Northern Kentucky University Earns 2017 NCAA Tournament Bid in 1st Year Eligible
Mar 7, 2017
Northern Kentucky players celebrate their 59-53 victory over Milwaukee after the Horizon League NCAA college basketball tournament championship game in Detroit, Tuesday, March 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
The Northern Kentucky Norse are going dancing.
Northern Kentucky earned a spot in the 2017 NCAA tournament Tuesday with a 59-53 victory over the Milwaukee Panthers in the Horizon League tournament championship game.
Rob Dauster of NBC Sports noted this was the first year the Norse were eligible for the Big Dance.
The team's official Twitter account shared the celebration:
Lavone Holland II spearheaded the effort Tuesday with 20 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block. Drew McDonald added a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Holland earned tournament MVP and was emotional afterward, as Joe Danneman of Fox 19 in Cincinnati captured:
Holland and McDonald were the only two Norse members to score in double figures Tuesday, but Northern Kentucky's defense set the tone. The Norse held the Panthers to 36.2 percent shooting from the field and 22.2 percent from three-point range while winning the battle of the boards, 38-30.
Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports juxtaposed Northern Kentucky's success in its first year of eligibility with Northwestern's historical failure to ever reach the Big Dance:
Northern Kentucky, dancing in first year eligible for the tourney. Norse to Northwestern: this ain't as hard as you guys have made it look.
Joe Lunardi of ESPN.com projected the Norse to land a No. 15 seed and a date with No. 2 Louisville in his latest Bracketology. Beating any No. 2 seed would be a daunting challenge, but Middle Tennessee did the seemingly impossible last year with a victory over the No. 2 Michigan State Spartans as a No. 15 seed.
In 2013, Florida Gulf Coast advanced all the way to the Sweet 16 as a No. 15 seed with wins over No. 2 Georgetown and No. 7 San Diego State.
Northern Kentucky is battle-tested considering it played Illinois and West Virginia during the season, although it lost to both by double digits. The Norse team that will take the court in the NCAA tournament should have more confidence since it is riding a six-game winning streak and has won 10 of its last 11 games.
