The Wagner Seahawks are still dancing.
Despite a late burst by the Howard Bison, the Seahawks sealed a 71-68 win in Dayton, Ohio, in a battle of No. 16 seeds. Wagner — making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2003 — will face No. 1 seed North Carolina in Round 1 on Thursday in Charlotte, N.C.
Wagner junior guard Melvin Council Jr. scored a game-high 21 points, leading a squad that boasted an impressive offensive efficiency. The Seahawks shot 52.7 percent from the floor (47.1 percent from 3), compared to the Bisons’ 38.6 percent from the field (29.2 percent from 3).
Howard caught fire late in the game, finishing on a 14-4 run after trailing by 17 points in the first half, and had the opportunity to tie it, but missed three attempted 3-point shots as the clock ran out.
Wagner defeated Merrimack in the NEC championship game to secure its March Madness appearance.
Wagner’s tournament outlook
Wagner’s coach, Donald Copeland, is a former Seton Hall point guard, and that’s been a pretty great resume builder for March Madness runs lately (Shaheen Holloway and Danny Hurley can attest). The Seahawks allowed the fewest points per game in the NEC (62.1) and were second in rebounding margin (+1.5).
The NEC ranked second-to-last among conferences this season, and you’d be hard-pressed to find an NCAA Tournament team with worse metrics than Wagner: 290th in the NET, 292nd in KenPom, 11-10 in Quad 4 this regular season.
The Seahawks won the NEC as the No. 6 seed and with just seven healthy players — did that group jell at the right time? According to the New York Post, they had assistant coaches and a football player helping them practice during the season, and they haven’t had contact practices since late December. This could be a team with an electric coach that just needed some time to adjust to the missing pieces. — Brian Bennett and Nando Di Fino
Required reading
(Photo: Rick Osentoski / USA Today)
