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Northwestern Basketball: 2019-20 season preview for Wildcats

By Jacob Shames

EAST LANSING, MI - JANUARY 02: Pete Nance #22 of the Northwestern Wildcats during a game against the Michigan State Spartans in the second half at Breslin Center on January 2, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - JANUARY 02: Pete Nance #22 of the Northwestern Wildcats during a game against the Michigan State Spartans in the second half at Breslin Center on January 2, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
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FULLERTON, CA – NOVEMBER 25: Northwestern Wildcats players huddle during a time out in the second half of the game against the Utah Utes during the Wooden Legacy Tournament at Titan Gym on November 25, 2018 in Fullerton, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
FULLERTON, CA – NOVEMBER 25: Northwestern Wildcats players huddle during a time out in the second half of the game against the Utah Utes during the Wooden Legacy Tournament at Titan Gym on November 25, 2018 in Fullerton, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /

Non-conference slate

Nov. 8 (H) Merrimack

Nov. 13 (H) Providence

Nov. 19 (H) Radford

Nov. 22 (H) Norfolk State

Nov. 25 (N) Bradley (Fort Myers Tip-Off)

Nov. 27 (N) Kansas State or Pittsburgh (Fort Myers Tip-Off)

Dec. 3 (A) Boston College (Big Ten-ACC Challenge)

Dec. 15 (H) SIU-Edwardsville

Dec. 21 (A) DePaul

Dec. 29 (H) Hartford

This is exactly the schedule that you want if you won 13 games a season ago and your top three scorers graduated. The Wildcats aren’t guaranteed to see a team that ranked higher than 79th in KenPom last season and play only one true road game if you don’t count the drive from Evanston to Chicago.

Northwestern’s toughest guaranteed test is probably against Providence, which returns its three leading scorers, but it will either touch down in Florida at 4-0 or 3-1. Assuming the Wildcats beat Bradley, they will get either an intriguing matchup against an ascending Pittsburgh team or a battle with a new-look Kansas State that has to replace three key seniors.

Trips to Boston College and DePaul are probably toss-ups, but if Northwestern wins the games it should definitely win and at least keeps it competitive in every other context, that’d make the non-conference portion a success.

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