This Northwestern basketball team rewrote the program’s history book. They set a new record for Big Ten wins with 12, achieved the first win over a #1 ranked team (Feb 12 vs Purdue) and earned the second seed in this week’s Big Ten Tournament.
Previously, the Wildcats have never been seeded higher than sixth in this event, so it didn’t just break the program record, it shattered it. This Cats team also has the second most single season wins (21) in program history, behind only the 2016-17 NCAA Tournament team’s 24.
NCAA Tournament Profile
21-10, 12-8, Net 46, SoS 38, Kenpom 51, Quad 1 6-5, Quad 2 4-5
Signature Wins: Purdue Net 5, Indiana twice Net 28, Michigan State Net 31
Bad Losses: not really any
The Cats are a lock to make the tourney, which will be just the second in program history. This squad also achieved a national ranking later in the regular season than any other previous NU side.
Awards Season
Given all that this Northwestern basketball team achieved, as we listed above, Chris Collins was the right choice for Big Ten Coach of the Year (details here). It’s especially impressive given how his seat was beginning to heat up, entering this season (more here).
Picked to finish 13th, they surpassed expectations to say the least.
The team’s alpha dog, Boo Buie (more on him here), made All-Big Ten second team, as did his backcourt mate, Chase Audige, who won the conference’s defensive player of the year award (more on that here).
Additionally, Assistant Chris Lowery, the former head man at SIU, won the league’s inaugural Asst. Coach of the year award, named for the honorable Howard Moore.
Congratulations all around.
Up Next TBA
NU, as the #2 seed does not play until the third of the four quarterfinal games, which is a 5:30 tip off on Friday. Their opponent will be the winner of the #7 Illinois (more on them here) vs #10 Penn State matchup. If it’s the Illini, it should be pretty electric to have this season’s series rubber match at the United Center.
Honestly, they should play each other there every year, with the two sides taking turns about who gives up a home game every year, in order to make it happen, schedule wise.
If it’s Penn State, then Collins and company really need to fixate on trying to stop Jalen Pickett, who is on the Wooden Award National Ballot and the Oscar Robertson Trophy Late Season Watch lists. He’s the only player in the country averaging at least 18 points (18.0) per game, seven rebounds per game (7.3) and seven assists (7.0) per game
Northwestern has a pretty brutal Big Ten Tournament history, as they have never reached the title game. They have only reached semifinal Saturday on one occasion (2017).
They have only three players ever win BTT honors and their 10-25 all-time record in the event gives them the worst winning percentage of all 14 programs.
But hey, maybe this is the year they change all that. It’s why pencils have erasers, right?
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.