Stunning NEC Tournament final leads to No. 6 seed going dancing

An unexpected king is atop the Northeast Conference.

On Tuesday, Wagner, which entered the conference tournament as the 6-seed, stunned 2-seed Merrimack in the finals, 54-47.

The perplexing result is even stranger considering Merrimack outshot Wagner 10-2 from three-point range. However, Wagner (16-15, 7-9 in NEC) made up for their poor outside shooting (13.3%) by going 20-of-34 on two-point attempts. Meanwhile, Merrimack was just 7-of-19 from within the three-point line.

Wagner also forced 12 turnovers, improving it to 9-1 under head coach Donald Copeland, who took over in 2022-23, when it forces at least 12 turnovers and holds its opponent under 45% from two. (h/t EvanMiya.com)

Merrimack was an 8.5-point pre-game favorite and trending toward an automatic qualifying bid in the NCAA Tournament. Instead, its season is over.

Next up for Wagner is a trip to the big dance for just the second time in program history (2003). It will try to extend the NEC's one-game win streak in the tournament, longest in conference history. 

Last season, Fairleigh Dickinson stunned Purdue in only the second 16-over-1 upset in NCAA Tournament history and the first ever NEC win during March Madness.

Per CBS Sports, Wagner tied for the lowest seed to win an NEC tournament title, so who's to stay it can't do the same when the Round of 64 tips off on March 21?