WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 10: Vic Law #4 of the Northwestern Wildcats celebrates in front of Jaylen Brantley #1 of the Maryland Terrapins during the closing seconds of their 72-64 win during the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at Verizon Center on March 10, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
NCAABBy Alex Putterman on

On Sunday night, the impossible happened: Northwestern officially earned a birth to the NCAA Tournament.

Since the NCAA Tournament was first played (on Northwestern’s campus, in fact) in 1939, the Wildcats have never earned a bid, making them the only major-conference school in the country with that ignominious distinction.

Not anymore.

After a 23-11 season, Northwestern has been awarded with a No. 8 seed, setting up Chris Collins’ team to play Vanderbilt in the first round on Thursday.

Over the last, oh, 78 years, there have been plenty of people who thought this would never happen. In a way, today is for them.

https://twitter.com/tjbeisner/status/312953492497121280

https://twitter.com/chrisdobbertean/status/7734198991

https://twitter.com/FlyHi5/status/177915671651418112

Next time you think about saying something will “never” happen, just remember, Donald Trump is president, the Cubs are defending World Series champions, and Northwestern is going to the NCAA Tournament.

About Alex Putterman

Alex is a writer and editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. He has written for The Atlantic, VICE Sports, MLB.com, SI.com and more. He is a proud alum of Northwestern University and The Daily Northwestern. You can find him on Twitter @AlexPutterman.

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