A roar went up in the crowd when the ref signaled Northwestern ball. Out of bounds on Michigan, with 1.7 seconds to play.

Senior Forward Nathan Taphorn hurled a hail mary full court pass (and word on the street is the local pro football team could use a quarterback) that was caught by Sophomore Center Dererk Pardon.

He finished it. And they were dancing in Evanston.

The win over the Wolverines all but assured the Wildcats an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament, and on Sunday, it was sealed. They claimed the 8 seed in the West region, Northwestern’s first March Madness bid since the program opened in 1901.

“It was pure excitement. Especially to come after the Indiana game where we knew we let one slip away,” said Freshman Guard Tino Malnati, a New Trier graduate who was redshirted this year.

“We had to win the Michigan game and it happened on such an incredible play,” he said.

The team finished with a record of 23-11, led by Pardon, Junior Point Guard Bryant McIntosh, Junior Guard Scottie Lindsey, and Sophomore forward Vic Law. After losing their last regular season game to Purdue, they made waves in the Big Ten tournament by easily defeating Rutgers and pulling off an upset against Maryland, defeating them 72-64.

Wisconsin brought them back to earth by eliminating them from the Conference tournament, but they still go into the Big Dance with some confidence, as Malnati articulates.

“Going into the season we were confident on what we could accomplish. We knew we had the talent and ability to have a record breaking season and we continue to strive to be different. Even though many people projected us to finish low in the conference, that just motivated us to prove everyone wrong,” he said.

Proving people wrong is something the Cats will have to do. They had a tough matchup against the Vanderbilt Commodores in the round of 64 (the game was played after this was written and before it was published), and if they got past that, they’ll have to face #1 seeded Gonzaga this weekend.

But make no mistake, Northwestern fans are dreaming big. Jim Nantz, a basketball (among other sports) announcer called the team “the biggest story in college basketball,” and that only added fuel to the fire.

Northwestern is making waves among the basketball staff at New Trier, especially with an alum on the team.

“Northwestern has had a great season and deserves to be in the NCAA Tournament. Northwestern players had a lot of pressure on them towards the end of the season and they responded really well. Their point guard (McIntosh) has done a great job the entire season,” said basketball head coach Scott Fricke.

Another coach, Andy Horne, was even more excited. “For me it’s personally special because my mom went to Northwestern and I was a ballboy for the basketball team in the early 90’s, and I’ve lived and died Northwestern basketball so to actually see them make it to this level has been really exciting for me to just watch, on a personal level,” Horne said.

Aside from loving the success of the team, both coaches are proud of their former player Malnati for making it to the collegiate ranks.

“What an honor to be a part of a team that has made history. Tino made great decisions for us last year. He was a team first guy. He had good size for a point guard and is a very capable scorer.”

Horne took it a step further, saying Malnati was one of the smartest basketball players he’s coached.

“He really blossomed into a solid Varsity player, and he’s still got a lot of growing physically still left in him.”

Malnati, like the rest of the team, knows what they’re capable of as they get set to take on March Madness. However, they know to just take it one game at a time.

“It’s really exciting and such a cool thing, but you have to stay focused on what’s in front of you,” he said. “Every game from here on out is win or go home so you have to be ready for a battle every time you take the floor.”