Whatever happens in this volatile era of college sports, one constant delights every spring — the opportunity for a Cinderella team to make noise in the NCAA Tournament.

While Name Image and Likeness — “NIL”— deals and transfer portals have shaken the landscape of college athletics, underdog schools like Wagner College from Staten Island and Saint Peter’s University at Jersey City are why the annual basketball tournament to decide a national champion is called March Madness.

Wagner, a team down to a seven-man roster due to a rash of injuries, took its first step Tuesday night, defeating Howard University, 71-68, in a First Four game at Dayton. The Bison, down by 17 points early in the second half, missed three consecutive 3-point shots in the final seconds to end their season in heartbreak.

The Seahawks (17-15) join Saint Peter’s (19-13) at Charlotte, where both play first-round games on Thursday. Wagner, seeded 16^th in the Midwest Region, challenges No. 1 seed North Carolina (27-7) at 2:45 p.m. EST, while Saint Peter’s, a 15th seed, makes its tournament debut against No.2 seed Tennessee (24-8) at 9:20 p.m.

Corey Washington is Saint Peter’s leading scorer with 16.5 points per game and its top rebounder at 6.6 a contest .The Peacocks have won eight of their last 10 games and held their last three opponents to under 40 percent shooting from the field. “The last thing I said to my team was defense wins championships,” Saint Peter’s coach Bashir Mason said.

Wagner could be the ultimate Cinderella story. They went into Tuesday’s game shorthanded after four potential starters and two rotation players were lost to injuries. A quarterback from the football team had to assist with practices and coaches became players during practice sessions. 

Despite the adversity, the Seahawks defeated three higher-seeded teams to win the Northeast Conference Tournament. They outlasted a gritty Howard team for the right to play the tradition-rich North Carolina Tar Heels.

“First time here in 21 years being here and now to have the first NCAA Tournament victory in school history, it’s huge for the school, the program, and these guys that have gone through so much to continue to build and continue to write their own season,” Wagner head coach Donald Copeland said at Dayton. “I think it’s huge to get an NCAA win with everything that’s happened.”

Melvin Council Jr. had 21 points for the Seahawks, who shot 52.7 percent from the field and 47.1 percent from 3-point range, while Howard made 38.6 percent from the field and 29.2 percent from long distance. Mr. Council was among three Seahawks to play all 40 minutes.

“Having seven players, I would imagine some places might come to the gym and go through the motions,” Mr. Copeland said. “We never did that. We prepared the right way. We expected to win even when we did lose. It speaks volumes of our culture. It speaks to the kids I have to push forward and live out a dream of playing in the NCAA Tournament and winning one. You couldn’t ask for anything more than that.”

Mr. Council, a 6-4 junior from Rochester, said that playing with just seven players is a mindset. “We preach toughness every day,” he said. “The only thing we say is we don’t want to go to overtime.”

Meanwhile, Saint Peter’s returns to the NCAA Tournament two years after its Cinderella journey to the Elite Eight. The Peacocks were a 15th seed in 2022 but defeated Kentucky, Murray State, and top-seeded Purdue to become a national sensation and reaching the Elite Eight. They appear to be headed down the same path this year.

Saint Peter’s entered the MAAC Tournament at Atlantic City as the fifth seed and won three games in as many days to earn the school’s fifth NCAA Tournament bid.  

“It’s incredible,” Mr. Mason said. “I’m happy. I’m proud of this group and we can call ourselves champions now.”

Don’t be surprised if one of these two teams advances and becomes this year’s Cinderella. The Princeton Tigers reached the Elite Eight last season, and Fairleigh-Dickinson University, at Teaneck, won two games as a 16 seed, including a victory over top-seeded Purdue.

Wagner, whose only other tournament appearance was in 2003, hopes to be that Cinderella team by beating North Carolina in North Carolina. “We’ve gotten better,” Mr. Copeland said. “All of us did throughout this moment of having seven (players). It’s not ideal. But the culture is in place. I coach that in everything we do and I think that gives us a chance.”

North Carolina coach Hubert Davis insists that the Tar Heels aren’t taking the Seahawks lightly. “Wagner has our full attention because they are deserving of having our full attention,” Mr. Davis said at Charlotte, “and we’re excited about the challenge of playing a good Wagner team.”