NCAA Tournament March Madness

#55 Northwestern

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Projection: likely out

Northwestern's resume presents challenges for a tournament bid, primarily evidenced by their mixed results against both strong and weaker opponents. While they secured solid wins against Illinois and Maryland, which boost their profile, losses to teams like Iowa and Purdue, who are also vying for tournament consideration, reflect a vulnerability in high-pressure situations. Their strength on defense is notable, but inconsistent offensive performance, highlighted by a narrow loss to Dayton and pivotal near misses against Indiana and Butler, raises concerns about their competitiveness. Additionally, upcoming games against ranked opponents and other potential bubble teams will be critical; victories in these matchups could swing momentum and improve their standing, while further losses, particularly to lower-ranked teams like Nebraska or Wisconsin, could jeopardize their hopes entirely.

Date Opponent Ranking Outcome
11/4Lehigh303W90-46
11/9@Dayton73L71-66
11/12IL Chicago126W83-74
11/15E Illinois341W67-58
11/19Montana St169W72-69
11/22Pepperdine205W68-50
11/28(N)Butler85L71-69
11/29(N)UNLV99W66-61
12/3@Iowa52L80-79
12/6Illinois7W70-66
12/15(N)Georgia Tech131W71-60
12/21DePaul104W84-64
12/29Northeastern195W85-60
1/2@Penn St43L84-80
1/5@Purdue15L79-61
1/12Michigan St13L78-68
1/16Maryland23W76-74
1/19@Michigan10L80-76
1/22Indiana6156%
1/26@Illinois736%
1/29Rutgers8358%
2/1Wisconsin2047%
2/4USC7057%
2/8@Washington9652%
2/11@Oregon2542%
2/16Nebraska4753%
2/20@Ohio St2842%
2/25@Minnesota11054%
2/28Iowa5254%
3/3UCLA3151%
3/8@Maryland2341%