Big Ten Basketball: Updated 2021-22 preseason rankings after NBA Draft decisions

Northwestern didn’t have to worry about NBA Draft matters, as its roster has been fairly set for the past few months. They only lost one rotational piece from this past season in Miller Kopp, who transferred over to fellow Big Ten Basketball program Indiana. He was second on the team with 11.3 ppg while playing the most minutes per game last season.

But the Wildcats do return a lot of talent, led by leading scorer Chase Audige (12.3 ppg) and Boo Buie, who led the team with 4.0 apg along with 10.3 ppg. This is one of the better backcourt duos in the Big Ten, with top-150 incoming freshmen guards Julian Roper and Casey Simmons providing backup on the perimeter.

Even without Kopp, Northwestern has some frontcourt depth to work with for next season. 6’10 forward Pete Nance put up 11.1 ppg and 6.8 rpg last season, while Ryan Young and Robbie Beran serve as solid depth as well. Grad transfer Elyjah Williams is a bit undersized at 6’7 but was an All-Northeast player at Fairleigh Dickinson last season.

This team will have both experience and chemistry for next year but can Buie and Nance be the best players for a competitive Big Ten Basketball team? They’ll need someone from this group to break out as a 15+ ppg to give them more chances to win games. Otherwise, they’ll be a threat but not as likely to get out of the bottom-4.