By Ben LarrisonThe Daily Northwestern
As the brackets appeared one by one on the screen, with regional teams like Western Illinois and Illinois-Chicago already in the tournament, Wildcats’ tension built.
So when the words ‘Northwestern’ and ‘Evanston, IL’ appeared, NU coach Tim Lenahan and his team let out a roar of excitement and relief.
They’re going to the NCAA tournament.
After spending the weekend waiting nervously on the bubble, NU (11-7) was awarded a spot in the tournament Monday. It was the second NCAA bid in program history for the Cats and the first since 2004.
“I feel like we got a second chance,” senior Gerardo Alvarez said. “There are some other good teams that were left out, and we got a second chance and we want to make the best of it.”
In the first round, the Cats will take on Cincinnati (11-5-2) Friday in Evanston. The Bearcats, the Big East Red Division regular season champions, are making their third NCAA tournament appearance.
The winner of that game will go on to face the No. 11 seed St. Louis on November 15, a prospect that is particularly appealing to St. Louis-native David Roth, NU’s First Team All-Big Ten forward.
“Our season didn’t end the way we wanted it to,” Roth said. “But we get a second chance, and we’re definitely not taking that for granted. And we’re going to go whoop ’em in the NCAA tournament. We’re not afraid of any team. We’re going to go cause some chaos.”
Following a tough, 2-1 loss to Penn State in the opening round of the Big Ten tournament Thursday, NU knew it was far from a lock for NCAAs. But Lenahan – a former selection committee member – was confident that his team would receive an at-large bid, thanks to its high RPI and strong play within the Great Lakes region.
NU was No. 28 in the last RPI rankings, and Lenahan said teams in the top-30 tend to make the tournament. NU was also one of only two teams in its region, along with Big Ten champion Indiana, with four top-50 wins.
“I was a little nervous and anxious this whole weekend,” sophomore Carl Pett said. “A couple of games at the end of our season just slipped away, and the feel was a little down, but Coach had been confident this weekend. He told us he thought we’d get in. He was pretty sure, but there’s always that doubt in our minds, you know?”
Reach Ben Larrison at [email protected].
