Eamonn Brennan, ESPN Staff Writer 8y

Looking ahead: Northwestern inches closer to postseason promise

Ask your average sports fan to name the Greater Chicagoland area's most ignominious loser, and he or she will almost certainly offer up the Chicago Cubs. Fair enough. The Cubs last won the World Series in 1908, and 1908 was an extremely long time ago. The lore of their losing is mythical, from the Billy Goat to Steve Bartman, and only adds to their fame.

But this is an incorrect answer. The correct one, as most good college basketball fans -- and any Northwestern alum -- would know, is the Northwestern men's basketball team. Frankly, it's not even close.

However long ago 1908 was, it's a shorter time frame than "never." Which, of course, was the last time the Wildcats earned entry into the NCAA tournament. Never.

Comparing this task to winning a World Series is almost laughable; the latter is orders of magnitude more difficult than the former. Northwestern is a charter member of the Big Ten, one of the oldest, biggest and richest conferences in college athletics. The NCAA tournament was launched in 1939. Division I college athletics was (more or less) created in 1948. The tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. That a member of the Big Ten has gone this long without once slipping rear-side backwards into even a single NCAA tournament is utterly, unbelievably bonkers. No matter how many times we think about it -- or how many offseason previews of Northwestern we write -- it never gets less crazy.

Which is why, as always, no matter how exhausting or annoying or depressing it might be, there is only one salient question about Northwestern men's basketball:

Is this the year?

That this was a valid question ahead of the 2015-16 season -- and remains a not-insane thing to ask about 2016-17 -- reflects the progress Northwestern coach Chris Collins has made since taking over the program three years ago. That the answer isn't "yes," or even "probably," reflects how much more work remains.

Last season's Wildcats improved in every facet. Led by senior center Alex Olah, and buoyed by a modest breakout sophomore campaign from guard Bryant McIntosh, the Wildcats ranked in the top 100 in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency, finished 20-12 overall with an 8-10 Big Ten record, and ended the season with a genuinely thrilling, momentarily hopeful 72-70 overtime loss to Michigan in the Big Ten tournament. Meanwhile, freshman Aaron Falzon -- the second top-100 recruit Collins has landed since his arrival in Evanston (two more than his predecessor, Bill Carmody, signed in 13 seasons) -- proved to be a promising perimeter threat in a 6-foot-8 frame.

Collins' second year at the helm was the one in which the Wildcats began to look like a modern college basketball team, when Carmody's odd stylistic and personnel predilections began to fall away. Collins' third year was when the Wildcats began to show tangible signs of improvement.

It was also a mild disappointment. The letdown felt all but assured on Nov. 11, when Vic Law -- the highest-ranked recruit in Northwestern history, set to take on his sophomore season -- succumbed to a shoulder injury that ended his season before it began.

The chance to finally pair Law with Falzon, McIntosh, Sanjay Lumpkin, sophomore Scottie Lindsey and the rest of Northwestern's new guard is the biggest reason to be bullish on Northwestern's chances in 2016-17. The reason for skepticism is fairly straightforward: Olah, as well as guard Tre Demps, graduated this spring.

Last fall, Collins was excited about the matchup problems players like Falzon and Law might create, about how his team had more height at different positions than the average Big Ten squad (Purdue and Maryland excepted). But some of that advantage was predicated on Olah -- a big, burly post scorer and rim protector who all but maximized his ability in his four-year career -- as the sturdy anchor in the post. Without him, the Wildcats' length seems less impressive on a spot-by-spot basis.

Meanwhile, Law last played meaningful action two seasons ago. What kind of player he'll be, let alone how effective, is anyone's guess. The same goes for incoming center Barret Benson, a three-star prospect from suburban Hinsdale, Illinois, who may have to pick up significant post minutes right away.

Still, with Law, Falzon and McIntosh alone, this Northwestern team is more obviously talented than almost any of its program predecessors. Last season was already a major step forward. A few things have to break in NU's direction, but if they do, maybe ... just maybe ...

And, hey, if not? There's always next (next) year.

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