2024-2025 College Basketball Preview: Northwestern Wildcats

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The college basketball season is less than three weeks away, and here at FTN Fantasy we have you covered for what promises to be another thrilling year of upsets and incredible finishes. I will be taking you around the country with a betting preview of the major conferences. I recap the betting trends from last season, list projected starters, preview the season, identify a key player, and reveal how I’m backing or fading each team.

Let’s continue with the largest conference in college basketball, the Big Ten. This conference underwent massive changes, adding four new teams from the Pac-12 in Washington, USC, Oregon and UCLA. The expansion has not diluted the competitive level of the Big Ten, ranking third (same as last year) in KenPom preseason rankings.

Let’s start with our betting preview for the Northwestern Wildcats. I give a huge shout-out to our newest contributor, Gus Kearns, for his extensive research on the Big Ten.

2024-2025 College Basketball Season Preview: Northwestern Wildcats

Conference: Big Ten
Head Coach: Chris Collins (12th season)
2023-2024 Record: 22-12 (12-8)
ATS: 18-14-2
O/U: 18-15-1
Projected Starters: G Jalen Leach; G Ty Berry; F Brooks Barnhizer; F Nick Martinelli; C Matt Nicholson

Let’s take a moment to appreciate the greatness that was Boo Buie. The Northwestern legend elevated this program to unprecedented success. In last year’s NCAA Tournament, the Wildcats scored an opening round win over the returning Final Four roster of Florida Atlantic, after finishing in a tie for third place in the Big Ten with regular season wins over both Purdue and Dayton. The calling card for Northwestern is on the defensive side of the ball, as Northwestern plays long, high-IQ student-athletes who bring endless effort. Head coach Chris Collins’ is far-removed from the annual “hot seat” days, finding wins every season despite injuries to key starters.

The loss of Buie hurts, but this may be one of the most overlooked rosters in the league. Matthew Nicholson (1.4 BPG) is a strong post presence, while 6-foot-10 Luke Hunger played well in March. The skilled wings: Nick Martinelli, Guard Brooks Barnhizer (14.6 PPG) is top returning scorer, and leads a deep backcourt with senior Ty Berry (11.6 PPG) and Fairfield transfer Jalen Leach (16.2 PPG). The role players off the bench will defend and limit turnovers.

Oftentimes a team’s star player needs to make massive decisions in the final minutes of the game to help grind out wins. With Buie not on the roster, who will be that valued decision maker this season for the Wildcats?

Key Player: Jalen Leach

Leach was a great scorer for Fairfield last season, with 13 games of 20-plus points. He boosted his 3P accuracy to 35.7% while doubling his per-game attempts. That’s exactly what this time needs in the absence of Buie. Berry, Barnhizer and Martinelli are physical Big Ten players, but really benefited from Buie’s ability to create. Leach is critical for keeping Northwestern’s offense good enough to support Collins’ elite defensive schemes.

Projection