BIG TEN TEAM PREVIEW #9 NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS

After back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances, Chris Collins and Northwestern had a down year last season, finishing 17-16 and missing the NCAA tournament. When they were fully healthy, Northwestern was a good team, but Brooks Barnhizer and Jalen Leach both suffered season-ending injuries in the second half of last season. Chris Collins hopes to lead Northwestern to its third NCAA tournament appearance in four seasons this year.

Projected Lineup:

G Jayden Reid (South Florida transfer)

G KJ Windham

G Max Green (Holy Cross transfer)

F Nick Martinelli

C Arrinten Page (Cincinnati transfer)

By far the biggest win of Northwestern's offseason was when they retained Nick Martinelli for another season. The 6-foot-7 power forward was probably the biggest breakout player in the Big Ten conference last season. He led the entire conference in scoring with 20.5 points per game, while also averaging 6.2 rebounds per game. This led to him being a First-Team All-Big 10 selection. Another returner for Northwestern is 6-foot-2 guard KJ Windham. Windham played a lot more down the stretch last season, after Jalen Leach went down with a season-ending injury. On the season, he was Northwestern's fifth leading scorer, averaging 5.6 points per game along with 2 assists per game. Justin Mullins is another player from last season's rotation who returns for the Wildcats. Mullins started in 10 of his 32 games last year and averaged 4.4 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. 6-foot-2 guard Jordan Clayton and 6-foot-6 guard Angel Ciaravino are two other players who return to Northwestern. Clayton only played in 10 games last season, and Ciaravino averaged just 11.2 minutes per contest.

Northwestern is one of many Big Ten squads that will be relying heavily on transfers this upcoming season. They only brought in three, but all of them should be starters. 5-foot-10 point guard Jayden Reid transfers in from South Florida, where he averaged 12.6 points and 3.6 assists last season. Reid will likely take over the starting point guard duties this season for the Wildcats. 6-foot-6 Holy Cross transfer Max Green was probably Northwestern's best get out of the portal. Green was one of the best freshmen at the mid-major level last season. In his first season of college basketball, he averaged 14.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. Green was the freshman of the year in the Patriot League while also earning all-conference honors. 6-foot-11 Cincinnati transfer Arrinten Page will be on his third school in three seasons now. He was a former four-star recruit who committed to USC out of high school. Page has yet to find his stride at the college level. In 31 games off the bench for Cincinnati last season, he averaged 3.5 points and 2.3 rebounds. He should have a much bigger role for Northwestern this season. Expect incoming four-star recruit Tre Singleton to play a big role off the bench this season for Northwestern. Singleton is 6-foot-8 and is the #92 recruit in the 2025 class by 247 Sports.

Having Nick Martinelli back for another season is huge for Northwestern. I think there's a really good chance that he leads the conference in scoring again this season. I just don't think Northwestern really surrounded him with enough talent. Max Green could be a solid player, but the Patriot League is a lot different than the Big Ten. Jayden Reid was good but not great for South Florida last season, and Arrinten Page hasn't really done anything in his first two seasons of college basketball. If KJ Windham can break out this season, it would be massive, since they need a second scoring option.

Prediction: 16th in Big Ten