Princeton Tigers (2-3, 0-0) at Wagner Seahawks (1-3, 0-0)

7:00 p.m. Wednesday, Spiro Sports Center, Staten Island, New York

Wagner coach: Bashir Mason, 1^st year, 1-3

Princeton coach: Mitch Henderson, 2^nd year, 22-15

Last season: Wagner (25-6, 15-3), Princeton (20-12, 10-4)

PROBABLE STARTERS:

WAGNER: G – Jonathan Williams, senior, 6-foot-6, 17.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg. C – Naofall Folahan, junior, 6-foot-11, 5.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg. G – Kenneth Ortiz, junior, 6-foot-0, 8.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.5 apg. G – Marcus Burton, sophomore, 6-foot-0, 6.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.3 apg. G – Dwuan Anderson, freshman, 6-foot-4, 4.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1 apg.

PRINCETON: F – Ian Hummer, senior, 6-foot-7, 17 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 5.6 apg, F – Will Barrett, junior, 6-foot-10, 11.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.6 apg. C – Brendan Connolly, senior, 6-foot-11, 5.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 0.8 apg. G – Denton Koon, sophomore, 6-foot-8, 5.4 ppg. 2.2 rpg. G – T.J. Bray, junior, 6-foot-4, 7 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 4.6 apg.

KEY RESERVES:

WAGNER: G – Eric Fanning, freshman, 6-foot-4, 3.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg. F – Orlando Parker, junior, 6-foot-8, 3.3 ppg. 3.0 rpg.

PRINCETON: G – Chris Clement, junior, 6-foot-2, 2.8 ppg, 1.2 rpg. F – Hans Brase, freshman, 6-foot-8, 1 ppg, 1.6 rpg. F – Mack Darrow, senior, 6-foot-9, 0.4 ppg, 1.4 rpg.

BACKGROUND: Last season, Wagner gave coach Henderson a loss in his first game at the helm of the Tigers, beating Princeton 73-57 at Jadwin. That was just the first of unexpected 25-win season for the Seahawks, which also included wins over the then-No. 13 Pitt Panthers and Princeton archrival Penn, as well as a one-point loss to Duke-killers Lehigh. Wagner went into the NEC tournament as favorites, but lost to Robert Morris in the semis.

Much, however, has changed on Staten Island. Head coach Dan Hurley decided to leave for Rhode Island, which lead to the promotion of assistant Bashir Mason. The Seahawks will also likely be without two of last season’s three leading scorers. Tyler Murray graduated, and leading returning scorer Latif Rivers has missed the last two games with what Cormac Gordon of the Staten Island Advance reported as “recurring discomfort from bone spurs that wereremoved from a knee in August.” If Rivers is still unable to play, sophomore guard Marcus Burton figures to get his third straight start.

Much like against Lafayette, Princeton will have a huge size advantage, especially in the backcourt. The Seahawks start three players—Ortiz, Burtin, and Anderson—under 6-foot-4, while the Tigers (if coach Henderson elects to start Koon again) don’t start a player under 6-foot-5. That means that they will be able to exploit some mismatches down low, whether it be with Bray, Koon, or whatever Wagner guard is unlucky enough to get switched onto of Hummer or Barrett. Mason could potentially start the 6-foot-8 Parker, but that would make the Seahawks second unit even thinner up front. Expect Wagner to double-down on the post, leading to open jump shots for the Tigers.

KEY MATCHUP: Without Rivers, the Seahawks best offensive player is 6-foot-6 guard Jonathan Williams. Don’t be surprised if coach Henderson uses the bigger, stronger Hummer to slow him down.

FREE THROWS: Wagner coach Bashir Mason is, at just 28 years old, the youngest head coach in D1. He was promoted from assistant this offseason after Dan Hurley left to take the job at Rhode Island. Mason is also a full-time grad student, pursuing a Masters of Education degree...The Seahawks feature one Trenton native in freshman Eric Fanning. Fanning attended the Perkiomen School in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania.