Life post Boo Buie has not gone well for Northwestern basketball. Can they turn it around this year and make it back to the NCAA Tournament?
The tradition continues! It’s another year of our countdown of the top 100 preseason teams in college basketball until the start of the season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: Northwestern basketball.
Gone are the glory days of Northwestern, where they made back-to-back tournaments and even won a game both years. Since then, they have been under .500 and have finished 12th and 15th in Big Ten play. In a school that prioritizes academics, recruiting has always been a challenge, and staying competitive is a rarity. In Collins’ 14 seasons, they’ve finished top 5 three times, but there’s never been a thought that Collins is on the hot seat, because it’s such a difficult place to succeed.
We’ll see what he can do this year with superstar Nick Martinelli gone. Martinelli finished top 10 in the country in points per game the past two years, and there is no addition that can fill that void. They lose their top four scorers in general, which is never easy to repair. However, they bring back two key pieces from last year, Jake West and Angelo Ciaravino, who may not take the Martinelli or Brooks Barnheizer leaps, but still be solid pieces.
In addition to the returners, they add some key transfers like Jack Karasinski, who finished 12th in the country in points per game at Bellarmine while doing so on efficient shooting. Pair him with four other mid-major double-digit scorers, and the depth looks solid. It’ll be an uphill battle to compete in this talented Big Ten conference, but Northwestern basketball believes they have the tools to compete.
Head coach: Chris Collins (14th season overall, all at Northwestern)
2025-26 record: 15-19 (5-15)
2026 postseason finish: No tournament
Notable departures:
- Nick Martinelli (23.0 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 2.0 APG)
- Arrinten Page (10.2 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.8 APG)
- Jayden Reid (10.1 PPG, 1.4 RPG, 5.0 APG)
- Tre Singleton (7.6 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.5 APG)
Notable non-conference games:
- vs. DePaul (Dec. 13)
- Charleston Classic (Nov. 20-22)
- vs. BYU (Dec. 5)
- vs. Oklahoma State (Dec. 20) – Tulsa, OK
Projected Rotation
PG: Jake West (6-3, 180, So.)
2025-26 stats: 5.3 PPG, 0.8 RPG, 2.8 APG, 0.6 SPG, 40.3 FG%, 36.4 3P%, 77.4 FT%
SG: Angelo Ciaravino (6-6, 205, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 6.3 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.6 BPG, 51.2 FG%
SF: Jack Karasinski (6-7, 215, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 21.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.6 SPG, 56.1 FG%, 41.5 3P%, 80.7 FT% (Bellarmine)
PF: Colin Smith (6-8, 220, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 11.9 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.5 SPG, 45.5 FG%, 40.5 3P%, 80.0 FT% (UC Santa Barbara)
C: Luke McEldon (6-10, 255, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 11.7 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.6 BPG, 64.5 FG% (Mount St. Mary’s)
6: LA Pratt (6-5, 190, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 17.0 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 3.3 APG, 2.3 SPG, 47.5 FG%, 90.9 FT% (Northeastern)
7: Okku Federiko (6-9, 210, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 8.6 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.6 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 52.2 FG% (Drake)
8: Aleksej Kostić (6-4, 200, So.)
2025-26 stats: 4.4 PPG, 0.9 RPG, 0.4 APG, 36.8 FG%, 36.7 3P%, 87.5 FT% (BYU)
9: Ryan Soulis (6-10, 230, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 5.8 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.5 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 48.8 FG%, 63.3 FT% (Columbia)
10: Dylan Williams (5-11, 180, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 2.1 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 1.6 APG, 37.5 FG% (Penn)
Northwestern basketball team MVP: Jake West
As a 3-star freshman in a league like the Big Ten, things don’t always go easily. He definitely had a lot of growing pains in year one, especially not being especially gifted in any parts of his game. As the season went on, the confidence and ability continued to show improvement. In his final six games of the season, he scored 14+ three times, something he only did once in the 27 games prior. He shot the ball more efficiently and even showed off his playmaking ability.
Now, with the trust of Collins and a year of experience, plus an extra 10 pounds of what I assume is muscle, he can be this year’s breakout star. He can score on all three levels, and isn’t a negative defender either. Again, he’s not going to beat you with game-breaking speed or freakish athletic ability, but he gets to his spots and makes his teammates better.
Northwestern basketball make-or-break player: Jack Karasinski
Let’s start with the positive. Karasinski is an outstanding scorer. He averaged 21.7 PPG last year, and did it on good efficiency, shooting 56% from the field and 41.5% from three. Karasinski had a game where he scored 38 points, and did it on 13-16 shooting. The very next game, he scored 31, and two games prior, he also scored 31. In a way, he’s their Martinelli, because if he has the ball in his hands, then good things happen.
Karasinski played against Kentucky, Georgia, Notre Dame, and Kansas State last year. In those games, he averaged 20.5 PPG and 5.3 RPG, while shooting 63.6% from the field and 42.9% from three. So, clearly he can hold his own against power conference teams.
Now, the other side of the ball, the defensive side. Karasinski is a HORRIBLE defender. In a database of 3000+ players last year, EvanMiya ranked Karasinski as the 37th worst defender in college basketball. This was against the ASUN as well, so now moving to the Big Ten, which has some of the best players in all of college basketball next year. He doesn’t need to be a plus defender, but as long as he’s not a liability on that end, then he can be a star. That’s a big if, though, and without him on the court due to his defensive struggles, the offense might get stagnant.
Key statistic: Turnovers per game
In the last five years, Northwestern has finished top 15 in the country in steals per game four times. Last year, they finished second, with just 8.6 a game, trailing only Houston. This has allowed them to keep themselves in games and constantly beat the teams that they are more talented than. With their backcourt having experience in the system, expect them to finish towards the top once again.
Northwestern basketball 2026-27 projections
Projected conference finish: 16th in the Big Ten
Projected postseason ceiling: NCAA Tournament first-round exit/NIT appearance