Big Ten Basketball: 10 key storylines to watch for 2023 offseason

Purdue Boilermakers center Zach Edey (15) celebrates as he is announced the player of the tournament after winning the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship game against the Penn State Nittany Lions, Sunday, March 12, 2023, at United Center in Chicago. Purdue won 67-65.Pupsu031223 Am22423 /

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Big Ten Basketball Northwestern Wildcats head coach Chris Collins Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports /

7. Chris Collins gets off the hot seat but can he keep it up at Northwestern?

Few coaches were in hotter seats than Coach Collins entering this past season, not having a winner record in the last five years. Yet despite losing key forwards (Pete Nance and Ryan Young) a year ago, Northwestern got better and won 24 games as a result, making it to the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament.

The Wildcats were led by the guard duo of Chase Audige and Boo Buie, the lone double-digit scorers on the roster. They combined to produce 31.4 ppg and 7.4 apg on the year and Buie, in particular, was fantastic. Both players are seniors, with Audige being a 5th-year veteran.

Both players have another year of eligibility if they so choose to. But after the breakthrough year that saw them finally make the NCAA Tournament, this would be a good time for each to move on. If that were to happen, Northwestern would be in soem trouble when it comes to rebuilding.

The team does bring back a pair of key pieces in Ty Berry and Brooks Barnhizer that could be in line for breakout campaigns. But is guard Julian Roper ready for a big leap with more minutes? And what kind of transfers can the Wildcats reasonably bring in? It’s a big question for the program because if both Buie and Audige move on, the program will have to go back to square one.

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