CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WNCN) — After a disappointing loss in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament final last week, North Carolina is ready to get its NCAA Tournament started.
The No. 1-seeded Tar Heels (27-7) play the No. 16 Wagner Seahawks (17-15) in a first round West region game at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte on Thursday afternoon. The game’s TV broadcast will be here on CBS 17 and is scheduled to tip off at 2:45 p.m.
Wagner held off Howard — the program’s first ever NCAA Tournament win — in a First Four matchup on Tuesday to earn a date with UNC. The Seahawks only have seven healthy scholarship players available after injuries decimated their roster, but they’ve made their run to the NCAA Tournament on the strength of the few.
After finishing sixth in the Northeast Conference standings following the regular season, Wagner had to win the conference tournament to punch their ticket to the dance. They defeated Sacred Heart and league leaders Central Connecticut and Merrimack to earn their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2003.
The Tar Heels, meanwhile, bounced back from last year’s disappointment of missing the NCAA Tournament to get a No. 1 seed for a record 18th time. Senior RJ Davis, who was this season’s ACC Player of the Year, and graduate Armando Bacot are looking to lead North Carolina on another deep run like they did two years ago.
The North Carolina and Wagner men’s basketball programs have never played each other. The winner will move on to play Saturday against No. 9 Michigan State, who topped No. 8 Mississippi State earlier Thursday.