Big Ten Basketball: Way-too-early power rankings for 2021-22 season

Northwestern had a weird 2020-21 season. They upset Michigan State, Indiana, and Ohio State to open up their Big Ten schedule, got ranked in the top 25, and then proceeded to lose 13 straight games. They then won three of their last four to end the year.

They were fairly competitive in their games but couldn’t get over the hump after the early success. Chris Collins has done a good job of keeping this team in games and playing hard despite all the losses, but he still needs to win more or he will be out after this year.

The Wildcats took a hit when their top player Miller Kopp transferred to Indiana and it yet again leaves them very shorthanded. They just aren’t going to be very good again this year, but at least look better than Nebraska.

This team will be lucky to win five Big Ten games next year unless something drastically changes in the next four months. Look for them to be competitive in some games, but this season is looking like a lot of blowouts and it may be the end for Collins.