Northwestern Makes NCAA Tournament for First Time Ever

EVANSTON, IL - At long last, the Northwestern University men's basketball team has made the NCAA Tournament.

"Northwestern" appeared across the screen for the first time ever on Selection Sunday when the NCAA revealed its Field of 68 for the Men's Basketball "March Madness" tournament.

The Wildcats earned a No. 8 seed in the West Region and will play Vanderbilt University, the No. 9 seed, in its first game. The game will be played on Thursday in Salt Lake City. Game time remains to be announced.

If Northwestern wins against Vanderbilt, they will advance to the next round and play against the winner of Thursday's match-up between No. 1 seed Gonzaga and No. 16 seed South Dakota State.

There wasn't much drama in terms of whether Northwestern would be selected on Sunday. The Wildcats earned their "lock" spot in the tournament with a 20-plus win regular season and advancing to the Big 10 Tournament semifinals for the first time ever.

A crowd of hundreds gathered at Welsh-Ryan Arena for the final time before a massive renovation to celebrate a moment the school has been waiting for since the modern college basketball tournament format began in 1939.

READ MORE: Northwestern Basketball Team On Verge of 1st NCAA Tournament Ever

The Northwestern University athletic department live streamed the rally on Facebook. Relive the moment as the team and fans at the arena heard the moment they were selected below.

File photo