MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – For the first time in program history, the Wesleyan men's basketball team will be competing in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. The Cardinals (28-1) are one of 16 teams remaining in the NCAA Tournament and enter the weekend as the No. 1 overall seed and are one of just four teams in the nation preparing to host Sweet 16 and Elite 8 round action. Silloway Gymnasium serves as the location for two Sweet 16 round action between Wesleyan and No. 19 WPI (26-3) at 7:45 PM and No. 8 Emory (22-5) vs. Mary Washington (15-14)at 4:45 PM, as well as the Elite 8 game between the two winning teams on Saturday at 7:45 PM.

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Tickets are available only on Friday and Saturday. The tickets cost $15 for adults and $10 for students, seniors, and children. Every ticket sold on Friday is an all-session ticket, meaning fans can watch both games if they choose. There are no presales available and the ticket table will open at 3:45 PM on Friday and 6:45 PM on Saturday. Tickets can be purchased with cash or card.
 
Wesleyan is back at home after hosting the opening two rounds of the NCAA Tournament last weekend. The Cardinals defeated Delaware Valley 72-50 in the first round and defeated Gettysburg 82-60 in the second round, advancing to the Sweet 16 for the first time in team history. Wesleyan has the luxury of hosting national postseason games following a miraculous season that saw the Cardinals climb to No. 1 in the national rankings while going on a 26-game unbeaten run before being knocked off by Trinity in the NESCAC title game. Now armed with a single-season team record 28 wins, this is Wesleyan's fifth time competing in the NCAA Tournament, all of which coming in the past 10 seasons.
 
This is the team's 10^th consecutive winning season dating back to 2014-15, the second-longest such streak in the team's 122-year history. Wesleyan became the first NESCAC team to go 10-0 in conference play since Amherst back in 2012-13. The Cardinals swept both Amherst and Williams in the regular season to earn the Little Three Championship for the first time since the 2017-18 season while this also marked just the second time since 1947-48 that the Cardinals swept both the Mammoths and Ephs in the regular season.
 
As a team, Wesleyan ranks second in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (1.74) while also sitting fourth in scoring margin (+17.0), sixth in scoring defense (60.6), ninth in fewest turnovers per game (9.7), and 10^th in rebound margin (+9.9). The Cardinals have allowed an opponent to score 70+ points just twice this season while Wesleyan has scored 70+ in 24-of-29 games.
 
Wesleyan had a single-season team record three Cardinals earn All-NESCAC honors, headlined by First Team honorees Shane Regan '25 and Nicky Johnson '25 while Jackson Cormier '26 was named a Second Team selection. Regan has been the catalyst for the Wesleyan offense all season long, averaging 18.6 points per game on 51.4 percent shooting and 86.5 percent from the free throw line, ranking Top 5 in the NESCAC in all three categories. Johnson is a three-time All-NESCAC honoree over his career and a two-time First Team selection while he's led the NESCAC in assist across all four of his seasons as a Cardinal dating back to 2021-22. Cormier ranks second on the team in field goal percentage (50.8) and first in rebounding (6.4), and blocks (17), earning All-NESCAC honors for the first time in just his second season as a starter.
 
Ben Lyttle '27 is a threat from three, hitting on 36.4 percent of his 88 attempts on the season, while he is averaging 8.3 points and 5.7 rebounds in 29 games played. Fritz Hauser '26 has started 52-of-54 possible games the past two seasons and he is averaging 6.4 points per game. Some key pieces off the bench include Sam Pohlman '26 as the junior point guard averages 6.0 PPG while ranking third on the team with 79 assists this season. Oscar Edelman '28 is always threat from deep, hitting a team-best 38.2 percent from three-point range, while he recently had a three-game streak with 10+ points to end the regular season. Josh Cameron '27 is a menace defensively, often taking on the responsibility of guarding the opposing team's top offensive threat, while he has the fourth-most rebounds on the team this season. Zach Wolinski '28 is another threat from three as the first-year has 30 makes from beyond the arc while hitting on 33.3 percent of his attempts.
 
Wesleyan led Delaware Valley wire-to-wire in the 72-50 first round triumph last Friday. The Cardinals' defense gave DelVal fits, holding the Aggies to their second-lowest point total in 28 games this season while Wesleyan held a massive +19 edge in rebounding margin. Lyttle finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds, his highest point total since the season opener at Rutgers-Newark back on November 16. The Cardinals came back the next night and shot 54.5 percent from the floor in another 22-point win, defeating Gettysburg 82-60. Wesleyan held the Bullets to a 1-for-14 showing from three-point range while the Cardinals finished +14 in rebounding (43-29). Johnosn led the way with 14 of his game-high 20 points coming in the first half while the senior point guard added eight assists against just two turnovers.
 
About WPI (26-3)
The Engineers won the NEWMAC regular season championship and earned an at-large bid after falling short in the conference championship game to Clark (Mass.) 80-65. The last time the Crimson and Gray made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament was in 2021-22 when WPI advanced to the Elite 8 for the first time since 1985. This is WPI's 13^th NCAA Tournament in the last 21 seasons under 24-year head coach Chris Bartley. Senior guard Aidan Callahan is the 2024-25 NEWMAC Athlete of the Year, leading WPI in scoring (15.8 PPG) and assists (5.2). J.R. Newman serves as WPI's top defensive player on what is one of the best defenses in the nation, earning NEWMAC Defensive Player of the Year honors this season. The Engineers lead the nation in three-point percentage defense (25.9), rank eighth in field goal percentage defense (37.9) and are ninth in scoring defense (62.2). Tim Reidy is a First Team All-NEWMAC selection, hitting three-pointers at a 42.7 percent clip while he hits 90.1 percent of his free throws.
 
About Emory (22-5)
For the sixth time in program history and first since 2018, Emory is heading back to the Sweet 16. The Eagles defeated Huntingdon 83-68 in the opening round before running away with an 84-68 win against Berry in the second round. Emory was ranked No. 1 overall in the d3Hoops.com national poll for the first time in team history and eclipsed 20 wins for the 10^th time in team history, with nine of those coming under current head coach Jason Zimmerman. Emory scores at an elite clip, ranking 13^th in the nation in scoring offense (85.5) while the Eagles lead the nation in blocks per game (6.5). The Eagles are also ninth in Division III in rebounds per game (44.3), 14^th in field goal percentage defense (38.5), and ninth in assist/turnover ratio (1.57). Logan Shanahan earned UAA Defensive Player of the Year honors while Ben Pearce and Jair Knights are First Team All-UAA selections. Pierce is a three-time All-UAA First Team pick who leads the conference in assists (5.6) and averages 16.6 points per game. Knight leads the team in scoring (18.8) and leads the conference in steals (2.0) and is fifth in blocks (29). Shanahan is one the premier rim-protectors in the nation, leading the UAA with 78 blocks while sitting seventh in the nation with 2.92 blocks per game.
 
About Mary Washington (15-14)
The Cinderella story thus far in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, the Eagles secured their spot in the field with a Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference Championship, defeating Salisbury and Christopher Newport on the way to earning the league's automatic bid. Entering the NCAA Tournament with a 13-14 record, Mary Washington defeated a Top 20 ranked team in Drew in a convincing 73-58 scoreline and followed that up with an 86-81 win at Ramapo in the second round to advance to the Sweet 16 for the second time in team history. Four of Mary Washington's five regular starters are sophomores or younger. Kye Robinson is the C2C Rookie of the Year, averaging 13.9 points per game while sophomore Jay Randall puts up 13.2 points per game. The Eagles average just 9.3 turnovers per game, the sixth-fewest in the nation.