Preview: UNC men's basketball to kick off NCAA tournament action against seven-man Wagner rotation

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In UNC’s opening round game, its opponent Wagner will have the same amount of healthy players as the Tar Heels have national championships.

The Wagner Seahawks have been limited to just seven healthy players since late December and have not had a live practice since Dec. 27. The Seahawks have defied the odds — becoming the first NEC team to win three road games and earn the conference championship. And with its victory over fellow 16-seed Howard in the First Four on Tuesday, Wagner will take on No. 1-seeded UNC in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Thursday. 

“It's working for them," sophomore guard Seth Trimble said, "but we got to try to use that to our advantage."

Without 10  healthy options, Wagner has played against its coaches in practice. Seahawk guard Melvin Council Jr., the team’s leading scorer, praised the coaches and their previous resumes of playing basketball.

Head coach Donald Copeland, a self-proclaimed North Carolina basketball fan as a child, has had to make unorthodox changes to his practices and modify drills to account for the lack of healthy options.

Copeland emphasized “there’s no script” for the situation that his team is in. He consulted friends who also coach collegiate basketball, and no one could give him any advice.

“Everyone starts their season with certain level of expectations," Copeland said, "and I expected to have 13 players, but we always don’t get what we want."

While UNC graduate center Armando Bacot said he doesn’t think fatigue will play a role in the first-round game, Trimble said the best way to take advantage of Wagner’s situation is to get out on the break.

The Seahawks play a slow style of offense. According to KenPom.com, they rank second to last across Division I programs in adjusted tempo. The Tar Heels finished in the top 50 nationally in fastbreak points, so Trimble and junior forward Harrison Ingram believe pushing the pace on offense against a top 10 scoring defense in the country in Wagner will be a key to victory.

“Once a team is at our pace, there's really nobody that likes to run with us for a whole 40 minutes,” Ingram said.

Wagner’s health challenges have resulted in a lack of size, something UNC hopes to take advantage of on Thursday. Of its seven healthy players, Wagner has only one taller than 6-foot-7. UNC has five. 

The Tar Heels have prided themselves on attacking the glass all season, ranking 16th in the nation in rebounding margin. The Seahawks play a 4-out, 1-in motion offense, so they come from the perimeter when grabbing boards. Ingram said if the Tar Heels box out and grab the ball at its highest peak, he and UNC's other forwards should have a big day on the glass. 

“They're pretty small," graduate forward Jae’Lyn Withers said, "so I think that our attention to detail on getting to the basket will probably be a focal point."

Following Fairleigh Dickinson's upset over No. 1 seed Purdue last year, the second such instance in just five years, the Tar Heels know that they cannot underestimate Wagner. The Seahawks have done nothing but win with the same seven-man rotation they will bring to Thursday’s game.

For UNC, though, Wagner is just the first obstacle toward a run for its eighth national championship.

@brendan_lunga18

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