Northwestern Basketball: 2023-24 season preview for the Wildcats
By Jack Gutzler
Season Outlook
The return of Boo Buie is undoubtedly a big plus in the general outlook for Northwestern. This, coupled with several incoming transfers, will be keys for the Wildcats’ overall success this season. If the incoming transfers – especially Ryan Langborg – are able to replicate their past levels of production throughout the year, then there’s a real possibility this team takes another step forward this season.
With the non-conference schedule featuring only a couple of opportunities for quality wins, Big Ten play will be the determining factor when it comes to the direction this team goes. But as with every year in the Big Ten, there are numerous opportunities for quality wins both at home and on the road. However, Northwestern may have more opportunities than some other teams, as Preseason top five teams in Purdue and Michigan State, along with Illinois, and Maryland, will be among the teams Northwestern plays twice this season.
And those eight matchups will go a long way not only when it comes to the Wildcats’ tournament hopes, but also where they will finish in the final Big Ten standings. Should they be able to split all of those match-ups – or perhaps even sweep one or more of those teams – there is a strong chance Northwestern can find themselves near the top of the final standings.
But playing in a conference that sends at least half a dozen teams to the NCAA tournament in any given year, there are still 12 other conference games to be played, many of which will provide their own opportunities for big wins.
Northwestern’s tournament hopes aren’t entirely dependent on the aforementioned eight matchups, but failing to win more than one of those games could be enough to keep the Wildcats on the wrong side of the bubble. Regardless of the results in those games, however, there will still be other games that could determine the postseason fate of the team.
Next. Preseason Big Ten power rankings for 2023-24. dark
All things considered, a middle of the pack finish in seventh or eighth place seems like the most likely scenario for the Wildcats. And should that be the case, Northwestern would be on the bubble, and they could find themselves playing in the first four games in the NCAA tournament. However, a couple of wins in the Big Ten tournament could be enough to move them out of the first four weekend and into a higher seed.