To quote the Colby Athletics website: “The #1 ranked team in the country is really good.”

On Feb. 15, the Wesleyan men’s basketball team made history, becoming the first team in NESCAC history to complete an undefeated regular season. 

This accomplishment did not come easily, as the Cards faced some of their toughest competition in the last five games of the season, beginning with no. 9 nationally ranked Tufts on Friday, Jan. 31 in the Cards’ first home game since the start of the spring semester.

“We wanted to go into that game—and it’s kind of weird because we were no. 1—with something to prove,” guard Jackson Cormier ’26 said. “We lost to Tufts in overtime last year, so we owed them a game. But also, there’s still some teams around the NESCAC that didn’t know whether or not we were serious. So we went into that game trying to prove that we are the best team in the country.”

Tufts started hot, taking a 9–2 lead just four minutes into the game. The Cards quickly responded with seven points of their own to tie the score 9–9, with five of those points coming from Oscar Edelman ’28. The two teams continued to trade leads throughout the first half, with the Jumbos capitalizing on a 12–2 run to assume a 31–26 lead with just two minutes remaining in the half. The Cards worked quickly to make up the deficit but ultimately came up short, finding themselves trailing 36–32 at the half.    

“We knew they were a good team and it was gonna be close,” captain and guard Nicky Johnson ’25 said. “We felt like we left a few points up to them. We turned it over in some critical positions that gave them some free baskets. So we knew [we had to] clean that up. Our shots weren’t falling in the first half, too. So if we just continue[d] to get good ones and play the game we play, this game […] [would] be fine.”

The Jumbos held onto their lead at the start of the half until Johnson hit two three-point shots to finally give Wes a lead. But Tufts would not go quietly. After trading back-and-forth for five minutes, they pulled ahead of the Cards 56–51. With four minutes to go, Cormier netted a game-tying layup to make the score an even 59–59. But two more scores by Tufts allowed the Jumbos to maintain the lead until, with 1:40 remaining, captain and guard Shane Regan ’25 hit a jump shot to assume a 62–61 lead. From then on, it was all Wes. Forward Fritz Hauser ’26, guard Sam Pohlman ’26, Johnson, and Regan all hit free throws as Tufts tried to play the foul game but came up empty. With a final score of 69–63, the Red and Black tacked on another win to bring their record to 20–0 for the year. 

Feb. 1 was Senior Night for the Cards, and Conn. College came to town looking to spoil the fun. Wes started five seniors, with guards Philip Park ’25, Jacob Pofsky ’25, and Jared Langs ’25 getting the nod alongside Johnson and Regan. The class of 2025 came out firing, with two quick threes from Park, a layup and two free throws from Langs, and a three from Pofsky. The score was close with five minutes to go in the half, but Wes closed well and led 37–27 going into the break.

The Cards held the lead as Pohlman went off, scoring 12 of the Cards’ 14 points for the middle ten minutes of the half. As the final few minutes ticked down, the Cards were able to balloon their lead to 20, allowing the seniors to come back in for one more run. They made the most of it; Park hit another three and Langs finished the scoring with a jam to put the cherry on a 74–54 win over the Camels. Pohlman finished with 18 points on a ridiculous 8/10 shooting and Park, Langs, and Pofsky combined to score 18 on 6 for 7 from the field, making the most of their night.

“We had the privilege of playing Phil [Park], Jacob Pofsky, and Jared Langs, who haven’t been able to get much playing time this year,” Regan said. “They’ve been working really hard in practice. And they got their opportunity and capitalized on it. So it was a really cool moment for us.”

On Feb. 8, the Cards made the trek up to Lewiston, Maine to take on Bates. Although the Bobcats were one of the lower teams in the NESCAC, Wes knew they had to take the game seriously.

“Our whole mindset was: These guys are dangerous,” Johnson said. “If you look at some of their scores, they’ve lost by single digits to tough teams, so the ball didn’t fall their way a lot of times. It was their senior day, a lot of people at the game, and it’s a long trip. So you just gotta be mentally tough.”

The Cards started well, scoring nine straight to start the game. While Bates threatened, Wes held on and went into halftime up 42–31. Defense played a big role in the first half as the Cards held the Bobcats to 1 for 11 on triples and forced 9 turnovers over the first 20 minutes. The Cards held their lead, but it remained a two- or three-possession game. With 42 seconds left, the Bobcats hit a layup to cut the Cards’ lead to 2—and after a Johnson miss, Bates hit a contested midrange jumper to tie the score at 58 and send the Cards into their first overtime of the season.

“[Bates] hit the baseline jump shot [for the tie]; we celebrated,” Ben Lyttle ’27 said. “And they’re looking at us like, ‘Why are you celebrating? We just played our best game against you, and you’re celebrating that we’re in overtime.’ But we’re like, ‘We get more basketball and we get to put them away.’”

They did just that. Regan poured in four quick points, and six clutch free throws from Cormier and Johnson shut the door as the Bobcats tried unsuccessfully to claw their way back. The Cards won the battle 73–67, improving to 22–0 and 8–0 in-conference.

On Valentine’s Day, the Cards made the romantic journey up to Brunswick, Maine to face the Bowdoin Polar Bears. After a slow start, the Red and Black regained their momentum, snatching the lead from the Polar Bears with 14 minutes to go in the first half and never looking back. They managed to extend their lead to 16 heading into the half, but Bowdoin fought back valiantly.

The Polar Bears came out of the half firing from three, shooting nearly 60% from deep. Catching the Cards off guard, Bowdoin cut the lead down to five after five minutes of second half action. The Red and Black did not waver, though, as back-to-back buckets from Regan and Josh Cameron ’27 put Wes back on track. After maintaining about a 10-point lead for the next 10 minutes, the Cards squandered the Polar Bears’ chance at a comeback, opening up their lead to as much as 19 and finishing the game with a 74–63 victory. 

Johnson noted that getting off to a fast start and making key defensive stops has helped the team improve from last season. 

“It’s like a tale of two seasons,” Johnson said. “Last year, we were always starting out slow, and we would have these big deficits and [were] trying to claw back and cut the lead down. This year, there is a strong point of emphasis: Let’s execute very early and very often, and then let’s get stops early, because that’s what really builds up your momentum, and that’s what gives people the confidence to play your game.”

With one game to go, the Cards stayed the night in Maine and prepared to face Colby on Feb. 15. While the pressure of finishing the regular season undefeated was certainly present, the team made sure to maintain a balance between excitement and calm.

“[We] treat every game the same,” Cormier said. “We have a saying: ‘The next game is the most important one.’ So Colby was the most important game, and we prepared for it like it was…it was a goal of everybody on the team: an undefeated season. It was on everyone’s mind, and our coach didn’t want it to not be…while it doesn’t mean a ton since it’s a regular season accomplishment—we have bigger goals than that—it’s special for the group and something that we can celebrate with each other.”

Led by a 16-point, 3-steal performance from Johnson and 16 points off the bench from Edelman, the Cards dominated the Mules from start to finish. They held a 16-point lead at the half, shooting 50% from beyond the arc and limiting Colby to 35% shooting at large. They extended their lead even more in the second half and cruised to their final regular season win. At 24–0, the Cardinals became the first team in NESCAC history to have an undefeated regular season. But according to Lyttle, that was only the beginning.

“It was cool to be the first team in NESCAC history to go undefeated, and I’m happy to be a part of that program,” Lyttle said. “But now we’re 0–0, and just as Bates was able to have a great game against us, everyone’s gonna have their best against us now. So we need to have our best game against them. But we gotta keep stacking.”

As the no. 1 seed in the NESCAC Tournament, the Cards will host no. 8 seed Amherst this Saturday at 2 p.m. in Silloway Gymnasium. The teams have faced off twice this year already, with the Cards coming out on top both times. But the team knows this victory is far from a given.

“We’re very confident going into this weekend,” Regan said. “We know it’s gonna be a hard grind-it-out game and we’ll definitely be ready for what Amherst brings. It’s very hard to beat a team three times in a row. But we feel like we have the personnel to get away with the win. We also know we’re gonna have the crowd behind us. It’s gonna be a good environment. So we’re excited.”

Erin Byerly can be reached at ebyerly@wesleyan.edu.

Ethan Lee can be reached at ejlee@wesleyan.edu.

Max Forstein can be reached at mforstein@wesleyan.edu.