College basketball: Seton Hall and Penn State on Wagner’s schedule

Defending Northeast Conference regular-season champion Wagner will open the men’s basketball season Nov. 9 with a visit from Hartford, the first of 11 non-conference games before NEC play commences in late December.

Coach Bashir Mason, entering his 10th season, returns a seasoned cast of characters from a team that went 13-7. Among those back are last year’s NEC player of the year Alex Morales, fellow cornerstones Elijah Ford, Will Martinez, and Nigel Jackson -- all four are graduate students taking advantage of the NCAA’s extra-year pandemic exemption -- and sophomore guard DeLonnie Hunt, last year’s NEC rookie of the year.

Highlighting the non-conference slate are games at Virginia Commonwealth, Seton Hall and Penn State.

NEC play begins Dec. 29 with a visit to St. Francis, Pa. and a New Year’s Eve matchup at Mount St. Mary’s, which stunned the top-seeded Seahawks in the NEC semifinals and went on to win the conference tournament and accompanying NCAA Tournament berth.

Wagner’s NEC home opener is Jan. 6 against Bryant.

The schedule:

(Times are TBA except where noted)

NOVEMBER

9 -- Hartford

13 -- at Virginia Comm.

17 -- St. Peter’s

20 -- NJIT

23 -- at Army

DECEMBER

1 -- at Seton Hall

4 -- at Stony Brook

8 -- at Penn State

16 -- vs. Immaculata

20 -- vs. Delaware State

23 -- at Fairfield

29 -- at St. Francis, Pa

31 -- at Mount St. Mary’s

JANUARY

6 -- vs. Bryant, 7 p.m.

8 -- vs. Sacred Heart, 1 p.m.

15 -- vs. St. Francis, NY, 1 p.m.

17 -- vs. FDU, 7 p.m.

21 -- at LIU

23 -- at Merrimack

27 -- St. Francis, Pa., 7 p.m.

29 -- at St. Francis, NY

FEBRUARY

3 -- at Central Connecticut

5 -- vs. LIU, 1 p.m.

10 -- vs. Mount St. Mary’s, 7 p.m.

12 -- vs. Merrimack, 1 p.m.

17 -- at Sacred Heart

19 -- vs. Central Connecticut, 1 p.m.

24 -- at FDU

26 -- at Bryant