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Northwestern Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Wildcats

By Austin Walther

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MARCH 18: The Northwestern Wildcats mascot performs against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the second round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 18, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MARCH 18: The Northwestern Wildcats mascot performs against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the second round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 18, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images) /
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SALT LAKE CITY, UT – MARCH 18: Head coach Chris Collins of the Northwestern Wildcats argues with the official against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the second round of the 2017 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 18, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – MARCH 18: Head coach Chris Collins of the Northwestern Wildcats argues with the official against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the second round of the 2017 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 18, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Top Non-Conference Games for the Wildcats

11/22/18-11/25/18: Fresno State, La Salle/Miami (Also included: Seton Hall, Grand Canyon, Hawaii, Utah) (Wooden Legacy)

11/28/18: vs. Georgia Tech (ACC/Big Ten Challenge)

12/21/18: vs. Oklahoma

Northwestern does not have the best looking non-conference schedule. Those are the only teams worth noting. The first three games are cupcakes. Even though the Wildcats are projected to finish near the bottom of the Big Ten, they should all be easy enough.

Then it’s on to their early season Tournament representing the Big Ten. Celebrating John Wooden is a wonderful thing. But the teams don’t seem as high as other Tournaments.

Fresno State is returning their two leading scorers from a year ago but lost their next four guys to graduation. I would think it would be a nice win for Northwestern. It would be nice for this team to get a win in a Tournament. More than likely they’ll see Miami next. The Hurricanes will be a bubble teams this season, but the talent is still there to be competitive in this Tournament.

I’m going to project Seton Hall to come out of the bottom half of the bracket to face Miami in the Championship. Utah should beat Hawaii. The Utes lost quite a bit, but they always find a way to be strong. Going 1-2 in an early-season tournament isn’t bad for Northwestern.

Georgia Tech had a really strong top-four. Josh Okogie received All ACC honors for both preseason and postseason. But he’s gone along with three others. It should be a very evenly matched game between the Yellow Jackets and Wildcats. There isn’t much to warrant that Georgia Tech will be any better this year after only winning 13 games last season.

Speaking of losing some high energy guys, Oklahoma lost basically their whole team from a year ago. The Sooners went on such a skid that even Trae Young averaging 27 points per game almost wasn’t enough. They lost a couple to transferring and things don’t seem that well for Oklahoma.

This will actually be another decent matchup for Northwestern. The Wildcats aren’t going to be terrible. They have three solid guys who can really score the ball. But I don’t know if that can translate to defeating other power-conference teams.

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