Big Ten Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2019-20 season

By Adam Childs | Sep 5, 2019

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MARCH 17: Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany presents head coach Tom Izzo the championship trophy after the Michigan State Spartans beat the Michigan Wolverines 65-60 in the championship game of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at the United Center on March 17, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

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EVANSTON, IL – DECEMBER 04: Head coach Chris Collins of the Northwestern Wildcats yells to his team as they go on defense in the game against the Michigan Wolverines in the second half at Welsh-Ryan Arena on December 4, 2018 in Evanston, Illinois. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /

14. Northwestern

It’s hard to believe that Northwestern is just two years removed from their first NCAA tournament appearance. Last year the Wildcats went just 13-19 that included a bad ten-game losing streak. They came close against some teams but didn’t beat anybody that would have been considered good last year. Their best win was against Ohio State late in the season, but nobody was going to confuse the Buckeyes for a great team.

The Wildcats, who didn’t score much last year, will have to find a way to replace the only two guys that averaged in double figures last year. Gone are both Vic Law and Derek Pardon and with it might be the chances the Wildcats had at competing in the competitive Big Ten.

Chris Collins has done a pretty good job at Northwestern and was the one to lead the Wildcats to their first-ever tournament appearance, but he has a huge mountain to climb this year. There is no much talent on paper this year in Evanston and with a team the struggled to score last year that isn’t a great recipe.

The Wildcats will probably continue to slow the game down and make teams grind games out. That may be enough to steal a couple of games, but not enough to be much of a threat. If they win more than 5 games in the Big Ten it would be a shock.

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