Fans cheer Northeastern men’s basketball team as it returns to Boston campus ahead of NCAA tournament

Shawn Occeus, a junior guard on the Northeastern men’s basketball team, returns to the university’s Boston campus Wednesday hoisting the team’s Colonial Athletic Association trophy. The Huskies defeated Hofstra for a shot at the NCAA Tournament. Photo by Adam Glanzman/Northeastern University

There is no such thing as too much cowbell—at least, not when the NCAA-Tournament-bound Huskies are back in town.

The Northeastern men’s basketball team, fresh off punching a ticket to March Madness in Tuesday night’s win over Hofstra in North Charleston, South Carolina, was welcomed back to the Boston campus by a cheering, chanting, cowbell-ringing crowd of fans.

The second-seeded Huskies clinched their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2015 with an 82-74 win over top-seeded Hofstra in the Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball final.

Sophomore guard Myles Franklin stepped off the bus Wednesday with the CAA trophy hoisted overhead, prompting a celebratory roar from the nearly 100 fans—students, faculty, and staff—gathered on Forsyth Street to welcome the team home.

“This is all our hard work, paying off,” Franklin said, nodding toward the trophy. “It’s got a nice weight to it.”

Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun cheered the players as they walked off the bus by shaking their hands and offering congratulations.

Ashaley Ashley, a Northeastern student studying finance, was among those gathered Wednesday. He and his 12-year-old brother, Alijah, had watched the game Tuesday night and were eager to congratulate the Huskies in person.

“It was a nail biter,” Ashley said of the CAA final. “I’m really excited for the team.”

Senior center Anthony Green wears Tuesday’s CAA Tournament net at a rally to welcome back the team. Photo by Adam Glanzman/Northeastern University

Henry Mack, studying bioengineering at Northeastern, said he was “excited to celebrate with the rest of the school” after a series of big wins in the last week for several Northeastern athletic teams.

The women’s hockey team defeated Boston College in overtime Sunday, taking the Hockey East Championship for the second straight season.

The men’s hockey team, fresh off a recent Beanpot victory, is in the midst of the Hockey East Tournament, with an eye on the quarterfinals starting March 15.

“It’s been a great week to be a Husky,” Mack said.

On Sunday, Northeastern men’s basketball will learn of its seeding, bracket, and region in the 68-team field of college basketball’s ultimate single-elimination tournament.

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