2017–18 Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball team explained

Mode:	Basketball
Year:	2017–18
Team:	Northwestern Wildcats
Conference:	Big Ten Conference
Short Conf:	Big Ten
Record:	15–17
Conf Record:	6–12
Hc Year:	5th
Asst Coach3:	Armon Gates

The 2017–18 Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball team represented Northwestern University in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Chris Collins as members of the Big Ten Conference. They played their home games at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois while the university's Welsh-Ryan Arena, underwent renovations.^[1] A winning record in the Big Ten as well, a Round-of-32 NCAA appearance in 2016–17, and the return of all key offensive contributors led to big expectations for the 2017–18 season. But the Wildcats stumbled to a poor start, finishing the season with a disappointing 15–17 record, 6–12 in Big Ten play to finish in 10th place. They lost in the second round of the Big Ten tournament to Penn State.

Previous season

The Wildcats finished the 2016–17 season 24–12, 10–8 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for fifth place. In the Big Ten tournament, they defeated Rutgers^[2] and Maryland^[3] before losing to Wisconsin in the semifinals.^[4] They received the school's first ever bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 8 seed in the West region. In the First Round, they defeated No. 9-seeded Vanderbilt^{[5] [6]} before losing to No. 1-seeded Gonzaga in the second round.^{[7] [8]}

Offseason

Coaching changes

On June 20, 2017, assistant coach Patrick Baldwin left the school to become the head coach at Milwaukee.^[9] On June 26, the school hired Michigan assistant coach Billy Donlon to replace Baldwin.^[10]

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Sanjay Lumpkin	34	G/F	6'6"	220	Senior		Graduated
Nathan Taphorn	32	F	6'7"	215	Senior		Graduated

Recruiting classes

2018 recruiting class

Preseason

In its annual preseason preview, the Blue Ribbon Yearbook ranked Northwestern as No. 23 in the country.^[11]

Schedule and results

|-!colspan=9 style=| Regular season|-!colspan=9 style=|Big Ten tournament

Rankings

See main article: 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings. *AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

See also

2017–18 Northwestern Wildcats women's basketball team

Notes and References

1. News: Northwestern basketball flipping homes in 2017–18 season as Welsh-Ryan undergoes 'compete renovation'. 2016-09-27. Land of 10. 2017-05-25. en-US.
2. News: Northwestern dances past Rutgers in 83–61 rout, into Big Ten quarterfinals. Greenstein. Teddy. chicagotribune.com. 2017-07-28. en-US.
3. Web site: No home away from home for Maryland in Big Ten tournament loss to Northwestern. Washington Post. 2017-07-28.
4. News: Northwestern falls to Wisconsin in Big Ten semis, but Selection Sunday awaits. Greenstein. Teddy. chicagotribune.com. 2017-07-28. en-US.
5. News: Northwestern's win over Vandy was wild. Here's what happened.. SBNation.com. 2017-07-28.
6. News: Vanderbilt blew Northwestern game with epic foul gaffe (but it wasn't the only reason) FOX Sports. 2017-03-16. FOX Sports. 2017-07-28. en-US.
7. News: RAPID REACTION: Zags hold off the Wildcats 79–73 in Round of 32. Inside NU. 2017-07-28.
8. Web site: No. 1 Gonzaga's win over No. 8 Northwestern marred by blown goaltending call. Dauster. Rob. 2017-03-19. CollegeBasketballTalk. 2017-07-28.
9. News: UWM hires Northwestern assistant Patrick Baldwin as new coach. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 2017-06-27. en.
10. News: UWM hires Northwestern assistant Patrick Baldwin as new coach. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 2017-06-27. en.
11. News: Arizona Tops Blue Ribbon's 37th Annual Preseason Rankings. Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook. 2017-09-20.