New Britain, CT - The Wagner men's basketball team, which secured the 2018 Northeast Conference (NEC) regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming #NECBBT, closes out the regular season on the road, beginning with a Thursday night matchup at Central Connecticut.


 

Last Time Out For Wagner: vs. LIU Brooklyn (February 17, 2018): 

• The Seahawks and the Blue Devils are meeting for the 46th time with Wagner holding a 26-19 edge in the head-to-head series.
• The Green & White are 5-0 in their last five games against the Blue Devils, winning by an average of 19.2 points per game (73.2-54.0).
• Historically, the Green & White have struggled in New Britain, as Wagner enters Thursday night's tilt with a 6-13 road record against the Blue Devils. The Seahawks, however, have won the last two meetings at Detrick Gym, most recently by a 70-60 count back on Feb. 2, 2017. 
• Head Coach Bashir Mason is 10-3 all-time against Central Connecticut

SERIES BREAKDOWN

Overall Series Record	Wagner 26, Central Connecticut 19
Last Five Games	Wagner 5, Central Connecticut 0
Last Ten Games	Wagner 9, Central Connecticut 1
Most Points Scored By Wagner	106: January 6, 2001 - CCSU 84, Wagner 106
Fewest Points Scored By Wagner	36: 1939-40 - Wagner 36, CCSU 51
Wagner's Largest Win Margin	30: January 31, 2015 - CCSU 55, Wagner 85
Most Points Scored By Central Connecticut	89: February 2, 2008 - Wagner 63, CCSU 89
Fewest Points Scored By Central Connecticut	35: 1940-1941 - Wagner 47, CCSU 35
Central Connecticut Largest Win Margin	26: February 2, 2008 - Wagner 63, CCSU 89
Current Wagner Streak Against Opponent	Won, 6
First Meeting	1939-1940 - Wagner 36, CCSU 51
Last Meeting	February 1, 2018 - CCSU 59, Wagner 72
Last Wagner Win	February 1, 2018 - CCSU 59, Wagner 72
Last Central Connecticut Win	January 24, 2015 - Wagner 50, CCSU 53

All-Time vs. the Current Members of the Northeast Conference: 

 

2017-18 Northeast Conference (NEC) Standings (including contests through 2/17/2018)

SCHOOL	NEC	PCT	OVERALL	PCT	STREAK
1. WAGNER * ^	13-3	.813	20-7	.741	W2
2. Saint Francis U *	10-6	.625	16-11	.593	W3
Mount St. Mary's *	10-6	.625	16-13	.552	W1
St. Francis Brooklyn *	10-6	.625	13-15	.464	W2
5. Robert Morris *	9-7	.563	15-14	.517	L1
6. LIU Brooklyn *	8-8	.500	13-16	.448	L3
Fairleigh Dickinson	8-8	.500	11-16	.407	L1
8. Central Connecticut	6-10	.375	13-16	.448	W1
9. Sacred Heart	4-12	.250	9-20	.310	L2
10. Bryant	2-14	.125	3-26	.103	L2

* Clinched NEC Tournament berth
^ Clinched NEC Regular Season title 



Scouting The Central Connecticut State University Blue Devils:

• The Blue Devils enter this evening's contest 13-16 and 6-10 in NEC play after earning a 65-58 victory at Robert Morris this past Saturday. 
• Central Connecticut currently holds a two-game lead with two games left for the final playoff spot over Sacred Heart. Should the Blue Devils lose both games and Sacred Heart wins both, the Blue Devils will be eliminated from postseason competition. 
• Tyler Kohl is the team's leading scorer at 17.0 ppg (7th in the NEC)  and leading rebounder at 8.5 caroms a contest (3rd in the conference). Deion Bute, who is pouring in 10.5 ppg and 5.4 rpg (15th in the league), is shooting a conference-best 60.2 percent from the field. Teammate Mustafa Jones, who is also averaging 10.5 ppg, is fourth in the NEC in field-goal percentage, shooting 52.9 percent from the floor (137-of-259). 
• As a team, the Blue Devils are third in the league in field goal percentage (.453) and second in field-goal percentage defense (.434), trailing only the Seahawks (.406).

Last Time Out Against Central Connecticut  (February 1, 2018 - Won, 72-59)

• The Wagner men's basketball team won its fifth straight game, improving to 11-0 at home for the first time in school history, following a 72-59 victory over Central Connecticut as Romone Saunders and Elijah Davis led the way with 15 points apiece at the Spiro Sports Center.
• Wagner, whose trademark brand of tenacious defense held CCSU to 37.7 percent shooting, and 14.3 percent from beyond-the-arc, had four players reach double figures on the night as senior guard JoJo Cooper scored 14 points, along with 12 assists, while sophomore guard Blake Francis, the reigning Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Player of the Week, added 13. 
• Tyler Kohl led all scorers with 21 points for the Blue Devils while Bute and Joe Hugley added 14 and 10 points, respectively.

   

 

• At 20-7 overall on the season, the Seahawks ensured that they will finish with a .500 or better record for the 48th time in program history.  
• It marks the fifth time in his six seasons that Coach Mason's team will have led the Seahawks to a .500 or better mark. 

 

 

NEC Teams With Perfect Home Records

Team	Record	Year	Result
Wagner	14-0	2017-18	???
LIU Brooklyn	15-0	2011-12	NEC Champion
Monmouth	13-0	2003-04	NEC Champion
LIU Brooklyn	12-0	1996-97	NEC Champion
Fairleigh Dickinson	15-0	1990-91	NEC Runner-Up
Robert Morris	12-0	1982-83	NEC Champion

 

• Head coach Bashir Mason, who is currently the sixth-youngest active head coach in Division I, reached a coaching career milestone on Saturday, January 20.
• In Wagner's 62-49 home victory over Robert Morris back on January 20th, Coach Mason earned his 100th career coaching victory.
• In the process, Coach Mason became just the third Seahawk bench boss to eclipse the 100 career wins, joining former coaches Herb Sutter  (352) and Tim Capstraw (117). 
• Additionally, Coach Mason and Capstraw are the only two Seahawk coaches to reach 100 wins in the Division I era, which began in 1976-77, under Wagner Hall of Famer and 3x-time NBA Champion, P.J. Carlesimo

 

 

• Senior guard JoJo Cooper (Wilmington, DE/Concord) earned his third Northeast Conference (NEC) weekly honor of the season when he was named Co-Player of the Week, along with Saint Francis U junior guard Jamaal King, the league office announced on Monday.
• Cooper, who previously earned Player of the Week honors back on January 22 and December 18, is now a three-time weekly honoree, joining Mount St. Mary's guard Junior Robinson (5x) and Robert Morris guard Dachon Burke (4x) in winning three or more league citations this season.
• The senior point guard helped Wagner clinch the NEC regular season title, and top seed in the upcoming NEC Tournament, with a pair of victories. Cooper netted 20.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists while hitting 53.6 percent of his shot attempts.
• The Wilmington, DE native scored 23 points, grabbed seven caroms and dished out six assists in the Seahawks' 99-84 victory at Sacred Heart on Thursday evening. On Saturday, he nearly posted an identical performance with 18 points, five rebounds and six assists in Wagner's 78-74 title clinching victory over LIU Brooklyn on Saturday.
• Cooper is one of two players nationally (Marshall's Jon Elmore) who are averaging at least 14.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 6.0 apg on the year.

Seahawk Three-Point Trivia: