3 reasons why UNC Wilmington can win a game in the NCAA Tournament

The Coastal Athletic Association, or the CAA for short, has been one of the better mid-major leagues for the last 5 years. It had been dominated by the College of Charleston Cougars for the last few years but this year there is a new champion, who is also a team who has had a lot of success in the league over the last 10 years. The UNC Wilmington Seahawks claimed the 10th autobid into the 2025 NCAA Tournament after they beat the Delaware Blue Hens in the conference championship game.

The Seahawks are making their 7th overall appearance in the big dance and their first since 2017 when they finished up the second of their back to back appearances in the NCAA Tournament. UNC Wilmington heads to the tournament with a 27-7 overall record and finished 14-4 in the conference. The 27 wins are the most that the Seahawks have had since the 2021-2022 season. The Seahawks won the tournament as the 2 seed in the tournament.

UNC Wilmington might be a tad underseeded, but given the rest of the teams in the tournament, their seed is likely going to be in the 14-seed range. It is tough for the 14 seeds to win a game because they play a three-seed, which is always a tough task for a mid-major team. UNC Wilmington is going to have a good chance to win a game because of how this team is built and where they can put stress on your team. Here are the reasons why I think so.

Offense

I mentioned earlier that the Seahawks could put a lot of pressure on you on the offensive end of the floor, and that is because of their ability to get to the rim for easy baskets and then get to the free-throw line. UNC Wilmington shoots well over 50% from inside the arc and can put pressure on you from a lot of different places. The Seahawks have one of the best offenses in the country and come in averaging just under 80 points per game. Donovan Newby and Khamari McGriff are the two guys who are going to have to live up to their star status for UNC Wilmington to pull off the upset. The offense is good and the ball moves. The Seahawks rarely turn the ball over. They will score enough to be in the game but will it be enough?

Offensive Rebounding

This one could be a huge factor. We have all watched the NCAA Tournament enough to know that a team who is a good offensive rebounding team can change the game by crashing the boards and getting extra possessions. UNC Wilmington currently averages 13 offensive rebounds per game and most of those offensive rebounds result in easy layups or will draw a foul that gives the Seahawks points. UNC Wilmington isn’t a good three-point shooting team, but they are still able to score as many points as they do because of their prowess on the offensive glass. That is just another way they can put pressure on a defense and most likely get a team in foul trouble. UNC Wilmington is going to have to at least get their average on the offensive glass to have a chance to win a game. They likely will do that as the rebounding is a product of how they play with maximum effort all the time.

Donovan Newby

There is not much debate that Newby is the best player for the Seahawks, and without him, UNC Wilmington would not have made the NCAA tournament. The guard was the MVP of the Coastal Athletic Conference tournament, and during that tournament, he took his game to another level. Head coach Takayo Siddle is hoping that Newby can continue to play at a high level and go into takeover mode to will the Seahawks to at least one more win in the round of 64. Newby is one of the few guys for UNC Wilmington who can shoot threes; he gets to the line a ton where he shoots 90% and is an excellent passer. Newby is playing at a high enough level that he can single-handedly win a game for the Seahawks down the stretch.

UNC Wilmington has their work cut out for them trying to win a game from the 14 seed line, especially this year, given how good the top 12 seeds are. UNC Wilmington is going to be a tough out because of their ability to score and their ability to put pressure on the defense from multiple spots.