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Northwestern basketball on verge of first NCAA Tournament berth

By Rees Woodcock

Feb 12, 2017; Madison, WI, USA; Northwestern Wildcats guard Bryant McIntosh looks to pass over Wisconsin Badgers guard Zak Showalter (3) at the Kohl Center. Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 12, 2017; Madison, WI, USA; Northwestern Wildcats guard Bryant McIntosh looks to pass over Wisconsin Badgers guard Zak Showalter (3) at the Kohl Center. Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Northwestern Wildcats went into Sunday night’s game vs. Wisconsin needing to make a statement to boost their NCAA Tournament resume. They left with arguably the biggest win in program history.

Northwestern walked away with not only a victory, but a signature win to go on their resume for the postseason. The Wildcats defeated the No. 7 ranked Wisconsin Badgers on the road 66-59. This was arguably the biggest win in program history.

Bryant McIntosh led the way for the Wildcats with 25 points on 10-of-23 shooting. He also added seven assists and seven rebounds as well. The efficiency that he produced against the Badgers was impressive. Not only did he score at a high clip, he also shot 43.4 percent from the field and 100 percent from the free throw line.

The Badgers couldn’t match McIntosh’s production on the basketball court. Naismith Award contender Ethan Happ finished with nine points, seven rebounds and five assists. He shot 3-of-8 from the field as well.

Even though Wisconsin did have four players score in double-digits, they still couldn’t overcome the Northwestern offensive attack and defensive prowess. The Wildcats held the Badgers to just 38 percent shooting from the field and 36.8percent shooting from the 3-point line.

Success on the defensive and offensive sides of the court has been a trend with Northwestern this year. They are now 19-6 on the season and 8-4 in Big Ten play. The Wildcats are on pace to have the best season in program history and a big reason for the uptick is McIntosh.

McIntosh currently averages 14 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game this season. That is a solid year for any player, but as of late he has really turned his game up another notch.

Over the last four games for the Wildcats, McIntosh has scored more than 20 points per game and he has also averaged 5.75 assists per game as well. His great play in the Big Ten season has enabled this program to be in the driver seat for their first-ever NCAA Tournament berth.

The history of Northwestern basketball isn’t rich with success, though. Actually, they have had more zero-win seasons than they have had NCAA Tournament appearances.  Wildcats fans have dealt with one losing season after another since the school developed the basketball program.

Throughout the 1960s Northwestern fans had to deal with a whole new level of losing that no fan would enjoy.  Their best season was a 14-10 campaign when they had a coaching change with six games remaining.  Head coach Larry Glass retired and Brad Snyder took over as the full-time head coach.

Snyder continued the losing only hitting the nine-win mark once in the next four years. This trend of losing continued through the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Northwestern basketball was the laughing-stock of the Big Ten and the college basketball world.

The Wildcats were coming off a 5-25 season in 1999-2000 when Kevin O’Neill was let go and up-and-coming head coach in Bill Carmody was hired to lead this floundering program into the future.

Carmody came from Ivy League powerhouse Princeton where he spent four seasons with the Tigers and made two NCAA Tournament appearances. The Wildcats looked like they hit a home run with the Carmody hire. He had a great track record of taking a school known for academics and forming their basketball team into a national contender. It took a while for Carmody to really find his stride with Northwestern, though.  He struggled through his first eight seasons with the Wildcats, only hitting the 16-win mark once. But, things started to turn around for this program in 2008-2009.

Northwestern won 17 games that year and that was the most wins since the 1982-1983 campaign. The team needed to build on that momentum and that is exactly what Carmody did.  The following season he hit the 20-win mark for the first time in program history and they were ranked in the top 25 at one point as well.

Carmody then followed that 20-win season up with another 20 win campaign. This team was so close to the NCAA Tournament that many fans thought it would happen in the next year or so.  But, the following season was a 19-win campaign followed by a 13-win year and Carmody was fired in 2013.

In steps Chris Collins as his replacement. This was probably the best hire I could imagine this team ever getting. He had a pedigree not many coaches could match. Collins worked under legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski at Duke and learned how to win. He could develop players and he was a great recruiter as well. If the Wildcats were ever going to make the NCAA Tournament it was going to be under Collins.

Collins struggled the first two years in Evanston, finishing with 14 wins in his first year and followed that up with a 15-win campaign. But this was all with the previous regime’s players and then he finally got his own guys in there to coach.

Last season, Collins led Northwestern back up to the 20-win mark and barely missed the NCAA Tournament.  Fans of the team and college basketball fans, in general, could feel the wave of talent coming at them up in Evanston.

All of the losing history and disappointment has led to the current Northwestern team we are now watching. This team isn’t your father’s Wildcats. They aren’t losing and they aren’t a doormat for the Big Ten anymore.

Northwestern is now 19-6 overall and 8-4 in the Big Ten. They have beaten No. 22 Texas on a neutral court and they went up to Madison and beat No. 7 Wisconsin in convincing fashion.  This is a team to fear in college basketball.

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And the Wildcats are once again in a place where they are on the cusp of making the NCAA Tournament and for the first time I truly believe this team is going to be dancing come March.