UNCW will Win the NCAA Tournament - Reasons Why By Steve Hiegel

1.UNC Wilmington will win the NCAA Tournament due to their toughness and grit.  The Seahawks played an extremely tough non-conference schedule with their toughest tests being at Kansas and at East Carolina.  The Seahawks are battle tested and won’t be scared of any opponent and that particular opponent’s potential home court advantage during the Tournament.

2UNC Wilmington is playing their best basketball at the right time and that is a key to going on a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.  The Seahawks have won 17 of their last 20 games including three games in three days in Washington, DC to win the always difficult CAA Conference Tournament.  

3UNC Wilmington could also call on a former player to help them if needed.  Does anyone remember Michael Jordan who grew up in Wilmington, NC?  He was a pretty good player back in the day and still has one year of eligibility left.  The former UNC star could be called on to help the Seahawks in their quest to win it all – especially if they have to play Duke on their journey to the Final Four in San Antonio – lol.

4UNC Wilmington has plenty of depth with the rotation going 9 and sometimes 10 players deep which gives the Seahawks a great advantage in the NCAA Tournament.  The Tournament is broken into three sets of two games in three days and there is little time to reset after each game so the Teams that have depth have a sizable advantage over the rest of the field.

5UNC Wilmington can cut down the nets in San Antonio due to their Head Coach Takayo Siddle who is a rising star.  Siddle was an Assistant Coach under Kevin Keatts from 2014 to 2017 who left with Keatts to North Carolina State.  Siddle returned to UNC Wilmington in 2020 and quickly turned the program back around winning the CBI Tournament in 2022 and now getting the Seahawks back to the NCAA Tournament in 2025.  Siddle’s experience and in game adjustments will prove invaluable for UNC Wilmington during the NCAA Tournament.

Steve Hiegel