NCAAB Northwestern Wildcats

General Information

Conference: Big Ten

NCAA Division: Division I

City: Evanston, IL

Stadium: Welsh Ryan Arena, Allstate Arena

Championships

• National Championships: None
• Conference Titles: None
• NCAA Tournaments: 1 (2017)

Past Conferences:

• Western

Northwestern Wildcats Standings & Analysis

If you’re a college basketball fan, you’re likely interested in keeping up-to-date with the latest standings and analyses for your favorite teams. The Northwestern Wildcats is a perennial powerhouse in college sports, and as such, many fans are always on the lookout for the latest information on this team.

All-Time Northwestern Wildcats Stats & Records

Points Scored

• John Shurna: 2,038
• Drew Crawford: 1,920
• Billy McKinney: 1,900

Rebounds

• Evan Eschmeyer: 995
• Kevin Rankin: 885
• Joe Ruklick: 868

Assists

• Bryant McIntosh: 700
• Michael Thompson: 528
• Pat Baldwin: 452

Wins

• Dutch Lonborg: 236
• Bill Carmody: 192
• Chris Collins: 133

Overview of the Northwestern Wildcats Standings

Last-Season Standings

The Northwestern Wildcats standings had a mixed performance during the 2021-2022 season. The team started the season with high hopes but struggled in the first few games. However, they managed to turn things around and went on a six-game winning streak.

Despite the strong start, the Wildcats struggled in the Big Ten conference, finishing with a conference record of 6-14. They finished the regular season with an overall record of 12-20, which left them at the bottom of the conference standings.

Despite the struggles, the Wildcats had some standout NCAAB players who had impressive performances throughout the season. Junior guard Chase Audige was the team’s leading scorer, averaging 14.3 points per game, while sophomore forward Pete Nance was the team’s leading rebounder, averaging 6.7 rebounds per game.

In addition to Audige and Nance, freshman guard Ty Berry and junior guard Boo Buie also had strong performances throughout the season. Berry averaged 9.6 points per game and showed great promise for the future, while Buie averaged 9.5 points per game and provided a spark off the bench for the Wildcats.

Overall, it was a challenging season for the Northwestern Wildcats basketball team. While they had some bright spots and showed some promise, they were ultimately unable to compete with the best teams in the Big Ten conference. However, the team has some talented young players who will likely improve in the coming seasons, and the Wildcats will look to build on their experiences and make progress next year.

Before Betting on Northwestern Wildcats Check Out These Tips:

Check for injuries or absences:

Injuries or absences of key players can have a significant impact on a team’s performance. Before placing a bet on the Northwestern Wildcats, check if any key players are injured or absent from the lineup.

Monitor the betting lines and odds:

Keep an eye on the betting lines and odds for the Northwestern Wildcats games, and look for value bets. Don’t always bet on the favorites, and instead look for opportunities to place bets on the underdog if the odds and value are in their favor.

Research the team’s current form:

Before placing a bet on the Northwestern Wildcats, it’s important to research their recent form. Look at their recent games and results, and pay attention to any patterns or trends that may be emerging.

Analyze the team’s performance against specific opponents:

Some teams may perform better against certain opponents while struggling against others. Before placing a bet on the Northwestern Wildcats, analyze their performance against the specific team they will be facing.

Northwestern Wildcats Basketball History

Overall

There are some very good athletic programs at Northwestern. Of note is the women’s lacrosse team and the field hockey team, which have achieved plenty of national success. The football team occasionally makes a rise to the top of the Big Ten. And the women’s basketball team recently won the Big Ten title.

And then there’s the men’s basketball program, which has toiled in futility for decades. While it enjoys an ardent fan base that almost relishes the consistent role of underdog and very occasional upticks in talent, there isn’t always much to cheer for in Evanston.

The Wildcats became part of the Western Conference – now the Big Ten – in 1904-05. It mostly sat under .500 for years until the late-1920s, when Dutch Lonborg took over as head coach and led the program through its best era.

Lonborg’s first team in 1927-28 went 12-5 and kicked off a run of 11 straight seasons at .500 or better. Included in that span was a 16-1 campaign in 1930-31, which was retroactively awarded a national title by various entities that did such a thing.

Two seasons later, Lonborg’s Wildcats won another Big Ten title while finishing 15-4. Northwestern also hosted the very first NCAA Tournament championship game in 1939, but the Wildcats were only bystanders to an Oregon-Ohio State matchup.

Lonborg’s last four seasons at the end of the 1940s were all of the losing variety, as were many of the campaigns after he left. There were some competitive squads near the end of the 1950s and 1960s, but none generated any postseason berths. The 1967-68 club finished 8-6 in Big Ten play, the last Wildcats team to have a winning conference mark for nearly 50 years.

Tex Winter, who guided Kansas State to several Big 8 crowns in the 1950s and 1960s, took over at Northwestern for five seasons in the 1970s. Despite his presence and that of Billy McKinney, one of the finest scorers in program history, the Wildcats only went 42-89 under Winters.

Reaching the NIT for the First Time

It didn’t get much better after Winter left, although the program had one notable achievement in 1983, reaching the NIT for the first time and knocking off Notre Dame in the first round. Alas, there were six straight seasons in the 1980s in which Northwestern went 2-16 in the Big Ten each time. That run was ended by an 0-18 showing in 1990-91, but the following season saw another 2-16 finish.

Altogether, over a 17-year span that took the program into the new millennium, it posted a maddening 39-259 record in the Big Ten. Nestled in there was one year that saw the Wildcats sneak into the NIT and win one game, but it was a short-lived rise and that team still finished 10th in the league.

When the 2001-02 team went 7-9 in conference action and finished 8-8 two seasons later, it was notable. Those respectable seasons came under Bill Carmody, who was responsible for guiding the program out of “perennial doormat” status. He even won 20 games in back-to-back seasons in 2009-10 and 2010-11, at one point getting the team into the top 25 for the first time since 1969.

Carmody’s Wildcats made it to the NIT four straight years from 2009 through 2012, reaching the quarterfinals in 2011. These teams, featuring standouts such as John Shurna, Drew Crawford and Michael Thompson helped lay the groundwork for the most notable season in program history just a few years later.

Chris Collins, the son of longtime NBA head coach and analyst Doug Collins, took over prior to the 2013-14 season. His first team, with Crawford as a senior, struggled mightily to score. Northwestern Wildcats team stats showed 59.5 points per game average – 349th in the country.

The Greatest Season in Wildcats History

The following season saw the team win five of its final seven games of the regular season en route to a respectable 15-17 season and the 2015-16 squad opened 13-1. Those Wildcats also won their final three games in the regular season to get to the 20-win mark but did not get chosen for the NCAA Tournament.

Then came the greatest season in program history. Led by four-year starter Bryant McIntosh, a junior at the time, and future NBAer (for eight games) Vic Law, Northwestern opened 12-2 with wins over Texas, Wake Forest and DePaul. It reeled off six straight Big Ten wins at one point and greatly improved its NCAAB odds with two victories in the conference tournament, including one over a nationally ranked Maryland team.

The selection committee had seen enough and it placed the Wildcats into the West Region of the NCAA Tournament as a No. 9 seed. Prior to the entry, Northwestern had been the only power conference team in the country yet to play in the Big Dance.

The Wildcats did all they could to stay in line with program history and make it a one-and-done visit, but a mistake foul by a Vanderbilt player allowed McIntosh to hit the go-ahead free throws in the waning seconds of a first-round win.

A controversial call (and subsequent technical foul on Collins for arguing it) stymied a comeback attempt in a matchup with top-seeded Gonzaga in the next round, ending Northwestern’s first-ever flirtation with the national stage.

Alas, it’s been hard to duplicate that run. The Wildcats are 60-90 in five seasons since and the 2021-22 team dropped five of seven to end the regular season and spoil any remote chance at a postseason berth of some kind.

As is often the case, betting odds for a rise up the Big Ten standings in 2022-23 are remote.

Northwestern Wildcats Basketball FAQs