If you heard Northwestern basketball coach Chris Collins speak to the media, at the Big Ten Tournament last week, then you already knew he was coming back next season. You didn’t need the public confirmation/vote of confidence from NU A.D. Dr. Derrick Gragg, which came at the end of the workday on Monday, to realize that. Fresh off a 112-76 thumping (a game that was even worse than the score sounds) by Keegan Murray and the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals, Collins conducted his postgame presser with the tone and manner of a man who was very confident in his job security, despite his season being over.

Meanwhile Collins’ alma mater, Duke, led by his mentor Mike Krzyzewski, are the overall favorites this March Madness. Keep that mind if you’re betting this month, like you would at gclub24hr. Like all public statements made by ADs, Gragg’s read like it was crafted by a corporate CEO. He discussed meeting with Collins first hand on Monday and stated: “As our Wildcats enter the offseason, we are committed to evaluating all aspects of the program on and off the court to ensure we are supporting this team with the foundation necessary to compete and win in the nation’s best college basketball conference. I have tasked Coach Collins with making necessary changes to build towards success in the 2022-23 campaign.”

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Traditionally, power conference teams that finish above .500, but not strong enough to make the NCAA Tournament, go to the NIT. Northwestern basketball is now 15-15, overall, on the season with a chance to get a signature win tomorrow afternoon when they take on the #20 Iowa Hawkeyes in the first full round of the Big Ten Tournament.

Yes, they just recently lost 82-61 to Iowa, with NBA prospect Keegan Murray going off for 26 and 18, but anything can happen in the B1G Tourney. #12 seeded Northwestern, down by as many as 15 (15:28 into the first half, 35-20) came roaring back to win a nail-biter over #13 seeded Nebraska, 71-69, in the conference tournament’s opening game.

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This was not the season that Northwestern basketball fans expected. It certainly wasn’t the campaign that any of them wanted. NU heads into Senior Night, tonight, as a lowly first-day-of-the-Big-Ten-Tournament team. This happens with regularity during the era of Chris Collins as Northwestern basketball coach, and that is absolutely not where you want to be, at all, as a program.

If you have to play on Wednesday night in the Big Ten Tourney, well it means your season is most likely a major washout. It’s not over yet, but Pete Nance, Ryan Greer and Elyjah Williams head into their Senior Day as a part of team that was widely expected to do a whole lot more than they actually did.

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