Storrs, CT - The defending Northeast Conference (NEC) regular season champion Wagner men's basketball team will tip off the 2016-17 season on Friday, Nov. 11 when the Seahawks begin their 96th season, and 40th as a Division I program, by traveling to Storrs, CT to tangle with the No. 18|16 ranked UConn Huskies at Gampel Pavilion.
 
Friday's 7:00 p.m. contest will be televised by SNY (Click here for local listings).
 
The Seahawks are coming off a 2015-16 campaign that saw them reach the second round of the National Invitational Tournament while capturing the program's second-ever NEC regular season championship en route to winning 23 games. Head coach Bashir Mason will commence his fifth season on the sidelines.
 
Series History: Wagner is 0-5 all-time against UConn.  The last time these teams met was back on Nov. 14, 2011 in Gampel Pavilion as the Huskies were victorious, 78-66, despite three Seahawks scoring in double figures, led by Latif Rivers' 11-point performance.  
 
Seahawk Tidbits:

• Under 2015-16 Jim Phelan Northeast Conference (NEC) Coach of the Year Bashir Mason, the Green & White are 0-4 in season openers, falling by an average of ten points on opening night.
• In the last ten years, Wagner is just 3-7 in season-opening contests, last picking up a victory back in the 2011-12 season, when Mason was an assistant to Dan Hurley as the Seahawks earned a 73-57 win at Princeton.
• Last season, the Seahawks finished with a 23-11 overall record, posting the seventh 20-win season in program history and first since 2011-12. That season, Wagner finished with a program-best 25 victories under head coach Dan Hurley while Mason served as an assistant coach.

 
Scouting the Huskies: UConn is ranked in both the AP Preseason Top 25 (#18) and the USA Today Preseason Top 25 (#16 polls). This marks the second time in the last four years that the Seahawks will face a Top 25 team in either poll. Back on Nov. 18, 2012, the Green & White faced 8th-ranked Syracuse at the Carrier Dome (88-57 loss).  In the American Athletic Conference (AAC), the Huskies were picked second, finishing a point behind league favorite Cincinnati. Jalen Adams was named to the All-AAC Preseason Second Team while freshman guard Alterique Gilbert was named Preseason Rookie of the Year, the third straight season a Husky has received this honor.
 
A Win Over UConn Means: The Seahawks would pick up their first-ever victory against the Huskies in six chances (0-5). Wagner would earn its second win over a team from the current AAC, after defeating Southern Methodist (SMU) 63-53, on December 21, 2012  in the Cable Car Classic in Santa Clara, CA. UConn would fall to 33-6 all-time against members of the Northeast Conference (NEC) as the Huskies have faced eight of the ten NEC members: Bryant (2-0); Central Connecticut (14-0); Fairleigh Dickinson (2-0); LIU Brooklyn (2-2); Sacred Heart (6-0); Saint Francis U (1-0); St. Francis Brooklyn (1-4); Wagner (5-0).

SEASON OPENERS UNDER MASON:
Nov. 14, 2012 @ Delaware State 69-73 L (ot)
Nov. 9, 2013 @ Penn State 62-74 L
Nov. 14, 2014 @ Maryland 48-82 L
Nov. 13, 2015 @ St. John's 66-57 – L
Nov. 11, 2016 @ 18|16 UConn 

Men's Hoops Picked Second In NEC Preseason Poll: The Northeast Conference (NEC) Preseason Coaches' poll was announced at the league's Social Media Day at Barclays Center on October 26 and the Wagner men's basketball team was predicted to finish second by the coaches for the upcoming 2016-17 season. The Seahawks, who claimed their second-ever NEC regular season title last season, garnered four first-place votes while Fairleigh Dickinson, who took home the league title in 2016, was tabbed to repeat as league champions, receiving six first-place votes. Bryant was picked third, followed by LIU Brooklyn and Mount St. Mary's who are tied for fourth in the rankings. Robert Morris claimed the sixth spot, St. Francis Brooklyn was chosen seventh, and Sacred Heart landed in the eighth position while Saint Francis U and Central Connecticut rounded out the poll.

Next Up For Wagner: The Seahawks will travel up to Lowell, MA as they take on the UMass Lowell River Hawks on Nov. 14 at 7:00 p.m.  Monday's contest from the Costello Athletic Center will be streamed live nationally on ESPN3 on the WatchESPN app. 

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