Northwestern celebrating end of NCAA drought

INDIANAPOLIS >> Northwestern’s agonizing wait went down to the wire.

All those forgettable moments and tantalizing teases over the previous 77 seasons were cast aside Sunday as the Wildcats celebrated their first NCAA Tournament bid when the final section of the bracket was revealed. By earning the No. 8 seed in the West Region, Northwestern will face ninth-seeded Vanderbilt on Thursday in Salt Lake City.

Northwestern ceded the title of having the longest tourney drought among power-five conference schools to Rutgers by becoming one of five first-time entrants in the 68-team field — the most since the field expanded to 40 in 1979.

The immediate reaction inside Welsh-Ryan Arena included fists pumping, fans cheering and band members spilling onto the court. Outside the arena, the celebration included Twitter posts from notable alums including actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus .

“To see all of this, it gets you emotional because these are the things we all dreamed of,” coach Chris Collins said. “To see the guys very emotional before we came out, this has meant a lot to them and it’s something we put a lot into, and just a really special day. You don’t get many chances in life in anything to be a part of something historical, things that have never ever been done.”

Before Collins arrived in 2013-14, moments like this one seemed as implausible as the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series.

Now, in a five-month span, both droughts are over thanks largely to men who insisted players believe.

In Collins’ case, he instilled such a strong sense of purpose that his players already were donning T-shirts that read “Northwestern” on one line and “March into April” on the other.