Years upon years, decades upon decades, had passed without Northwestern’s reaching the N.C.A.A. tournament. So when the Wildcats finally — finally — advanced this year, their coach, Chris Collins, shared a dose of perspective with his players.
“I mean, how many times in any of our lives do you get a chance to do something historical — that has never, ever been done?” Collins said.
For these Wildcats, the answer, now, is two. Because four days after they shed the ignominy of being one of only five original Division I teams never to have earned a berth in the field, Northwestern claimed its first victory.