For the first time in school history, the Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball team will play in the NCAA tournament. On Sunday evening, the tournament bracket was unveiled, and Chicago's Big Ten team and its fans went nuts when they heard the news.
Finally, Northwestern has its name called. The Wildcats will dance. pic.twitter.com/y0PMTlAvdw
— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) March 12, 2017
Northwestern was selected as the No. 8 seed in the West Region, meaning it will play No. 9 seed Vanderbilt in the first round of the tournament. The winner of that game, which is scheduled for Thursday at 3:30pm, will go on to play the winner of the matchup between No. 1 seed Gonzaga and No. 16 seed South Dakota State.
The Wildcats’ first NCAA tournament bid comes on the heels of a remarkable 23-11 season. Northwestern went 10-8 in the Big Ten, with wins against Dayton, Maryland, Michigan, Wake Forest and Wisconsin (all teams that also made the NCAA tournament).
Although the Wildcats are excited about their first trip to college basketball's biggest tournament, the team is hoping to continue its stellar season beyond Thursday. And to remind fans it’s time to get fired up, Northwestern put together this short promo ahead of the contest.
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