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Newark, NJ - The Wagner College men's basketball team will travel to Newark, NJ, for a matchup with Big East Member Seton Hall at the Prudential Center on Wednesday, with tip-off scheduled for 7:00 pm. The game will be televised nationally on FS2.
Statement Victory
The Seahawks earned a 58-44 statement victory at Atlantic 10 member VCU on November 13. Both teams went back and forth in a tightly contested first period, with Wagner holding a 27-26 lead at the half. The Seahawks, however, led the entirety of the second half and pulled away late for the victory.
The victory marked the first win over an Atlantic 10 school since March 16, 2016, when the Seahawks earned a 79-75 victory over #1 St. Bonaventure in the first round of the NIT, which also stood as the first postseason victory in school history.
Fast Start
The Seahawks have opened the season 2-0 for the first time since the 2005-2006 season.
Wagner's two victories also came against two teams that qualified for the NCAA tournament last year, marking the first time since 2011-12 that the Seahawks have earned two non-conference victories over NCAA Tournament teams in the same season.
In the Division I era, Wagner has only started 3-0 once. In 1979-80, head coach P.J. Carlesimo led the Green and White to wins over Fordham, Army, and Harvard for a 3-0 start. The Seahawks would finish the season 14-13 overall after a 7-0 start.
The Seahawks are currently ranked 152nd in the KenPom rankings. No NEC team has finished that high since 2012-13.
Morales Earns Player Of The Week Honors
Alex Morales was named the Northeast Conference (NEC) Player of the Week after Wagner's opening week wins over Hartford and VCU.
The reigning NEC Player of the Year picked up right where he left off last season, leading the Seahawks to their first 2-0 start since the 2005-2006 season with victories over Hartford and VCU.
During the two victories, Morales averaged 17.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists, while connecting on 66.7% of shots from the field and 80.0 percent from the free throw line.
Against VCU, Morales scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, including a clutch three from the corner to seal the victory.
Morales opened the season with 15 points, five rebounds and four assists in Wagner's convincing 77-59 victory against Hartford to open the season.
Last season, Morales was the only player in the NEC to earn four Player of the Week awards throughout the 2020-21 regular season.
Martinez Delivers Off The Bench
Graduate student
Will Martinez has once again given the Seahawks a boost off the bench.
Martinez, who was named an NEC Prime Performer for his performance during the first week, led the Seahawks with 18 points in the season-opening win against Hartford and contributed eight points against VCU while averaging 4.5 assists and 5.5 rebounds.
Martinez' assist-turnover ratio of 4.5 is currently first in the NEC.
Program DNA
Wagner's signature style of play is on display early. Through two games, the Seahawks rank first in the NEC in rebounding margin (12.0) and scoring defense (51.5), which also leads the country.
Wagner is also first in the NEC in field goal percentage defense at 38.2%
Deep Rotation
Similar to the season-opening win against Hartford, head coach
Bashir Mason once again relied on a deep rotation, with eight Seahawks recording points throughout the night against VCU.
Mason called on 11 players in the season-opener, with 10 Seahawks recording points and nine players logging at least 10 minutes of game action.
First-Year First
Freshman
Zaire Williams earned the start against Hartford, marking the first time that head coach
Bashir Mason has featured a freshman in the starting lineup for Wagner's season-opener in consecutive seasons. Last season, reigning Northeast Conference (NEC) Rookie of the Year
DeLonnie Hunt and
Elijah Allen earned the start in the lid-lifter at Seton Hall.
Williams, who also earned the start against VCU, only became the fifth freshman under Mason to start in the season-opener.
The Series
This marks the 33rd all-time meeting between the programs with Seton Hall leading 26-6 in the head-to-head series. The last time Wagner was victorious over the Pirates was back on January 31, 1979, when the Seahawks edged Seton Hall, 95-90, in double overtime. Wagner's coach at the time was eventual three-time NBA Champion, Wagner Hall of Famer and former SHU coach, PJ Carlesimo.
Familiar Faces
On Wednesday, Wagner will go up against Seton Hall Assistant coach Donald Copeland, who returned to coach at his alma mater after spending the previous six seasons at Wagner, the last four as assistant coach and the first two as graduate manager. Over the course of those six seasons with Copeland on staff, Wagner won three NEC regular season championships. At Seton Hall, Copeland appeared in 108 career games and helped the Pirates reach the NCAA Tournament in both 2004 and 2006.
Scouting The Pirates
Seton Hall enters Wednesday's contest with a 5-1 record, including a 67-65 victory over #4 Michigan on November 16. Most recently, the Pirates earned an 84-70 victory Bethune-Cookman.
The Schedule
Wagner will travel to Stony Brook (12/4), and Penn State (12/8) to close out the road trip. The Seahawks will host Immaculata on December 16 and Delaware State on December 20, before closing out the non-conference schedule at Fairfield on December 23.
The Seahawks will open conference play on December 29 at Saint Francis U.
