The University of North Dakota is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the school's history.

The drought really hasn't been all that long though. The Fighting Hawks were playing Division II basketball up until the 2008-2009 season when they joined the Great West Conference. They joined the Big Sky Conference at the start of the 2012-2013 season.


Head Coach Brian Jones is in his 11th year leading the Fighting Hawks.

UND finished 22-9 overall this season and had a 14-4 conference record. The Fighting Hawks earned themselves a No. 1 seed in the Big Sky Tournament where they went on to defeat Portland State, Idaho and finally Weber State on Saturday night.

It was announced Sunday evening on CBS that North Dakota will play the Arizona Wildcats in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Of course with North Dakota being just a 15 seed and Arizona being a 2 seed, expectations nationwide are not high for the Fighting Hawks' first trip to the 'Big Dance.'

It puts UND in prime position to be 2017's Cinderella Team.

The game will take place on Thursday, March 16th in Salt Lake City, Utah. The game will begin at 8:50 CT on TBS. You can also stream the game online here.

Don't forget to fill out your bracket for free in our Million Dollar Bracket Challenge brought to you by Sickie's Garage.

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