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Chris Collins took on arguably the toughest coaching challenge among his Power 5 coaching peers when he became the head coach of Northwestern last season. The Wildcats remain the lone major conference team that has never made the NCAA tournament. This list doesn't cover the myriad reasons why, but here's a glimpse at what Collins has to overcome: 1. History Northwestern's lack of tradition has made it a hard sell on the recruiting trail. Every player wants to experience March Madness so the recruits tend to lean toward programs that have, you know, experienced March Madness. 2. No NBA-caliber talent Evan Eschmeyer (above), who was selected in the second round as the No. 34 pick overall in the 1999 draft, is the only Northwestern player since 1989 to be drafted. 3. Big Ten With the addition of Rutgers and Maryland, Northwestern has one conference opponent against which it has a winning record (4-1 vs. the Scarlet Knights) and one it is .500 against (1-1 vs. Maryland). It has a losing record against the rest of the Big Ten including Penn State (15-28) and Nebraska (2-6), schools outside of the original members. 4. Luck doesn't visit often After the Wildcats jumped out to a 9-1 start in the 2010-11 season, leading scorer John Shurna (above) severely sprained his left ankle and was never the same player. Had he been healthy, perhaps the Wildcats would have won two more Big Ten games and finished at 9-9 in a season in which the four teams with .500 league records all received NCAA at-large bids. 5. Losing culture The Wildcats have fallen short for so long that losing has been accepted and, to a large extent, expected at Northwestern. The Wildcats have become lovable losers, much in the same way as their neighbors to the South who play at Wrigley. 6. Bad timing Northwestern twice captured Big Ten titles in the 1930s and was retroactively named the 1931 Helms Athletic Foundation national champion. But the NCAA tournament didn't start until 1939 and, in a cruel bit of irony, Northwestern hosted the first title game. 7. Academics over athletics (Part I) It's tough to get in. Northwestern isn't going to take just any player. And the gifted players who could qualify, such as Duke's Jabari Parker, often simply opt to play elsewhere. 8. Academics over athletics (Part II) Northwestern officially joined the arms race when it announced plans for a multipurpose football complex that should begin construction early next year. Basketball should, in turn, benefit once football moves its offices and renovations can be made to Welsh-Ryan Arena, which hasn't improved its public areas since 1983. 9. The Coble dispute Forward Kevin Coble, who led the team in scoring his first three seasons, decided to quit just before his senior season in 2010-11. The decision came after his surgeon and team doctors disagreed on the length of his rehab after foot surgery kept him out for the 2009-10 season. Then-coach Bill Carmody reportedly gave him an ultimatum to return by the team's foreign tour in August. 10. Chicago pipeline doesn't flow to Evanston We've established that the Wildcats have trouble luring NBA-ready talent. But the Chicago metro area has enough riches, and they could keep more players home. If they can add local talent -- like freshman Vic Law, a South Holland, Illinois, native who ranked No. 66 in the class of 2014 -- they'll likely elevate their program.
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