Big Ten Basketball: Way-too-early power rankings for 2020-21 season

Northwestern was very bad last season (though they did beat Providence early in the season and Penn State in the regular-season finale) and there’s nothing that signals a significant turnaround on the horizon.

Their 8-23 record was the program’s worst since they went 8-22 in 2007-08, which former head coach Bill Carmody was able to follow-up with four consecutive NIT appearances. Though Chris Collins led the Wildcats to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance – and got their first-ever NCAA Tournament win – in 2017, I don’t see them getting much better.

Northwestern loses Pat Spencer, who led them in assists and steals while also finishing second on the team in points, and AJ Turner, and don’t have the kind of incoming recruiting class that will adequately replace those losses.

What they do have, however, is a budding young star in Boo Buie who, along with having a great name, flashed some immense potential as a freshman. He needs to become a much more efficient scorer, particularly from three-point range, but the ability is there (as shown by his 26-point performance against Michigan State).

Sophomores Pete Nance and Miller Kopp, last season’s leading scorer, are expected to improve as well along with freshmen Robbie Beran, Jared Jones, and Ryan Young. But this group has such a long way to go that they can improve significantly and still finish in the conference’s basement.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Collins this coming season. He does have that NCAA Tournament appearance and victory on his resume and he will forever be linked with Northwestern because of that, yet the program has gradually worsened each season since. A bounce-back season is needed for him to feel comfortable about his job moving forward.