CHARLOTTE, N.C. — So Wagner won three games on the road, won the conference title and played in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio, playing with just seven players. Despite this, he defeated Howard and advanced to the top.
The reward for all that accomplishment?
Thursday’s game against top-seeded North Carolina at 2:45 p.m. inside the Spectrum Center in Charlotte will be essentially a home game for the Tar Heels, who are stacked at 27-7.
“It’s great to be able to play two home games in a place that we all love and are familiar with,” North Carolina big man Armando Bacot said.
Well, last I checked, North Carolina State is only guaranteed one game this week – pending the outcome of Thursday’s game, where they are favored by 24.5 points.
Apparently, Bacot thinks like most of the nation that Wagner is a big push for the Tar Heels.
All but Wagner and UNC coach Hubert Davis, 17-15.
Melvin Council Jr. of Wagner, who was the driving force behind the victory over Howard, said, “This challenge is the same old challenge of the underdogs.” “At the end of the day, we are all the same. They are [have] We have great school programs and we also have small schools. But we preach toughness every day, so we’re going to continue to do that.
“We’re very confident. Regardless of the name, regardless of who we play, we’re going to go out on the field and showcase our brand of basketball. Who we play with It doesn’t really matter. Of course, give them credit. They’re a great team, but we’re a great team, too. So we’re going to go out there and showcase our brand.”
The word “Toughness” is printed vertically on the back of Wagner’s practice jersey.
“We preach every day about what’s on the back of our jerseys, what we do in the huddle: toughness,” Wagner’s Taron Allen said. “When we get between these four lines, we’re here to compete. It’s all fun, but we’re not here just to have fun. No matter who we’re playing against. , we are here to compete.”
The Seahawks are so short-staffed that coach Donald Copeland Jr. hasn’t played since Dec. 27 for fear of one of his players getting injured or gassing the team. I haven’t practiced the whole thing.
“We’ve rebelled against our coaches,” Allen said. “We’re grateful that we have a great coaching staff that has experience playing basketball and a good history in basketball. So they challenge us every day.”
Copeland wanted to make something clear.
“I never talk about being a good coach, but I’m still a very good player,” he said with a smile. “That’s what I want you to know. I’m still very strong.
“I think everyone starts the season with some expectations and I expected to have 13 players, but you don’t always get what you want. We need to work on it now. The main thing that I tried to focus on and teach every day was culture. Never have any doubts. I will never let you down.
“We were never focused on just being seven people.” [players]. I focused on what I had to do in practice. The focus was on what the next opponent would do to win the match. And now if you do it the right way, which I believe we are trying to do, it gives you a chance to succeed. ”
“Nothing was promised,” Allen said. “The losers weren’t promised. We didn’t know what was in store for us throughout this season, but what we did know was that we were going to face some kind of adversity. I feel like no matter what team we play, it’s prepared us for this moment.
“Yes, we play great teams, but our preparation is still the same. Our intensity is still the same. The way we approach the game is still the same.”
Davis spoke in a different tone than Bacot’s casual mention of this week’s two home games.
“They’re a very well-coached basketball team. They needed three wins on the road to get to the conference tournament, the NCAA Tournament. That’s true. [impressive] So that you can do that. And to beat a very good Howard team at a neutral site, you need a team that is very confident and can really shoot. They are good defensively.
“They’re excited about the opportunity to play against us.”
Maybe Wagner is just whistling past graveyards, but they’re not afraid.
“This is a tremendous challenge for our team and our program,” Copeland said. “We know our path, but our journey is different than before. We can’t stick to it right now. We have to find a niche where we can compete in this game.” We’re going to be ready to play.”
