Northwestern basketball has a lot of things going for it. A solid track record that features wins over six other NCAA Tournament teams. A strong inside-out game anchored by guards Bryant McIntosh and Scottie Lindsey. An academic track record that certainly won’t be mentioned ad infinitum on Thursday’s TBS broadcast.
Also, as a team making its first tournament appearance in program history, the Wildcats already feel like they’ve locked in Cinderella status. Northwestern will have the weird, un-quantifiable asset of March mojo on its side when it faces a streaking Vanderbilt team in the first round of the Big Dance.