Men's Basketball: Road trip continues against Wagner

There is no question that the Tigers have been hot offensively in their recent games.

The team has averaged 77.6 points per game in its last five victories, with the help of individual performances such as senior forward and co-captain Kareem Maddox’s 31 points against Tulsa and sophomore forward Ian Hummer’s 22 points against Lafayette.

The Wagner Seahawks have also benefitted from strong individual performances this season.

Guard Tyler Murray averages 17.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game and often leads his team in close games.

The Tigers will take the court in the wake of a tense double-overtime victory over Tulsa on Sunday, while the Seahawks will be in the opposite situation, having just suffered a 51-50 loss against St. Peter’s College.

Despite this difference in momentum, the teams are well-matched.

Both Wagner and Princeton have already beaten Bucknell and Lafayette this season, though Princeton won both games by greater margins than Wagner did.

Princeton beat Wagner by only three points last year in a 45-42 game, and Maddox expects that Wagner will not be an easy opponent this season either.

“They’re a really scrappy team,” Maddox said. “They gave us a great game last year, because they’re good and well-coached.”

Despite having five losses, Wagner has held its opponents to an average of 63.7 points per game and plays a fierce defensive game.

Wagner’s defense will be a real test of Princeton’s patience if the Tigers’ usually overpowering offense finds resistance in the first half.

“Especially in our league, every game is a battle,” Maddox explained. “They’re all really close and competitive. We’ve had five-game win streaks before, and we know they don’t necessarily mean much.”

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Wagner plays a strong mental game and usually manages pressure well when the score is close. The Seahawks’ average margin of victory this season is 4.5 points, compared to a larger average margin of defeat of 7.2 points — even with their recent one-point loss — and they shoot a highly respectable 78.7 percent from the free-throw line.

The Seahawks’ weakness may lie in the paint.

They rely on their guards to collect rebounds, and though they have size and strength on the team, they have had trouble finding a consistent forward or center.

In fact, they shoot as well from outside the three-point line as they do from inside — 41.5 percent for two-point field goals and 41.2 percent for three-pointers.

Unless the Seahawks are able to address the strength of Maddox and Hummer, they may be forced to retreat their offense behind the three-point line for most of the game.

The Tigers’ long sequence of away games, which continues with the Dec. 22 trip to Towson University and ends at the University of Central Florida Holiday Classic on Dec. 30, could be a challenge, but Maddox was optimistic.

“We know that every game is going to be tough — especially on the road,” Maddox said. “We have a long road stretch during the Ivy League season, so this is good preparation.”

The game against Wagner will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday.

It will be covered by Time Warner Cable and WPRB 103.3 FM.