Wagner at Mount St. Mary’s, 7:00 PM Eastern, necfrontrow.com
After the weather ended up cancelling yesterday’s Under the Radar Game of the Day between Texas Southern and Jackson State (the two teams are going to try to make it up today at 4:00 PM), we are hoping for much better luck with today’s featured game in the Northeast Conference between Wagner and Mount St. Mary’s. Today’s contest will be huge in the battle for the top seed in the conference tournament as the Seahawks and Mountaineers, along with Bryant and postseason ineligible Merrimack, are all currently tied for the conference lead in the loss column with 4. That means that today’s winner with certainly have a leg up heading down the stretch.
The visiting Wagner Seahawks enter today’s game at 6-4 in conference (6-5 overall) and on a 5 game winning streak after a 1-4 league start. Four Seahawks players are averaging in double figures, led by Elijah Ford’s 18.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game and Alex Morales’ 17.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Morales has been key in Wagner’s recent surge, having topped the 20 point mark in 5 of the last 7 games. If he can put up another performance like that tonight, against one of the NEC’s best defenses, his team could make it 6 in a row and be in line for the top seed in the conference tournament.
Mount St. Mary’s has been playing very strong lately as well, winning three straight games heading into tonight to raise their record to 7-4 in conference (8-7 overall). Damion Chong Qui has been the key lately, with an average of 15.7 points and 5.6 assists per game. The team also has a pair of double-double threats in the frontcourt with Nana Opoku ( 3 double-doubles so far this year) and Malik Jefferson (4 double-doubles) leading the way. If they can continue the teams strong defense tonight, the Mount could be the team in the driver’s seat for the top seed come tomorrow morning. No matter who wins, the game should be fun for those that like slow-ball, as Wagner enters the game 333rd in the nation in Tempo and Mount St Mary’s 356th, according to KenPom.