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Northwestern Wildcats Basketball: Is 2015-16 Finally the Year For the Northwestern Wildcats?

By Matt Johnson

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Is this finally the year for Northwestern? It’s a question that always seems to rear its head when discussing Big Ten basketball.

With more than a month of action under our collective belts, we’re asking the same thing again. Can the Northwestern Wildcats really breakthrough to that elusive first NCAA Tournament appearance?

The best answer could be to simply ask why not?

After all, the Big 10 has hardly put a stamp of authority on their collective non-conference exploits in 2015-16. Rather, conference members have produced the kind of non-league results that cause gray hairs in coaches and depression in fan bases.

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For Indiana, it was a loss to Wake Forest in Maui. For Michigan, it was a 16-point loss to Xavier and a 24-point beat-down against SMU. For Illinois, it’s been defeats against North Florida and Chattanooga. Minnesota has lost games to South Dakota and South Dakota State. Penn State got blasted by Duquesne. And even the ever-reliable Wisconsin Badgers have dropped games to Western Illinois and Milwaukee.

Does it all add up to a purple and white party come March? Naturally, it’s far too early to know. One thing is becoming clear however. With the Big 10 as wide-open as ever, the opportunity is there for coach Chris Collins and his Wildcats.

Northwestern has won eight of its nine games with an 11-point loss to North Carolina serving as the only blemish.

Michael Shroyer-USA TODAY Sports

They have posted hard-fought victories over the likes of Fairfield, Columbia, Missouri and Virginia Tech with notable blow outs of New Orleans, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and Chicago State sprinkled in for good measure.

Offensively, Collins’ up-tempo style has Northwestern averaging 78.4 points per game. The Wildcats are also shooting 48.7 percent from the field and better than 40 percent from three-point range.

Yet the question remains whether it will be enough. With just a few games separating the non-conference and conference slates, Collins and his team are about to find out.

Northwestern is currently ranked No. 54 in the RPI ratings and has received votes in both major polls. They also have the chance to improve to 9-1 with a win over Mississippi Valley State on Tuesday. After that, it’s dates with Chicago-land rivals DePaul, Sacred Heart and Loyola (Md.) before starting Big 10 play at Nebraska on Dec. 30.

Doubts always linger however. It’s an admittedly sad and tired mantra, but it’s also been Northwestern’s ongoing reality. Even when things appear to be going well, the threat of another NIT trip continually looms.

Thankfully, Chris Collins may have a team finally up to the task of breaking through.

In Tre Demps, Alex Olah and Sanjay Lumpkin, the Wildcats have more than enough upper-class leadership to carry the freight late in games. Add to that the emergence of sophomore Bryant McIntosh, and Northwestern suddenly has a nice balance of inside-outside production. If true freshman Aaron Falzon can help Olah, Lumpkin and Gavin Skelly on the boards, the Wildcats might be ready to give conference foes fits on a nightly basis.

Therein lies the rub for Northwestern. Can the Wildcats maintain consistency through a full Big Ten season? After all, this wouldn’t be the first time Northwestern has started fast only to fade upon entering league play.

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Whatever past pains may haunt Northwestern’s program, Collins’ team does appear to have the tools and experience necessary to make a run at the NCAA Tournament. But is this truly the year a combination of skill and savvy are enough to lift the Wildcats onto a much bigger stage come March?

Folks in Evanston will find out soon enough. Perhaps then Northwestern basketball will finally be able to answer the question of their first NCAA Tournament appearance once and for all.

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