Jacob Tucker went viral with his video and rode that momentum all the way to the slam dunk contest. Illinois College athletics photo

Illinois College’s Jacob Tucker won the Facebook fan vote to nab the lone non-Division I roster spot in the 23rd annual State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships, Intersport announced today. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. CT Thursday in Hofheinz Pavilion on the University of Houston campus and will premiere at 9 p.m. ET Thursday on ESPN2.

Tucker, a 5-11 guard for the Blue Boys, is a YouTube sensation with more than 2.5 million views of his highlight video. He defeated Larriques (Rico) Cunningham from NAIA member Lee University (Tenn.) by securing 88 percent of the Facebook fan vote.

“Obviously I’m really excited because this is the main thing I wanted to do out of everything that’s happened,” Tucker said. “Rico is a great athlete and a great dunker. I saw some of his in-game dunks before I ever even went up against him in the online vote. I wish him the best.”

The last Division III player to compete was Horace Jenkins, a three-time D3hoops.com All-America selection for William Paterson who took part in the 2001 event.

Tucker will compete against seven other players: Gilbert Brown, Pittsburgh; Justin Burrell, St. John’s; Will Coleman, Memphis; Justin Tubbs, East Tennessee State; Billy White, San Diego State; Darnell Wilks, Cincinnati; and John Williams, UNC Asheville.

The five judges for the Denny’s Slam Dunk Championship: Hall of Famer and second-leading scorer in NBA history Karl Malone; Hall of Famer and former Houston Rocket Calvin Murphy; 2008 first-round NBA draft pick and Houston Rocket Courtney Lee; former Kentucky standout, current Houston Rocket and 2005 College Slam Dunk participant Chuck Hayes; and two-time Pro Bowl participant and former Defensive Rookie of the Year, Houston Texan DeMeco Ryans.

The ESPN broadcast team includes Dan Dakich, Jimmy Dykes, Brad Nessler and Holly Rowe.