Pictured Above: Sophomore guard
Blake Francis (photo by Dave Saffran)
Columbia, MO – On the heels of
Saturday night's season-opening win at NJIT, the Wagner men's basketball team gears up for its first-ever meeting against the University of Missouri Tigers of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) at 9:00 p.m. (EST.) on Monday in a contest that will be seen live on ESPN 2.
Seahawk Three-Pointers:
- Tonight's matchup vs. Missouri marks the second time in program history that Wagner will face a team from the SEC. Back on November 24, 1978, a P.J. Carlesimo-coached Seahawk team knocked off the 19th-ranked Crimson Tide of Alabaman, 86-74, at Madison Square Garden. In addition to posting one of Wagner's top all-time wins, that 1978-79 team went 21-7 and returned to the Garden later that season to compete in the NIT.
- Against current Power Five Conference programs (ACC, BIG 12, Big Ten, Pac-12, SEC), Wagner holds an all-time record of 4-33. In addition to the win over Alabama, the Seahawks own Power Five Conference victories over Duke (1982-83), Rutgers (1995-96) and Pittsburgh (2011-12).
- This evening's matchup is the first-time that Wagner coach Bashir Mason and Missouri HC Cuonzo Martin are squaring off against one other.
All-Time Series:
- Tonight's Wagner-Missouri contest is the first-ever meeting these two programs.
The Coaches:
- Wagner's Bashir Mason is in his sixth year on the sidelines and holds an 88-69 overall record. This will be Coach Mason's first time facing off against the Tigers
- Missouri's Cuonzo Martin, who starred at Purdue under Gene Keady, is in his first season at the helm of the Tigers. In his coaching career, Martin is 187-121 overall,, having previously served as the head coach at Missouri State and Cal. He has his Tigers off to a 1-0 start this season, following a 74-59 win over Iowa State, of the Big 12, on Friday.
Scouting The University of Missouri Tigers:
- Missouri kicked off the 2017-18 season with a 74-59 wire-to-wire home win over the Iowa State Cyclones on November 10.
- For Mizzou, four players finished in double figures, led by Kevin Puryear's game-high 17 points. Puryear shot 6-of-7 from the floor while pulling down a team-best eight caroms and swiping three steals in the 15-point victory.
- Jordan Barnett added 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field, which included a trio of three-pointers.
- Jeremiah Tilmon, the No. 4- ranked freshman according to ESPN's Top 100, added 14 points and seven rebounds in 25 minutes of action.
- Michael Porter Jr., ESPN's No. 2-ranked incoming freshman, was limited to just two minutes of action, scoring two points and grabbing two rebounds, before leaving with an apparent hip injury.
- His brother, Jontay Porter (ESPN No. 25 on Top 100), played 18 minutes, scoring five points and grabbing four rebounds in his collegiate debut.
Last Time Out:
- Sophomore guard Blake Francis (Herndon, VA / Westfield) tossed in a game and career-high 22 points to lead the Wagner men's basketball team to a 60-49 victory over NJIT on Saturday night in the first-ever game played at the Highlanders' new Wellness Events Center in the season opener for both teams.
- Freshman Tyler Plummer (Vaughn, Ontario/Athlete Institute Prep) added 11 points in 21 minutes in his Seahawk debut. Junior guard Elijah Davis (Bronx, NY/Lincoln), corralled a team-high ten rebounds while scoring five points in 27 minutes of play.
- Plummer found his rhythm down the stretch, as his layup with 7:08 showing on the clock jump started a 16-6 run for Wagner over the remainder of the contest.
- The Seahawks were able to hit 14-of-22 from the charity stripe, including draining seven of their final ten attempts to seal the victory
- Senior guard JoJo Cooper (Wilmington, DE/Concord) netted six points while dishing out a game-best six assists and grabbing eight rebounds.
Recapping the 2016-17 Wagner Seahawks Season:
- The Seahawks finished with a 16-14 overall record and a third-place finish in the Northeast Conference (NEC) at 11-7.
- The Green & White came within a whisker, two seconds to be exact, of advancing to their second straight NEC Tournament title game, before an off-balance, desperation three-pointer from Saint Francis U's Keith Braxton, sent the Red Flash on to the championship game where they would lose to Mount St. Mary's.
- The 2016-17 Seahawk campaign was highlighted by a monumental road victory, as Wagner upset then-18th-ranked UConn. 67-58, at Gampel Pavilion in front of over 9,500 people.
- Wagner became the first team to defeat the Huskies at Gampel Pavilion in a home opener as UConn was previously 27-0 on opening night at Gampel.
Good Basketball Always Starts With Good Defense:
- Legendary basketball coach Bob Knight once said, "good basketball always starts with good defense" and for Coach Mason and his Seahawks, truer words haven't been spoken.
- For the fourth time in the last five seasons, the Seahawks led the NEC in field-goal percentage defense at 40.9 percent, which was ranked 35th in the entire NCAA.
- Additionally, Wagner was first in scoring defense in the circuit at 65.8 ppg, which ranked them 37th among all Division I programs.
- In the 60-49 opening-night over the NJIT Highlanders, Wagner's defense was in full force, holding the Highlanders to just 49 total points on 31.9 percent shooting from the field.
- In the second half of the contest, the Seahawks defense didn't allow a three-pointer from NJIT (0-of-11).
Halftime Dominance:
- When leading at the half under Coach Mason, Wagner has posted an overall record of 64-14.
- In 2016-17, the Green & White entered the intermission with a lead in 19 of the 30 games players, compiling an 11-8 record in those contests.
- Wagner led 29-28 in their season opener at NJIT (11/11/17) and were victorious over the Highlanders, 60-49.
Three-Ball Galore:
- The men's basketball team has connected on at least one made three-pointer in 399 straight contests.
- The last time the Seahawks didn't convert a three-pointer was back on February 28, 2004, at home against NEC-foe, Mount St. Mary's.
- In that contest, Wagner was held to 0-of-13 from long range.
#NSD18: Seahawks Sign Jonathan Norfleet For 2018-19 Season:
- Head coach Bashir Mason announced the signing of 6'2" Virginia guard Jonathan Norfleet (Virginia Beach, VA) from Salem High School to a National Letter of Intent (NLI) on Thursday. (Read About Jonathan: https://goo.gl/kTLfmN)
- As a junior for the Sun Devils last season under head coach Lloyd DeLoatch, Norfleet led Salem to an 18-6 overall record while leading Salem to the Atlantic Conference semifinals.
- Norfleet averaged 16.9 points per game after netting 372 in 22 contests.
- Over his three seasons, Norfleet is averaging 18.0 points per game while dishing out 6.0 assists and grabbing 6.0 rebounds a contest.
Next Up For Wagner:
- Wagner returns to Staten Island from its two-game road trip to start the season as they gear up for their home opener on November 18 when they host American University.
