (22-24) from the line. Additionally in the final minute of Wagner's 25 games, he shooting 53.8 percent (7-13) from the floor and 90.5 percent (19-21) from the line.

THE SERIES
LIU leads the all-time series by a 51-38 mark and has won four of the last five meetings.

LAST TIME VS. LIU
Down just three points at the half, Wagner fell victim to a potent LIU team that shot 63.3 percent after halftime en route to outscoring the Seahawks 56-29 before coming away with an 84-54 victory in Brooklyn. Jamal Olasewere led six players in double-figures for the Blackbirds with 14 points. Junior Tyler Murray (19 points) and freshman Orlando Parker (10 points, 10 rebounds) led the way for the Green & White.

RIVERS HEATING UP
Since scoring a combined four points (2-18 FG / 0-7 3pt FG) over a pair of losses to St. Francis (NY) and Long Island, freshman Latif Rivers has hit four double-figures in eight-straight games, averaging a team-best 17.6 ppg while converting 40.0 percent (18-45) from beyond the arc.

OP KEEPS IT UP
Freshman Orlando Parker scored all 10 of his points after halftime in helping Wagner hold off Mount St. Mary's 70-65. He averaged 11.0 ppg over two games against the Mountaineers after notching just 3.0 ppg and 4.5 rpg while shooting 23.1 percent (3-13) from the floor in the two previous games. Before his mini-slump, Parker paced the Seahawks in rebounding while notching double-figures in six-straight games, averaging 11.7 ppg and and a team-best 8.2 rpg during that time. He has now scored in double-digits eight times in the last 10 games and is averaging 6.8 ppg and a team-best 5.0 rpg (t-18th NEC).

FRESHMAN TRIO HELPS TOPPLE MOUNT ST. MARY'S
After being limited to just two points, on 1-of-9 shooting, in the first half, the freshmen trio of Naofall Folahan, Orlando Parker and Latif Rivers helped Wagner snap a four-game losing streak to Mount St. Mary's with 25 of the Seahawks' 41 second-half points. The threesome went 8-of-11 from the floor and 9-of-10 from the line after halftime.

THOMPSON LEADS THE SECOND UNIT
One game after the Wagner bench scored a season-low matching four points, sophomore Josh Thompson went for nine points and a team-best five rebounds to lead the Seahawk second unit, which scored 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting - including 5-of-7 from the line.

TOP SIXTH MEN SQUARE OFF
Today's game features two of the top reserves in the league in LIU's Michael Culpo and sophomore Josh Thompson. Culpo, a junior guard, is averaging 7.6 ppg with 3.3 rpg while converting 39.6 percent (40-101) of his three point attempts while Thompson is averaging 7.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg and 1.2 spg (14th NEC).

HEAVY LIFTING
The Wagner guard trio of Tyler Murray (37.2 mpg), Latif Rivers (33.0 mpg) and Chris Martin (28.6 mpg) all rank among the top-22 in the NEC in minutes played. For LIU, only Kyle Johnson (27.3 mpg) is ranked among the top-30 as eight Blackbirds play at least 17 minutes.

KILLING IT FROM THE LINE
As a team, Wagner ranks eighth nationally and first in the league in free throw percentage at 77.7 percent, after making 61.1 percentage a year ago. The Seahawks have drained at least 80.0 percent from the line eight times during NEC play, going 6-2 during that time.

CLOSE GAMES = THE HURLEY WAY
Wagner's stout free throw shooting has helped the Seahawks to 10-4 record in games decided by five points or less, including 7-2 during NEC play, following a 70-65 victory over Mount the last time out and have won three-straight games at home by just 12 points. In a 61-57 win over FDU, the Seahawks came out on top against the Knights thanks to an 11-3 game-ending run.

AFTER ...
Notching its two worst shooting games of the year vs. Monmouth (.333) and Mount St. Mary's (.340) the Wagner Seahawks shot a season-high 66.7 percent (12-18) in the second half against the Mountaineers en route to a 48.9 percent (22-45) showing.

MAGIC NUMBER 14
Wagner handed out 15 assists in the win over Mount St. Mary's, inproving to 11-1, including 7-1 during NEC-play, when accruing at least 14 assists. On the year, the Green & White are averaging 13.9 assists per game, ranking fourth in the league. During league games, the assist average jumps to a NEC-best 14.6 apg.

DURING NEC-PLAY
LIU (80.8 ppg) and Wagner (70.6 ppg) have the two most potent offenses.

CLOSING IT OUT
After going just 8-of-26, including 1-of-12 from beyond the arc, over the final five minutes of the its three previous games, Wagner converted both of its field goal attempts and 13-of-17 from the line (.765) from the line in besting Mount St. Mary's.

RIVERS = KEY TO SUCCESS
Freshman Latif Rivers scored a team-best 27 points in the 63-60 win over Monmouth as Wagner improves to 5-1 when he hits for at least 20 points. His six 20-point games are also the most by a NEC rookie this year and the most by a first-year Seahawk since Jermaine Hall notched eight and Dedrick Dye six during the 1999-2000 season. Rivers followed his performance against the Hawks with a team-best 16 points at Mount St. Mary's. The Green & White are 5-2 when the rookie guard paces the team in scoring and 11-7 when he goes for double-digits.

COMEBACK KIDS
In four of Wagner's nine NEC wins, the Seahawks trailed by at least four points with under four minutes on the clock.

THURSDAY THUNDER
Wagner is now 5-1 in Thursday games following a 61-57 win over FDU. The Seahawks have Thursday games vs. LIU and at Saint Francis (PA) remaining.

NEC ON THE UP AND UP
The NEC is currently the 19th ranked conference according to the RPI rankings which is the league's highest ranking since the 1995-1996 season when the conference checked in at 18. That year Monmouth secured a No. 13 seed in the NCAA Tournament. In the most recent RPI rankings LIU is 108 and Wagner is 139.

HURLEY'S PLAYERS IN THE RANKINGS
It should come as no surprise that freshman Latif Rivers ranks fourth in the nation in free throw percentage (.927) (101-109) as head coach Dan Hurley also coached the third-ranked free throw shooter in the nation, Villanova's Corey Stokes (.935) (72-77).

CLOSE GAMES
17 of the Seahawks' 25 games have been decided by 10 points or less with the Green & White going 11-6 in those match-ups.

ELITE EIGHT
Junior Tyler Murray and freshman Latif Rivers have each notched double-figures in scoring over the last eight games.

DEFENDING THE GLASS
After losing the battle of the boards over seven-straight games and the first eight NEC match-ups, the Wagner Seahawks posted a +13 rebounding margin for their largest advantage of the year while holding Bryant to just 27 rebounds. Also the Green & White limited the Bulldogs to just three offensive rebounds - including zero in the opening half. Wagner won the battle of the boards for the seventh time this year against Mount St. Mary's by a 27-26 count, including 7-5 on the offensive end, while improving to 5-2 when controlling the glass.

WAGNER DEFEATED MOUNT DESPITE ...
Failing to convert more three pointers than the opposition. The Mount connected on five triples compared to just four for the Seahawks.

TURNING IT AROUND
Wagner committed a season-low eight turnovers vs. FDU while posting a +13 margin, its best of the year. The Seahawks followed that up with just 12 turnovers vs. Monmouth. All told the Green & White have won the turnover battle in five-straight games, posting a + 4.8 margin.

EVEN BETTER
Wagner's NEC-leading free throw percentage jumps to 78.4 percent in the last five minutes of games as the Seahawks are connecting on 134-of-171. Freshman Latif Rivers is 36-for-40 (90.0 %) while junior Tyler Murray is 36-for-43 (83.7 %).

RECRUITING PAYING DIVIDENDS
Head coach Dan Hurley's first recruiting class has been paying dividends since day one and the Northeast Conference is paying attention. Freshman Latif Rivers collected Wagner's seventh Rookie of the Week citation for the week ending February 6. The Garden State native has six NEC Rookie accolades with Naofall Folahan garnering one.

TYLER TEARING UP THE NEC
Junior Tyler Murray is second in the NEC in scoring (16.9 ppg) and three-point percentage (.426) (52-122). He is also among the leaders in three pointers (2.1 3's/game) (t-8th NEC), free throw percentage (.821) (8th NEC), steals (1.3 spg) (12th NEC), assists (3.4 apg) (15th NEC) and minutes (37.2 mpg) (2nd NEC).

LATIF NO SLOUCH
Freshman Latif Rivers might not be the main headliner on the Wagner Seahawks but he is drawing the attention of the league, ranking first among a strong freshman class in scoring (14.5 ppg) (10th NEC) while leading the league and ranking fourth nationally in free throw percentage (.927) (101-109). He is also among the league leaders in three's per game (2.0 3's/game) (10th NEC), three point percentage (.370) (15th NEC) and minutes played (33.0 mpg) (10th NEC).

THE TYLER & LATIF SHOW
In the overtime win over Robert Morris, junior Tyler Murray and freshman Latif Rivers combined for a season-high 48 points on 14-of-31 shooting from the floor, 6-of-14 from beyond the arc and 14-of-16 from the line while handing out eight assists. The twosome picked it up in the final five minutes and overtime, combining for 17 points - including 15 of Wagner's 20 overtime points. They were back at it in the OT win over Bryant, as Rivers had six of Wagner's 13 points with Murray notching two while assisting on all three Seahawk field goals, On the year, Murray (16.9 ppg) and Rivers (14.5 ppg) are the second-ranked scoring duo in the NEC, averaging 31.4 points per game while shooting 40.4 percent (233-577) from the floor, 39.6 percent (103-260) from beyond the arc and 86.7 percent (216-249) from the charity stripe. The duo is also accounting for 46.8 percent of the team's offense.

MURRAY ALL-TIME LEADER
Junior Tyler Murray is Wagner's all-time three point percentage (min. 100 three point attempts) leader, converting on a blistering 41.4 percent (108-261).

MUNDY BOUNCES BACK
Sophomore Danny Mundweiler drilled his final three-point attempts in the 80-75 win over Bryant en route to notching 11 points off the bench. Including the first half and the previous four games, the Kansas native misfired on his seven three point attempts and was 1-of-12 from the floor during that time. In Wagner's win over the Mount, he drilled a pair of three pointers while grabbing a career-best four rebounds.

10-POINT GAMES
In games decided by 10 points or less, the Green & White is converting a remarkable 79.3 percent (287-362) from the free throw line.

RAISING THE BAR
In the last five minutes of games and OT, Wagner is shooting a solid 36.7 percent (22-60) from beyond the arc while holding the opposition to just 28.6 percent (18-63) in similar situations.

DAN HURLEY QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“We're a better team now ... And I think our guys have a better understanding of what it takes to compete against someone as good as LIU.”
Head coach Dan Hurley on how his team has improved since the last game

BAILEY NAMED TO THE NEC HALL OF FAME
Former Wagner basketball standout and Hall of Famer Terrance Bailey, the most prolific scorer in NEC men's basketball history, was one of eight members in the Northeast Conference's inaugural Hall of Fame class. He was previously selected to the NEC All-Decade team, 20th Anniversary and 25th Anniversary teams. His 2,591 career points are nearly 300 more than the next closest league player and his single-season point totals of 854 points as a junior and 788 as a senior rank him third and fourth, respectively, on the all-time conference list. Bailey led the nation in scoring (29.4 ppg) and was named the NEC Player of the Year as a junior in 1985-1986. He won the NEC scoring title again as a senior (28.1 ppg) in 1986-87 and finished his career as a three-time First Team all-league performer. Not just a shooter from the outside, the 6'2” guard also tallied 136 dunks over course of his career, including a legendary slam over 7'4” Marist center Rik Smits. The Trenton, NJ native was chosen by the Atlanta Hawks in the second round of the 1987 NBA draft.

FREE THROW NOTES
Wagner is connecting on 77.5 percent (255-329) from the line in the second half of games this year, highlighted by an 89.3 percent (25-28) showing in the 10-point win over Quinnipiac ... The Seahawks are also converting on 80.8 percent (244-302) from the line in their 13 victories, including 80.6 percent (154-191) after halftime in those games.

WAGNER PICKED TO FINISH 11TH IN THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
Head coach Dan Hurley won't be short on motivation in this his first year at Wagner. In this the NEC's 30th season the league's 12 coaches predicted Wagner College to finish 11th. After capturing its first-ever Northeast Conference (NEC) regular season crown a year ago, Quinnipiac was picked to win the 2010-2011 NEC men's basketball championship, based on voting conducted by the league's coaches. Two-time defending NEC Tournament champion Robert Morris was tabbed second, followed by Long Island in third. Central Connecticut State was picked fourth, ahead of Mount St. Mary's in fifth and Fairleigh Dickinson in the sixth spot. St. Francis (NY) and Saint Francis (PA) tied for seventh in the poll, and were followed by Sacred Heart in ninth, Monmouth in 10th, Wagner in 11th and Bryant in 12th. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own team.

UP NEXT
Wagner hosts St. Francis (NY) on Saturday, February 19 at 12:00 pm. Prior to the game #T.J. Czeski#, Clayfell Harris, Cliff Spiller and manager Andrew Ciampaglio will be honored during the annual senior day festivities. Also during the game, NEC Hall of Famer Terrance Bailey will be recognized during a media timeout.