A welcome to the Wagner Seahawks in making it to the NCAA Tournament.
Wagner has made it into the March Madness tournament for the second time in program history and will face the No.15 seed Howard in a first four matchup. The winner will set up a date against the No.1 seed North Carolina in the West Region.
The Seahawks punched their ticket by winning the Northeast Conference (NEC) for the first time in 21 years. The last time Wagner was in the tournament, they fell to Pittsburgh 87-61 in the round of 64 back in 2003.
It was a tough road for the Seahawks to get to this point. Despite losing five of the final six games of the season, Wagner was able to go on a run in the NEC tournament; winning against Sacred Heart in the quarterfinals, beating CCSU in the semi-finals, and then earning an automatic NCAA Tournament bid by defeating the reigning champion Merrimack 54-47 in the final.
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Wagner Seahawks Look to Endure the First Four Challenge
They now look ahead to a tough Howard Bison squad, who like Wagner found some luck in the tournament play to squeak in.
The Bisons got hot in the Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference Tournament; taking care of business against No.5 Morgan State, then upsetting Norfolk State in the semi-final, and defeating No.6 Delaware State in the MEAC Championship.
Howard should be a real test for Wagner, who would love to make a Cinderella Run in the NCAA tournament this year.
The Seahawks have proved to be battle-tested, dealing with injuries and depth issues throughout the NEC Tournament in having only seven players available; including Junior guard Melvin Council Jr. and NEC All-Tournament Team MVP Tahron Allen, who proved to be big-time throughout the season.
But miracles could and have occurred, as anything can happen in March.
Last season, Fairleigh Dickinson defeated Texas Southern and then upset the No.1 seed Purdue in the East Region.
With some luck, it may be Wagner's turn to shock the world.
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