NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — The No. 7 Wagner College men's basketball team will begin NEC Tournament play on the road against No. 2 Central Connecticut State on Wednesday, March 4 at 7 p.m. inside Detrick Gymnasium. The game will be streamed live on NEC Front Row with Bruce Biel and Marc Robbins on the call.

NEC Tournament Format
The NEC Tournament quarterfinal round on Wednesday, March 4 will feature four games at the sites of the higher seeds. Following the quarterfinals, teams will be reseeded based on seed. All quarterfinal games on Saturday, March 7 will air on NEC Front Row, while the semifinals will be broadcast on ESPN+, YES, and NESN Nation. The championship game on Tuesday, March 10 will air on ESPN2.

#8 Chicago State at #1 LIU – 7 p.m.
#7 Wagner at #2 Central Connecticut – 7 p.m.
#6 FDU at #3 Mercyhurst – 7 p.m.
#5 Stonehill at #4 Le Moyne – 7 p.m.
Wagner In The NEC Tournament
Wagner is 28–35 all-time in the NEC Tournament, as this marks the Seahawks' 35th appearance in the event.
The Seahawks won the NEC Tournament as the No. 1 seed in 2003 and as the No. 6 seed in 2024. Wagner has also reached the NEC Tournament final five times (1993, 2005, 2016, 2018, 2022). Last season, No. 6 Wagner lost to eventual champion Saint Francis in the quarterfinal round.

Wagner returns to the NEC Tournament for the 15th time in the past 16 years. The only time the Seahawks missed the postseason during that stretch was in 2020. This will be Wagner's sixth straight NEC postseason appearance, a streak that leads all current NEC members. The Seahawks are 0–7 all-time as the No. 7 seed.

The Series
Wednesday's matchup will be the 65th meeting all-time between the programs, with Wagner leading the series 37–27. Central Connecticut State won both meetings this season (Jan. 29, 62–55 and Feb. 7, 84–67).

Wagner is 5–0 all-time in the NEC Tournament against CCSU and 4–0 in quarterfinal matchups. The Seahawks upset CCSU as the No. 6 seed in the 2024 NEC Quarterfinals. CCSU and Wagner squared off in three straight quarterfinal matchups in 2012, 2013, and 2014, with the Blue Devils entering as the No. 7 seed in each contest. All but one of the postseason meetings between the programs have come in the quarterfinal round.

Scouting the Blue Devils
CCSU (18–11, 12–6 NEC) is coming off a 69–64 home win over Saint Francis and went 7–1 during the month of February. The Blue Devils are coached by Patrick Sellers in his fifth season.

CCSU was picked to finish first in the NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Blue Devils rank first in the NEC in scoring at 74.3 points per game and also lead the conference in three-point percentage (36.9%).

Sophomore forward Darin Smith Jr. was named the NEC Player of the Year after leading the conference in scoring at 20.4 points per game.

Last season, CCSU entered the NEC Tournament as the No. 1 seed but fell to No. 3 Saint Francis, 46–43, in the NEC Championship game. The Blue Devils have won three NEC Championships in program history (2000, 2002, 2007).

On A Roll
Wagner (13–16, 8–10 NEC) enters the NEC Tournament as one of the hottest teams in the conference, having won four games in a row — the program's longest NEC winning streak since the 2021–22 season.

During that four-game stretch, the Seahawks are averaging 73.3 points per game while allowing just 64.8 points per contest.

McMillan – Sellers Connection
CCSU head coach Pat Sellers served as an assistant at Hofstra in 2011–12 during Wagner head coach Dwan McMillan's senior season with the Pride.

Jones Named Second Team All-NEC
Junior guard Nick Jones was named to Second Team All-NEC.

Jones appeared in 27 games this season, averaging 14.3 points per game to rank eighth in the conference. The Edgewood, Maryland native also contributed 3.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists per contest while leading the NEC in steals at 1.8 per game.

During conference play, Jones posted five 20-point outings over a seven-game stretch. That run included a 26-point effort in a victory over FDU and a 24-point, six-assist performance in a win against Le Moyne. He also recorded three consecutive 20-point games during that span — the longest streak by a Seahawk since Alex Morales in 2021.

Overall, Jones scored in double figures 20 times this season and registered multiple steals in 17 contests, highlighted by a six-steal performance against LIU.

Jones earned NEC Co-Player of the Week honors on December 1 after a standout performance in Wagner's 103–101 overtime victory over Manhattan. In that contest, he totaled 35 points, six rebounds, six assists, two blocks, and one steal, including the game-winning free throws.

With that stat line, Jones became one of just four Division I players nationally this season to record at least 35 points, six rebounds, and six assists in a single game. His 35-point outing tied for the 19th-highest scoring performance in Division I this year and marked just the fourth 35/6/6 game by an NEC player over the past 15 seasons.

TG Takeover
Graduate student Travis Gray has recorded a double-double in each of Wagner's last four games, becoming the first Seahawk to post four consecutive double-doubles since Michael Carey in 2016.

Gray began the stretch with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks at Mercyhurst before recording a career-high 27 points with 11 rebounds at Saint Francis. He followed with 10 points and 13 rebounds against New Haven and capped the run with 16 points and 12 rebounds against Chicago State.

Single Digit Games
Wagner is 8–10 this season in games decided by nine points or less and 6–5 in games decided by five points or fewer.

Cleaning The Glass
The Seahawks rank second in the NEC in rebounds per game (37.4). Sophomore Zavier Fitch leads the team with 6.4 rebounds per game, which ranks seventh in the conference.

Next Up
The winner of Wednesday's matchup will advance to the NEC semifinal round on Saturday, March 7.