The newest edition of Big Ten basketball previews will feature the Northwestern Wildcats. Last year, Northwestern had an incredible season. They finished second in the Big Ten and won a game in the NCAA tournament. The Wildcats return most of their starters and should be a threat in the conference again.
Big Ten Basketball Preview: Northwestern
The Team
The first name you must mention when you preview Northwestern is their star guard Boo Buie. The All-Conference player returns for his fifth year with the Wildcats. He has improved every year in Evanston and should continue to be a problem for defenses in the Big Ten. They also return Ty Berry who started last year and should see an elevated role after the departure of Chase Audige. If Berry can improve this year, he will be a fine second option on offense. The final returning starter is Matt Nicholson who did not put up incredible offensive numbers last season but was a solid defender and rebounder.
The rest of the starting lineup will likely be made up of transfers. They bring in Ryan Langborg from Princeton and Justin Mullins from Denver. Langborg was a strong contributor to Princeton’s Sweet Sixteen run last season and I expect him to do well in the Big Ten. Mullins is a bit harder to project because you can never tell how a low-major player will perform after making such a big jump.
For the bench, Northwestern will rely on transfer Blake Preston to be their backup big man. The rest of their bench will be filled out by returning players, like Nick Martinelli, and freshmen from their solid recruiting class. Blake Barnhizer will also be a solid returning bench piece. He averaged over seven points per game last season and was a solid rebounder.
Strengths
The biggest strength of Northwestern is guard play. Buie is one of the best players in the Big Ten and has even seen some All-American buzz in the preseason. He can singlehandedly change a game. The only weakness of his game is three-point shooting. If he can improve on that, the Wildcats could make a deep run in March.
Another strength is frontcourt depth. Nicholson is a solid starter and Preston and Martinelli will be great reserves. Mullins can even play some power forward if needed. The talent may not be off the charts, but they will have many solid contributors.
Weaknesses
A glaring weakness for the Wildcats will be their three-point shooting. Buie, their number one option, is not very good from deep. He shot just over thirty percent from three last season, which is not going to cut it. Berry shot under thirty percent last season which is very bad. Overall there is not a reliable three-point shooter on the team.
Another weakness will be backcourt depth. After Buie, there is not a person on the team you truly trust to run the offense. Last year he averaged thirty-five minutes per game and do not be surprised if he plays even more this year.
Their final weakness will be tempo. Last season, they ranked 315th in the country in tempo. This won’t be a problem in Big Ten play, but this could be an issue if they get into March Madness.
The Verdict
After a great season last year, I expect to see Northwestern regress this season. They will still likely make the NCAA Tournament, but they won’t finish second in the Big Ten. I think the loss of Audige will be too tough to overcome because now it will allow defenses to place even more attention on Buie. Overall, I see a top-half finish in the Big Ten and a first-weekend exit in March Madness.
