Northwestern Basketball on Verge of Ending Long NCAA Tournament Drought

EVANSTON, IL - Just months after Chicagoland celebrated the end of the most well-known sports drought of all-time, another one in the area is likely coming to an end. As bizarre as it was for the Chicago Cubs to go 108 years without winning the World Series (finally erasing that "curse" in 2016), it's arguably even more puzzling to look at the history of the Northwestern University men's basketball team.

The team has never qualified for the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats have never gone dancing, never been a part of the "March Madness" fun that has encompassed the nation since 1939, although they have played in the Big Ten, a major conference the entire time. The conference has produced 291 tournament bids since 1939, and every other charter member has made it at least 10 times.

Year after year, Northwestern has found a way to miss out on a tournament that is getting easier and easier to make. The field went from 32 to 64 decades ago and is now at 68. Almost always, Northwestern isn't even in the discussion when it comes to the tournament "bubble."

But the 2016-17 season has been different. Early season wins over ranked teams and an above .500 mark in the Big Ten has caused the continued discussion of Northwestern possibly getting the nod this year.

That possibility turned into reality Wednesday night when the team beat Michigan in a last-second thriller. At 21-9 overall, all well-known college basketball analysts have the Wildcats locked in to the tournament. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi currently has Northwestern as a No. 9 seed. Well above the realm of "last four in."

The last-second play that all but clinched the tournament appearance will go down as one of the best moments in the school's athletic history.

Tied at 65 with 1.7 seconds left and a full-court to go, a long pass from Nate Taphorn to Derek Pardon ended with Pardon laying it up as time expired. It gave the Cats the win, a likely tournament berth and sent Welsh-Ryan Arena in an uproar in its penultimate game before an extensive renovation. Fans stormed the court in what served as kickoff to a purple party that will come to a peak when Selection Sunday comes on March 12.

WATCH IT AGAIN: Northwestern's Game Winner and Fans Reaction

It has been called the "greatest play in Northwestern basketball history." And no one has disagreed.

The greatest play in #Northwestern basketball history. @NUMensBball @NU_Sports pic.twitter.com/WWkUAKGEr9
— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) March 2, 2017

Wednesday night's win is the latest example of long sports droughts ending with dramatic moments.

In 2004 the Boston Red Sox ended their 86-year World Series drought by erasing a 3-0 series deficit against their arch-rival New York Yankees, who were coming off a dynasty at the time.

The city of Cleveland erased its more than half-century championship drought last year when the Cavaliers became the first NBA team to erase a 3-1 series deficit in the NBA Finals.

And, of course, the Cubs ended the drought of droughts with a similar 3-1 comeback in the 2016 World Series.

The Cats tournament berth won't officially come until March 12, but it's hard to imagine a scenario in which they aren't among the final 68 teams.

With the regular season finale coming up Sunday against conference champion Purdue, it's unlikely the team's chances will be hurt even with a loss then. And even a possible first-round exit in the Big Ten Tournament is unlikely to derail this tourney train.

Former Northwestern player Shon Morris described the fans' long yearning for the tournament in a February article from The Ringer.

He said he doesn’t actually need to watch Northwestern play in the NCAA tournament, because “if I see the name ‘Northwestern’ come across the screen on Selection Sunday, I can get hit by a bus on Monday morning.”

The article itself also describes the feeling of many longtime Northwestern fans.

"We just want the Wildcats to make a tournament with 67 other teams, one that typically includes around eight from Northwestern’s own conference. For as long as we have loved the Wildcats, we have merely wanted them to be decent. We don’t need to have kids, get married, or even go on a second date. Just give us one dance, and we’ll happily remember it for the rest of our lives."

Patch File photo / Tim Moran