Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball

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] As of 2020 the team is coached by Chris Collins. The Wildcats have advanced to the NCAA Tournament once, in 2017, 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
2020–21 Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball team
University	Northwestern University
All-time record	1092–1521–1 (.418)
Head coach	Chris Collins (8th season)
Conference	Big Ten
Location	Evanston, Illinois
Arena	Welsh-Ryan Arena (Capacity: 7,500)
Nickname	Wildcats
Student section	Wildside
Colors	Purple and White[1]
Uniforms
Home Away
Pre-tournament Premo-Porretta Champions
1931
Pre-tournament Helms Champions
1931
NCAA Tournament Round of 32
2017
NCAA Tournament Appearances
2017
Conference Regular Season Champions
1931, 1933

History

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,[4] 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.[5] The Wildcats have also appeared in the National Invitation Tournament seven times (1983, 1994, 1999, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012).

The very first NCAA tournament championship was held at Northwestern in March 1939.[6][7] 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.[8][9][10] Northwestern won their first Tournament game, defeating Vanderbilt 68–66.[11] The Wildcats lost in the Second Round to No. 1-seeded Gonzaga.[12]

Season-by-season records

Statistics overview

Season	Coach	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Thomas Holland (Western Conference) (1904–1905)
1904–05	Thomas Holland	2–2
Thomas Holland:		2–2 (.500)	0–0 (–)
Louis Gillesby (Western Conference) (1906–1910)
1906–07	Louis Gillesby	1–5
1907–08	Louis Gillesby	2–7
1908–09	Louis Gillesby	1–7	1–4	7th
1909–10	Louis Gillesby	0–9	0–9	8th
Louis Gillesby:		4–28 (.125)	1–13 (.071)
Stuart Templeton (Western Conference) (1910–1911)
1910–11	Stuart Templeton	3–15	1–12	8th
Stuart Templeton:		3–15 (.167)	1–12 (.077)
Charles Hammett (Western Conference) (1911–1912)
1911–12	Charles Hammett	4–9	0–8	8th
Charles Hammett:		4–9 (.308)	0–8 (.000)
Dennis Grady (Western Conference) (1912–1914)
1912–13	Dennis Grady	14–4	7–2	2nd
1913–14	Dennis Grady	11–6	6–5	5th
Dennis Grady:		25–10 (.714)	13–7 (.650)
Fred Murphy (Western Conference) (1914–1917)
1914–15	Fred Murphy	11–8	5–5	T-4th
1915–16	Fred Murphy	14–5	9–3	T-2nd
1916–17	Fred Murphy	3–11	2–10	8th
Fred Murphy:		28–24 (.538)	16–18 (.471)
Norman Elliott (Western Conference) (1917–1918)
1917–18	Norman Elliott	7–4	5–3	3rd
Thomas Robinson (Western Conference) (1918–1919)
1918–19	Thomas Robinson	6–6	6–4	3rd
Thomas Robinson:		6–6 (.500)	6–4 (.600)
Norman Elliott (Western Conference) (1919–1920)
1919–20	Norman Elliott	3–7	2–6	T-7th
Norman Elliott:		10–11 (.476)	7–9 (.438)
Ray Elder (Western Conference) (1920–1921)
1920–21	Ray Elder	2–12	1–11	10th
Ray Elder:		2–12 (.143)	1–11 (.083)
Dana Evans (Western Conference) (1921–1922)
1921–22	Dana Evans	7–11	3–9	10th
Dana Evans:		7–11 (.389)	3–9 (.250)
Maury Kent (Western Conference) (1922–1927)
1922–23	Maury Kent	5–11	3–9	8th
1923–24	Maury Kent	0–16	0–12	10th
1924–25	Maury Kent	6–10	4–8	8th
1925–26	Maury Kent	5–12	3–9	10th
1926–27	Maury Kent	3–14	1–11	T–9th
Maury Kent:		19–62 (.235)	11–49 (.183)
Arthur "Dutch" Lonborg (Western Conference) (1927–1950)
1927–28	Arthur "Dutch" Lonborg	12–5	9–3	T-3rd
1928–29	Arthur Lonborg	12–5	7–5	4th
1929–30	Arthur Lonborg	8–8	6–6	6th
1930–31	Arthur Lonborg	16–1	11–1	1st	Helms National Champion, Premo-Porretta National Champion
1931–32	Arthur Lonborg	13–5	9–3	T-2nd
1932–33	Arthur Lonborg	15–4	10–2	T-1st
1933–34	Arthur Lonborg	11–8	8–4	T-2nd
1934–35	Arthur Lonborg	10–10	3–9	8th
1935–36	Arthur Lonborg	13–6–1	7–5	T-3rd
1936–37	Arthur Lonborg	11–9–1*	4–8	7th
1937–38	Arthur Lonborg	10–10	7–5	T-3rd
1938–39	Arthur Lonborg	7–13	5–7	6th
1939–40	Arthur Lonborg	13–7	7–5	T-4th
1940–41	Arthur Lonborg	7–11	3–9	9th
1941–42	Arthur Lonborg	8–13	5–10	T-7th
1942–43	Arthur Lonborg	8–9	7–5	3rd
1943–44	Arthur Lonborg	12–7	8–4	T-4th
1944–45	Arthur Lonborg	7–12	4–8	T-6th
1945–46	Arthur Lonborg	15–5	8–4	T-3rd
1946–47	Arthur Lonborg	7–13	2–10	9th
1947–48	Arthur Lonborg	6–14	3–9	T-8th
1948–49	Arthur Lonborg	5–16	2–10	9th
1949–50	Arthur Lonborg	10–12	3–9	T-8th
Arthur "Dutch" Lonborg:		236–203–1 (.538)	138–141 (.495)
Harold Olsen (Western Conference) (1950–1952)
1950–51	Harold Olsen	12–10	7–7	T-4th
1951–52	Harold Olsen	7–15	4–10	T-8th
Harold Olsen:		19–25 (.432)	11–17 (.393)
Waldo Fisher (Western Conference) (1952–1953)
1952–53	Waldo Fisher	6–16	5–13	8th
Waldo Fisher (Big Ten Conference) (1953–1957)
1953–54	Waldo Fisher	9–13	6–8	T-5th
1954–55	Waldo Fisher	12–10	7–7	5th
1955–56	Waldo Fisher	2–20	1–13	10th
1956–57	Waldo Fisher	6–16	2–12	10th
Waldo Fisher:		35–75 (.318)	21–53 (.284)
William Rohr (Big Ten Conference) (1957–1963)
1957–58	William Rohr	13–9	8–6	T-4th
1958–59	William Rohr	15–7	8–6	T-2nd
1959–60	William Rohr	11–12	8–6	T-3rd
1960–61	William Rohr	10–12	6–8	6th
1961–62	William Rohr	8–15	3–11	T-9th
1962–63	William Rohr	9–15	6–8	7th
William Rohr:		66–70 (.485)	39–45 (.464)
Larry Glass (Big Ten Conference) (1963–1969)
1963–64	Larry Glass	8–13	6–8	T-6th
1964–65	Larry Glass	7–17	3–11	9th
1965–66	Larry Glass	12–12	7–7	T-5th
1966–67	Larry Glass	11–11	7–7	T-5th
1967–68	Larry Glass	13–10	8–6	4th
1968–69	Larry Glass/Brad Snyder	14–10†	6–8	T-5th
Larry Glass:		61–71 (.462)	33–45 (.423)
Brad Snyder (Big Ten Conference) (1969–1973)
1969–70	Brad Snyder	9–15	4–10	9th
1970–71	Brad Snyder	7–17	3–11	10th
1971–72	Brad Snyder	5–18	3–11	10th
1972–73	Brad Snyder	5–19	2–12	10th
Brad Snyder:		30–71 (.297)	16–46 (.258)
Tex Winter (Big Ten Conference) (1973–1978)
1973–74	Tex Winter	9–15	3–11	9th
1974–75	Tex Winter	6–20	4–14	T-9th
1975–76	Tex Winter	12–15	7–11	T-7th
1976–77	Tex Winter	9–18	7–11	T-7th
1977–78	Tex Winter	8–19	4–14	T-9th
Tex Winter:		42–89 (.321)	25–61 (.291)
Rich Falk (Big Ten Conference) (1978–1986)
1978–79	Rich Falk	6–21	2–16	10th
1979–80	Rich Falk	10–17	5–13	10th
1980–81	Rich Falk	9–18	3–15	10th
1981–82	Rich Falk	9–18	3–15	10th
1982–83	Rich Falk	18–12	8–10	8th	NIT Second Round
1983–84	Rich Falk	14–14	7–11	7th
1984–85	Rich Falk	6–22	2–16	10th
1985–86	Rich Falk	8–20	2–16	10th
Rich Falk:		77–144 (.348)	32–112 (.222)
Bill Foster (Big Ten Conference) (1986–1993)
1986–87	Bill Foster	7–21	2–16	T-9th
1987–88	Bill Foster	7–21	2–16	10th
1988–89	Bill Foster	9–19	2–16	10th
1989–90	Bill Foster	9–19	2–16	10th
1990–91	Bill Foster	5–23	0–18	10th
1991–92	Bill Foster	9–19	2–16	10th
1992–93	Bill Foster	8–19	3–15	10th
Bill Foster:		54–141 (.277)	13–113 (.103)
Ricky Byrdsong (Big Ten Conference) (1993–1997)
1993–94	Ricky Byrdsong	15–14	5–13	T-10th	NIT Second Round
1994–95	Ricky Byrdsong	5–22	1–17	11th
1995–96	Ricky Byrdsong	7–20	2–16	11th
1996–97	Ricky Byrdsong	7–22	2–16	11th
Ricky Byrdsong:		34–78 (.304)	10–62 (.139)
Kevin O'Neill (Big Ten Conference) (1997–2000)
1997–98	Kevin O'Neill	10–17	3–13	9th
1998–99	Kevin O'Neill	15–14	6–10	8th	NIT First Round
1999–00	Kevin O'Neill	5–25	0–16	11th
Kevin O'Neill:		30–56 (.349)	19–39 (.328)
Bill Carmody (Big Ten Conference) (2000–2013)
2000–01	Bill Carmody	11–19	3–13	11th
2001–02	Bill Carmody	16–13	7–9	7th
2002–03	Bill Carmody	12–17	3–13	10th
2003–04	Bill Carmody	14–15	8–8	T-5th
2004–05	Bill Carmody	15–16	6–10	8th
2005–06	Bill Carmody	14–15	6–10	T-8th
2006–07	Bill Carmody	13–18	2–14	T-10th
2007–08	Bill Carmody	8–22	1–17	11th
2008–09	Bill Carmody	17–14	8–10	9th	NIT First Round
2009–10	Bill Carmody	20–14	7–11	T-7th	NIT First Round
2010–11	Bill Carmody	20–14	7–11	8th	NIT Quarterfinals
2011–12	Bill Carmody	19–14	8–10	T-7th	NIT Second Round
2012–13	Bill Carmody	13–19	4–14	11th
Bill Carmody:		192–210 (.478)	70–150 (.318)
Chris Collins (Big Ten Conference) (2013–Current)
2013–14	Chris Collins	14–19	6–12	11th
2014–15	Chris Collins	15–17	6–12	10th
2015–16	Chris Collins	20–12	8–10	9th
2016–17	Chris Collins	24–12	10–8	T-5th	NCAA Second Round
2017–18	Chris Collins	15–17	6–12	10th
2018–19	Chris Collins	13–19	4–16	14th
2019–20	Chris Collins	8–23	3–17	13th
2020–21	Chris Collins	4-1
Chris Collins:		113–120 (.485)	43–87 (.331)
Total:		1092–1521–1 (.418)
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

Source[13][14][15]

Notes

*Due to a scoring error during the Notre Dame game in 1936, a game which was originally ruled a 21–20 win for Notre Dame was determined to be a tie when it was discovered Notre Dame had received one more point than they had actually scored.[16] Notre Dame returned to the court to finish the game, but Northwestern refused to return to the court. The Wildcats left the building and the game was deemed a tie.[16]

†Larry Glass left Northwestern after 18 games in 1969.[17] Brad Snyder coached the remaining six games.[17]

Coaching history

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	113–120	43–87
Totals		1088–1520–1 (.417)	526–967 (.352)	2

Sources:[14]

Postseason

NCAA Division I tournament results

The Wildcats have appeared in the NCAA Tournament once. Their record is 1–1.

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
2017	No. 8	First Round Second Round	No. 9 Vanderbilt No. 1 Gonzaga	W 68–66 L 73–79

NIT results

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

Career leaders

• Points Scored: John Shurna (2,038, 2008-2012)
• Assists: Bryant McIntosh (541, 2014–2018)
• Rebounds: Evan Eschmeyer (995, 1995–1999)
• Steals: Pat Baldwin (272, 1990–1994)
• Blocks: Alexandru Olah (169, 2013–2016)

Single-season Leaders

• 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

• 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:[18]

All-Americans

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:[19]

References

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. 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.
5. "Vanderbilt vs. Northwestern - Game Summary - March 16, 2017 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
6. "Eugene Register-Guard - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
7. "Youngstown Vindicator - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
8. "NCAA tournament's un-Fab Five are 0-for-75". espn.com.
9. "Longest droughts: schools that have never made the NCAA tournament". thesportsarsenal.com. 20 February 2010.
10. Feinstein, John (15 February 2016). "When it comes to NCAA tournament, Northwestern hasn't had a shot" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
11. "Scene from Northwestern's first-ever NCAA tourney win". SI.com. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
12. "2017 March Madness: NCAA admits huge missed call in Gonzaga-Northwestern". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
13. 2012–13 Northwestern men's basketball yearbook. Retrieved 2013-Sep-10.
14. "Year-by-Year Summary" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-06-18.
15. "Northwestern Wildcats Index | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
16. Phelps, Richard (2011-09-19). Basketball For Dummies. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781118092675.
17. "Ex-nu Coach Is Winning Now". tribunedigital-chicagotribune. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
18. "Individual Records" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-06-18.
19. "Individual Records" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-06-18.

External links

• Official website