Dream On: Northwestern Men’s Basketball and the Road to March Madness

NARRATOR: Something strange is afoot in Evanston, IL. Something like winning. For the first time in a long time, and against all odds, Northwestern men’s basketball is having a standout season. 

Chicago’s Big Ten Team finished last season with 15 wins, 16 losses, and the departure of Pete Nance and Ryan Young. This year, the ‘Cats currently have 19 wins, 7 losses and, at the time of press, are on a four-game winning streak. They’re second in the Big Ten. And they’ve done it with no real new blood – they’re just finally coming into their own. And people outside of Northwestern are paying attention, too.

WILLIE WEINBAUM: It’s been so much fun to see the grit and toughness, the tough defensive efforts overcoming off shooting nights by Northwestern, and seeing rewards come to guys like Boo Buie and Chase Audige, who have been there for a few years, of course, has been wonderful. And I don’t know any alum, at least in my circle, who hasn’t really, really enjoyed it. 

NARRATOR: That’s Willie Weinbaum. He’s a producer and digital journalist for ESPN, and a former Wildcat. He does investigative and feature reporting, but he’s also been posting about Northwestern’s season on the ESPN message boards. 

WEINBAUM: I think colleagues, not just NU alums who are colleagues, and there are many Wildcats among the ESPN staff ranks, I just want you to know. So, you know, we always have said, “Go ‘Cats” and “boy, how about those ‘Cats.” But I think other people are taking notice. 

DEE LAB: Northwestern has kind of been a sleeper throughout this men’s basketball season in a lot of ways. I actually, on our conference calls yesterday, just yesterday, we were discussing how everybody was pretty shocked that they were not ranked this week. Because, from our perspective, they’ve been knocking at that door for most for a significant proportion of the season. 

NARRATOR: That’s Dee Lab. She’s a content producer and developmental editor for The GIST, a woman-led sports media brand. Her work is with The GIST’s college sports newsletter. 

LAB: I hate to say it, but like, the team was not good for a very long time, a significant proportion of history….So it’s really I find it really exciting to see particularly as a Big 10 alum to see a Big 10 program that has historically not been great, really finding their their legs on an on a on a truly on a national scale. 

NARRATOR: Lab is right. Northwestern has come a long way from long losing streaks in the not-so-distant past. And with a disappointing 1-11 football record still fresh in everyone’s minds, it’s cathartic to see a Northwestern sports team actually doing well.

AAYUSHYA AGARWAL: At the end of last quarter, when I started reporting for the team, there wasn’t as much anticipation…Not as many students were really excited about the men’s basketball team, we weren’t really getting that many like large crowds. And now, over the past couple of weeks, it’s kind of been sort of been the talk around campus.

NARRATOR: That’s Aayushya Agarwal. He’s a junior econ major data science minor, and he’s spent this season covering men’s basketball for The Daily Northwestern, both at home and away.

AGARWAL: I was at Wisconsin, and they have like, I think 17,000 musicians with their capacity and their student section, which is their student section, which is crazy, right? So it was like seeing that sort of energy now being replicated at Northwestern unit. It’s like a small study, and it’s just really cool to see like, kind of firsthand, comparing the two.

NARRATOR: Agarwal seems to be onto something. Northwestern is feeling more like an actual contender in the Big Ten. With last Sunday’s matchup against Purdue, Northwestern toppled a no 1 – ranked team for the first time in program history. Wednesday’s win against Indiana marked the first time the ‘Cats have had 4 wins versus ranked teams, plus sweeps of Indiana and Wisconsin in the same season since 1938.

All this record-breaking brings to mind another nugget of trivia — Northwestern has only qualified for the NCAA Tournament once in its history. Which raises the question: could this be the year? Agarwal thinks maybe.

AGARWAL:  I think 20 is the key number, if you have 20 wins by the end of this season, you’ll make March Madness. And so basically, it’s a question of, um, can you get like wins on the road, so they got a win on the road in Wisconsin, they got a win on a road in Ohio State. 

NARRATOR: Lab is considering it, too.

LAB: March is going to be wild. And speaking of March, Northwestern has a real shot to go deeper than they ever have before. 

NARRATOR: Of course, it’s not a sure shot. Northwestern definitely has its strengths and weaknesses. Lab and Weinbaum both pointed out that their defense tends to be more reliable than their offense.

LAB: I think when it comes to offense, especially for basketball, it comes down, a lot of things come down to confidence across your team. They’re playing from a non winning legacy. When you’re forging something new, that can be a little bit intimidating. Which is why I think perhaps we’re seeing a much more defensive-minded team.

WEINBAUM: I will say that Northwestern ‘s biggest weakness is also very apparent, and that is having consistent, coordinated, balanced offense. So when one or two guys are clicking on offense, it’s usually just the one or two guys, other guys aren’t scoring.

NARRATOR: But then again, no one thought they’d make it this far, either.

For WNUR News, I’m Allison Rauch.