The NCAA Charlotte Regional Hosts A Goliath, A Cinderella And A Team With Only 7 Players

CHARLOTTE, NC- The mood around the Spectrum Center is relaxing, maybe it's because these teams still have one more day promised to them. As North Carolina players ran onto the court to a loud chorus of cheers from the fans that had already made the trip to the downtown arena, Wagner players sat in the press conference room after arriving in the city just eight hours beforehand. 

Almost six months after preparation started for the 2023-2024 season, only 64 teams are left fighting for a national championship. 

Through moments of agony, injuries, and maybe a sloppy stretch of games, these eight teams in Charlotte are fighting for one more day together. Forget what your bracket looks like, these guys throwing up shots inside the home of the Charlotte Hornets are hoping all of that work over the past year leads them to the next game, not the next city. 

"I think those losses helped us, motivated us going into the SEC Tournament," Mississippi State's Tolu Smith pointed out. "I think we have all the confidence in the world right now going into the NCAA Tournament. So we've just got to bottle that up and use it for this game and the next games."

Nothing is promised before the season begins, just an opportunity to finish the season playing in the NCAA Tournament if you've earned it. So when you see those reactions on television from a team that just found out if they had made it or not, it's pure emotion, no matter if they had already locked up a spot. It's about being in the moment with a group of players that have fought through so many different obstacles that we will never know about. 

Mississippi State players practice together for what could be the final time Via: Trey Wallace

Even for a coach like Tom Izzo, who has been to the tournament 26 times, but still feels the emotion of seeing his team on the television screen when they announce the field, those moments aren't lost on the legendary coach. Coming off a regular season where the Spartans started in the top-five, there were countless times that this group of Spartans were counted out, but once again they're in the NCAA Tournament. 

If you were wondering if there were any nerves for the Spartans head coach, even Izzo admitted that this was a more hectic watch-party than in years past. 

"I think the best thing was to actually be in a room, not sure what was going on, not sure what was going to happen, and to see players and families and managers and even me kind of excited that we got in." Tom Izzo discussed. "Not that in ways I didn't think we deserved to get in, but I understood where we were.

"It's kind of been, well, we're in. Where are we going? This year it kind of made me appreciate it a little bit what has gone on the last 26 years, and that was probably good for me. Wouldn't want that to happen that often, but it was exciting for that night."

16th Seed Wagner Playing With Only Seven Healthy Players. Dream Lives On

If I had told you before the season that a team had not held a live practice since December, but still found a way to make it to the NCAA Tournament, you would've probably called me crazy. To be honest, it's incredible that this Wagner team even made it out of their own conference tournament, but here we are in Charlotte, with the Seahawks only having seven healthy players since Christmas. 

When a coach talks about nothing going according to plan during the regular season, we can look straight to a team like Wagner. Nothing has come easy for this group, especially from a health standpoint. But they still found a way to win the NCAA Tournament play-in game against Howard, and now start preparing for North Carolina, which might as well be called Goliath. 

Wagner hits the practice court at the NCAA Tournament with just seven healthy players against North Carolina

After playing last night in Dayton, Ohio, the Wagner Seahawks quickly left the arena, heading to the airport. They needed to get to Charlotte, where the team could finally get a few hours of sleep. Unfortunately, the plane Wagner was using had a problem, so they sat on the tarmac for an hour. Finally, the team was able to take-off, and arrived in Charlotte around 2:30 this morning, with practice just nine hours away. 

So, to say this has been a whirlwind season would be an understatement for the team from Staten Island. But no matter what obstacles have been thrown at this team, head coach Donald Copeland says this group has never given up on their goals. 

"I think everyone starts their season with a certain level of expectations, and I expected to have 13 players, but we always don't get what we want," Wagner coach Donald Copeland said. "You kind of just got to roll with it right now. The main thing I tried to focus on and coach daily was the culture. Never let us fall into doubt. I never dumb down our expectations. Like any other team in the country, you go through ups and downs, you go through tough times throughout, because the season is such a grind already.

"We never focused on just having seven. We focused on what we needed to do in practice. We focused on what the next opponent was going to do to try and win a game. Then now, if you do it the right way, which we believe we're trying to, it gives you a chance to have success."

As teams like North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Saint Peter's take to the court with a full roster of thirteen players, Wagner is giving everything they've got to give the country another Cinderella 16th seed.