DAYTON, Ohio (97.1 The Ticket) -- North Dakota State beat North Carolina Central 78-74 Wednesday night in the First Four in Dayton, advancing to play No. 1 overall seed Duke in the Round of 64 on Friday in Columbia, South Carolina.
Behind 23 points from Tyson Ward, the Bison picked up their second ever NCAA Tournament win at the Division I level, one to go along with a 2014 upset of Oklahoma.
Tyson Ward delivered time after time for the Bison!The @NDSUmbb junior dropped 23pts in the #FirstFour W. #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/NziG0K8SRH
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 21, 2019Many on social media Wednesday night were quick to pick up on NDSU coach Dave Richman's comfortable, casual look on the sidelines -- a t-shirt under his blazer. While some people criticized his look (some thought it was a Harry Potter shirt, given the font), and called it "unprofessional," what many people did not realize was there's a story behind the t-shirt.
The shirt reads "Landon's Light," honoring an 11-year-old cancer patient from North Dakota named Landon Solberg, a die-hard NDSU football fan.
Solberg was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer last year and the NDSU football team rallied around him en route to their seventh FCS National Championship in eight years.
Solberg's form of cancer has a poor prognosis, with most patients only surviving one to two years, according to the story from Valley News back in January.
"It's hard to even describe the painful feeling that overcomes my body when hearing statistics such as this. It makes it difficult to even catch your breath," Solberg's mother told Valley News.
Richman followed the lead of the football teams and carried the support for Solberg into the NCAA Tournament and the #LandonsLight is popping up all over social media.
Gotta LOVE @CoachRichman with the #LandonsLight t-shirt in #MarchMadness. @NDSUmbb are class acts and they take the lead from their head coach! #BisonPride pic.twitter.com/qOBzJxelN0
— Justin Swanson (@SwanyND) March 20, 2019Expect to see more buzz about Solberg and Richman's t-shirt, as the Bison now take on the biggest brand in college basketball and the heavy favorites in the tournament on Friday.
