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Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball

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The Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team representing Northwestern University in the Big Ten Conference. Men's basketball was introduced at Northwestern in 1901.[2] Since 2013, the team has been coached by Chris Collins. The Wildcats have advanced to the NCAA tournament three times, in 2017, 2023, and 2024 after being the only longstanding member of a Power Five conference to have never made the tournament.[3] The Wildcats have won two Big Ten conference championships (1931 and 1933).

Northwestern Wildcats
2024–25 Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball team
UniversityNorthwestern University
All-time record1092–1521–1 (.418)
Head coachChris Collins (12th season)
ConferenceBig Ten
LocationEvanston, Illinois
ArenaWelsh-Ryan Arena
(capacity: 7,500)
NicknameWildcats
Student sectionWildside
ColorsPurple and white[1]
   
Uniforms
Home jersey
Team colours
Home
Away jersey
Team colours
Away


Pre-tournament Premo-Porretta champions
1931
Pre-tournament Helms champions
1931
NCAA tournament round of 32
2017, 2023, 2024
NCAA tournament appearances
2017, 2023, 2024
Conference regular season champions
1931, 1933

History

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See also: List of Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball seasons

Northwestern began their inaugural season of intercollegiate play in 1904–1905, losing their first game to University of Chicago 19–34. They went 2–2 their first season, losing to University of Chicago twice, and defeating Beloit and Iowa.[4][5]

Although Northwestern had great success in the early part of the 20th century, it has spent most of the time since World War II in the bottom half of the Big Ten. The Wildcats were retroactively selected as the 1930–31 national champion by both the Helms Athletic Foundation and the Premo-Porretta Power Poll,[6] and have won only one other conference title, in 1933. It has only finished above fourth place twice since World War II, and did not have a winning record in conference play from 1968 until 2017. During that time, only the 2003–04 team even managed a .500 conference record. On March 1, 2017, the Wildcats won their 10th conference game (a 67–65 win over Michigan) to clinch their first winning Big Ten record in almost half a century. That season also saw the Wildcats make their first NCAA Tournament in school history, winning their first NCAA tournament game 68–66 against Vanderbilt.[7] The Wildcats have also appeared in the National Invitation Tournament seven times (1983, 1994, 1999, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012).

The first NCAA tournament championship was held at Northwestern in March 1939.[8][9] Until making their first NCAA tournament in 2017, Northwestern had been one of five original NCAA Division I schools and the only school from a power conference to have never played an NCAA Tournament game.[10][11][12] Northwestern won their first Tournament game, defeating Vanderbilt 68–66.[13] The Wildcats lost in the Second Round to No. 1-seeded Gonzaga.[14]

In 1998, two former players were charged and convicted for sports bribery, having been paid to shave points in games against three other Big Ten schools during the 1995 season.[15][16][17]

The 2022–23 team finished in a tie for second place in the Big Ten regular season, which is their best finish in the conference since the 1958–59 season.

Coaching history

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Main article: List of Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball head coaches
Coach Years Record Conference Record Conference Titles
Tom Holland 1904–1905 2–2 0–0
Louis Gillesby 1906–1910 4–28 1–13
Stuart Templeton 1910–1911 3–15 1–12
Charles Hammett 1911–1912 4–9 0–8
Dennis Grady 1912–1914 25–10 13–7
Fred Murphy 1914–1917 28–24 16–18
Norman Elliott 1917–1918, 1919–1920 10–11 7–9
Tom Robinson 1918–1919 6–6 6–4
Ray Elder 1920–1921 2–12 1–11
Dana Evans 1921–1922 7–11 3–9
Maury Kent 1922–1927 19–62 11–49
Arthur Lonborg 1927–1950 236–203–1 138–141 2
Harold Olsen 1950–1952 19–25 11–17
Waldo Fisher 1952–1957 35–75 21–53
William Rohr 1957–1963 66–70 39–45
Larry Glass 1963–1969 61–71 33–45
Brad Snyder 1969–1973 30–71 16–46
Tex Winter 1973–1978 42–89 25–61
Rich Falk 1978–1986 77–144 32–112
Bill Foster 1986–1993 54–141 13–113
Ricky Byrdsong 1993–1997 34–78 10–62
Kevin O’Neill 1997–2000 30–56 19–39
Bill Carmody 2000–2013 192–210 70–150
Chris Collins 2013–present 162–163 67–121
Totals 1148-1586-1 519-1083 2

Sources:[18]

Postseason

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NCAA Division I tournament results

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The Wildcats have appeared in the NCAA tournament three times. Their record is 3–3.

Year Seed Round Opponent Result
2017 No. 8 First Round
Second Round		 No. 9 Vanderbilt
No. 1 Gonzaga		 W 68–66
L 73–79
2023 No. 7 First Round
Second Round		 No. 10 Boise State
No. 2 UCLA		 W 75–67
L 63–68
2024 No. 9 First Round
Second Round		 No. 8 Florida Atlantic
No. 1 UConn		 W 77–65 OT
L 58–75

NIT results

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The Wildcats have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) seven times. Their combined record is 5–7.

Year Round Opponent Result
1983 First Round
Second Round		 Notre Dame
DePaul		 W 71–57
L 63–65
1994 First Round
Second Round		 DePaul
Xavier		 W 69–68
L 79–83
1999 First Round DePaul L 64–69
2009 First Round Tulsa L 59–68
2010 First Round Rhode Island L 64–76
2011 First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals		 Milwaukee
Boston College
Washington State		 W 70–61
W 85–67
L 66–69 OT
2012 First Round
Second Round		 Akron
Washington		 W 76–74
L 55–76

Notable players

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All-time statistical leaders

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Career leaders

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Single-season Leaders

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  • Points Scored: John Shurna (661, 2012)
  • Assists: Bryant McIntosh (213, 2016)
  • Rebounds: Jim Pitts (321, 1966)
  • Steals: Pat Baldwin (90, 1991)
  • Blocks: Jim Pitts (123, 1966)

Single-game leaders

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  • Points Scored: Rich Falk (49, 1964)
  • Assists: Bryant McIntosh (16, 2018)
  • Rebounds: Jim Pitts (29, 1965)
  • Steals: Nate Carter (9, 2011)
  • Blocks: Jim Pitts (10, 1966)

Source for all statistical leaders:[19]

All-Americans

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Player Year(s) Team(s)
Joe Reiff 1931 Consensus First Team – Helms (1st), College Humor (1st)
1932 College Humor (3rd)
1933 Consensus First Team – Helms (1st), College Humor (1st)
Otto Graham 1943 Consensus Second Team – Converse (3rd), Sporting News (1st)
1944 Consensus First Team – Helms (1st), Converse (2nd), Pic (1st), Sporting News (1st)
Max Morris 1945 Consensus Second Team – Helms (1st), Converse (3rd), Argosy (3rd), Sporting News (3rd)
1946 Consensus First Team – Helms (1st), Converse (1st), True (2nd), Sporting News (1st)
Ray Ragelis 1951 Look (3rd)
Frank Ehmann 1955 Look (1st)
Joe Ruklick 1959 AP (3rd), NABC (3rd)
Jim Burns 1967 AP (3rd), NABC (3rd)
Evan Eschmeyer 1999 Consensus Second Team – AP (2nd), USBWA (2nd), NABC (2nd), Sporting News (2nd)

Source:[20]

References

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  1. ^ "Northwestern University's Guide to Using Marks, Colors, Trademarks, and Logos" (PDF). September 21, 2016. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  2. ^ "Northwestern University History 1900–1949". Archived from the original on 2008-04-24. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  3. ^ Martin, Jill. "At long last, Northwestern reaches NCAAs". CNN. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  4. ^ "Northwestern basketball: a history – LIBRARIES | Blog". sites.northwestern.edu. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  5. ^ "Men's Basketball 2023-24 Media Guide - Northwestern Athletics" (PDF). NU Athletics. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  6. ^ ESPN, ed. (2009). ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. New York, NY: ESPN Books. p. 541. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
  7. ^ "Vanderbilt vs. Northwestern - Game Summary - March 16, 2017 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  8. ^ "Eugene Register-Guard - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  9. ^ "Youngstown Vindicator - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  10. ^ "NCAA tournament's un-Fab Five are 0-for-75". espn.com.
  11. ^ "Longest droughts: schools that have never made the NCAA tournament". thesportsarsenal.com. 20 February 2010.
  12. ^ Feinstein, John (15 February 2016). "When it comes to NCAA tournament, Northwestern hasn't had a shot" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  13. ^ "Scene from Northwestern's first-ever NCAA tourney win". SI.com. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  14. ^ "2017 March Madness: NCAA admits huge missed call in Gonzaga-Northwestern". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  15. ^ "Sentences Issued in Gambling Case". The New York Times. November 25, 1998. Archived from the original on July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 13, 2008.
  16. ^ Belluck, Pam (March 27, 1998). "Ex-Northwestern Players Charged in Point-Shaving". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 13, 2008.
  17. ^ Berkow, Ira (April 20, 1998). "Caught in Gambling's Grip; A Promising Career Unravels at Northwestern". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 13, 2008.
  18. ^ "Northwestern Wildcats Men's Basketball School History".
  19. ^ "Individual Records" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  20. ^ "Individual Records" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-06-24. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
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