Last year, the Northwestern Wildcats went to the NCAA Tournament for the first time. This year, they’re in danger of missing it altogether.
The time for feeling good in Evanston has expired. The Northwestern Wildcats did the previously unthinkable last season and booked a trip to the Big Dance.
This season, they were expected to go further. Instead, they likely will be going nowhere at all.
Northwestern is just 14-10 this season, including 5-6 in Big Ten play. While that doesn’t have to be a death knell for the team’s bubble hopes, non-conference play didn’t help the team advance their chances.
The Wildcats took care of business against the opponents they were expected to, though that includes the likes of the Division II Lewis Flyers and 2-23 Chicago State Cougars. Whenever they faced moderate challenges, they were wrecked.
Creighton and Georgia Tech beat Northwestern by a combined five points. Oklahoma and Texas Tech, on the other hand, won by a combined 62 points. Against the best their non-conference slate had to offer, Northwestern embarrassed themselves.
In conference play, things haven’t gone much better. The Wildcats haven’t notched a single victory over a AP Top 25 opponent yet. Their conference wins came against Illinois, Minnesota, Penn State, at Minnesota, and at Wisconsin; of those teams, only Penn State has a .500 conference record (and more than three conference wins).
Meanwhile, they’ve lost games at Penn State and Indiana by a combined 35 points.
Unsurprisingly, their RPI stands at an unimpressive 99.
In a weakened Big Ten, there are opportunities to push the conference record past the current 5-6 mess. Wins against Iowa, Wisconsin, and Rutgers seem like knockout opportunities.
But there are only two remaining chances at signature wins during the regular season: Tuesday against Michigan and February 17 against Michigan State.
In other words, without a run through the Big Ten Tournament, the Northwestern Wildcats likely won’t book a return trip to the NCAA Tournament.