Big Ten Basketball: Ranking all 18 programs after adding Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington
By Joey Loose
18. Northwestern
Without question, this past season was a very happy surprise at Northwestern. Chris Collins led the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament after shockingly finishing 2nd in Big Ten play. Northwestern returns some of that talent this upcoming season and really did surprise a lot of people last year, but we’re not exactly talking an elite team or anywhere near an elite program.
The fact of the matter is that this was just the second time that Northwestern had ever been selected for the NCAA Tournament. That first ever appearance came six years earlier when Collins did the unthinkable by leading the Wildcats not just to the Big Dance but to a first round win over Vanderbilt. In between, Northwestern had some really rough seasons, finishing under .500 in each of those five years.
The bottom line is that Northwestern is not exactly an athletic power and is probably setup to be the worst athletics program in the future Big Ten. We’re not even punishing them for the current scandal with the football program; this basketball team just does not have a history of success. Not only does Northwestern regularly finish near the bottom in the conference standings, but you have to remember it took them nearly 80 years to even make a single NCAA Tournament.
Clearly this isn’t some dead program; Collins just led them to the Big Dance and has brought talented and intriguing players to Evanston. Their location right near a recruiting hotbed in Chicago means there’s always great potential. Realistically, we don’t expect Northwestern to suddenly take off as a program, especially with the inconsistency the program has had even under Collins.