# 2019–20 Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball team represented Northwestern University in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by seventh-year head coach Chris Collins, the Wildcats played their home games at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Illinois as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 8–22, 3–17 to finish in 13th place in Big Ten play. They lost in the first round of the Big Ten tournament to Minnesota.

## Previous season

The Wildcats finished the 2018–19 season 13–19, 4–16 in Big Ten play to finish in last place. They lost in the first round of the Big Ten tournament to Illinois.

## Offseason
### Coaching changes

In March 2019, assistant Billy Donlon was hired as the new head coach at Kansas City. Collins hired Jon Borovich as Donlon's replacement in May 2019.

### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Vic Law | 4 | F | 6'7" | 200 | Senior (RS) | South Holland, IL | Graduated |
| Dererk Pardon | 5 | F/C | 6'8" | 235 | Senior | Cleveland, OH | Graduated |
| Ryan Taylor | 14 | G | 6'6" | 195 | Senior (RS) | Gary, IN | Graduated |
| Jordan Ash | 23 | G | 6'3" | 200 | Senior | Bolingbrook, IL | Graduate transferred to Wright State |
| Barret Benson | 25 | C | 6'10" | 240 | Junior | Chicago, IL | Graduate transferred to Southern Illinois |
| Charlie Hall | 34 | G | 6'5" | 210 | Junior (RS) | Los Angeles, CA | Graduated; chose to enter the workforce |
| Aaron Falzon | 35 | F | 6'8" | 235 | Junior (RS) | Newton, MA | Graduate transferred to Quinnipiac |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Remaining Seasons | Previous School | Notes |
| Chase Audige | 1 | G | 6'4" | 193 | Freshman | Coram, NY | 3 | William & Mary | Sat out the 2019–20 season due to NCAA transfer rules. |
| Pat Spencer | 12 | G | 6'3" | 205 | Graduate | Davidsonville, MD | 1 | Loyola (MD) | Was immediately eligible for the 2019–20 season, having graduated from Loyola University Maryland. Eligible to play basketball because he never played that sport while at Loyola, instead playing lacrosse. |

### 2019 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Robbie Beran PF | Richmond, VA | Collegiate School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Oct 1, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Jared Jones C | Jacksonville, FL | McEachern High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 232 lb (105 kg) | Sep 30, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Daniel Buie PG | Troy, NY | Gould Academy | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Sep 14, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2019 Northwestern Commits". Rivals.com. "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 31, 2019* 7:00 p.m., BTN Plus | | Quincy | W 105–64 | – | 19 – Spencer | 8 – Turner | 5 – Buie/Turner | Welsh–Ryan Arena (N/A) Evanston, IL |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 8, 2019* 7:00 p.m., BTN Plus | | Merrimack | L 61–71 | 0–1 | 19 – Nance | 12 – Nance | 5 – Greeg | Welsh–Ryan Arena (5,014) Evanston, IL |
| November 13, 2019* 8:00 p.m., BTN | | Providence Gavitt Tipoff Games | W 72–63 | 1–1 | 16 – Young | 8 – Nance | 5 – Spencer | Welsh–Ryan Arena (5,204) Evanston, IL |
| November 19, 2019* 7:00 p.m., BTN Plus | | Radford Fort Myers Tip Off campus site game | L 56–67 | 1–2 | 16 – Nance | 10 – Nance | 6 – Spencer | Welsh–Ryan Arena (4,834) Evanston, IL |
| November 22, 2019* 7:00 p.m., BTN Plus | | Norfolk State Fort Myers Tip Off campus site game | W 70–59 | 2–2 | 19 – Young | 12 – Young | 5 – Spencer | Welsh–Ryan Arena (4,954) Evanston, IL |
| November 25, 2019* 7:30 p.m., FS1 | | vs. Bradley Fort Myers Tip Off semifinals | W 78–51 | 3–2 | 23 – Spencer | 9 – Gaines | 8 – Spencer | Suncoast Credit Union Arena (2,286) Fort Myers, FL |
| November 27, 2019* 7:30 p.m., FS1 | | vs. Pittsburgh Fort Myers Tip Off Finals | L 59–72 | 3–3 | 18 – Spencer | 5 – Jones | 3 – Spencer | Suncoast Credit Union Arena (2,046) Fort Myers, FL |
| December 3, 2019* 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Boston College ACC–Big Ten Challenge | W 82–64 | 4–3 | 20 – Tied | 6 – Nance | 4 – Nance | Conte Forum (4,004) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| December 8, 2019 4:00 p.m., BTN | | at Purdue | L 44–58 | 4–4 (0–1) | 14 – Nance | 7 – Young | 3 – Young | Mackey Arena (14,804) West Lafayette, IN |
| December 15, 2019* 3:00 p.m., ESPNU | | SIU Edwardsville | W 72–54 | 5–4 | 25 – Young | 12 – Young | 6 – Buie | Welsh–Ryan Arena (5,464) Evanston, IL |
| December 18, 2019 7:00 p.m., BTN | | No. 15 Michigan State | L 72–77 | 5–5 (0–2) | 26 – Buie | 7 – Tied | 4 – Buie | Welsh–Ryan Arena (6,734) Evanston, IL |
| December 21, 2019* 7:30 p.m., CBSSN | | at DePaul | L 78–83 | 5–6 | 25 – Buie | 11 – Young | 6 – Buie | Wintrust Arena (6,357) Chicago, IL |
| December 29, 2019* 1:00 p.m., BTN | | Hartford | L 66–67 | 5–7 | 24 – Kopp | 5 – Nance | 6 – Buie | Welsh–Ryan Arena (5,304) Evanston, IL |
| January 5, 2020 6:30 p.m., BTN | | at Minnesota | L 68–77 | 5–8 (0–3) | 22 – Spencer | 9 – Young | 8 – Spencer | Williams Arena (9,574) Minneapolis, MN |
| January 8, 2020 6:00 p.m., BTN | | at Indiana | L 62–66 | 5–9 (0–4) | 15 – Spencer | 5 – Young | 5 – Spencer | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (13,751) Bloomington, IN |
| January 11, 2020 3:30 p.m., BTN | | Nebraska | W 62–57 | 6–9 (1–4) | 15 – Kopp | 10 – Beran | 4 – Nance | Welsh–Ryan Arena (5,664) Evanston, IL |
| January 14, 2020 7:00 p.m., BTN | | Iowa | L 62–75 | 6–10 (1–5) | 15 – Kopp | 10 – Nance | 4 – Tied | Welsh–Ryan Arena (6,023) Evanston, IL |
| January 18, 2020 4:00 p.m., BTN | | at No. 24 Illinois | L 71–75 | 6–11 (1–6) | 17 – Beran | 5 – Tied | 5 – Spencer | State Farm Center (14,131) Champaign, IL |
| January 21, 2020 6:00 p.m., FS1 | | No. 17 Maryland | L 66–77 | 6–12 (1–7) | 17 – Spencer | 9 – Spencer | 4 – Turner | Welsh–Ryan Arena (5,236) Evanston, IL |
| January 26, 2020 5:30 p.m., BTN | | Ohio State | L 59–71 | 6–13 (1–8) | 20 – Kopp | 6 – Nance | 4 – Spencer | Welsh–Ryan Arena (6,121) Evanston, IL |
| January 29, 2020 5:30 p.m., BTN | | at No. 14 Michigan State | L 50–79 | 6–14 (1–9) | 11 – Spencer | 6 – Beran | 2 – Tied | Breslin Student Events Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| February 1, 2020 8:00 p.m., BTN | | Purdue | L 58–61 | 6–15 (1–10) | 15 – Kopp | 7 – Spencer | 4 – Buie | Welsh–Ryan Arena (5,874) Evanston, IL |
| February 9, 2020 5:30 p.m., BTN | | at Rutgers | L 73–77 $^{OT}$ | 6–16 (1–11) | 19 – Buie | 6 – Young | 5 – Spencer | Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,000) Piscataway, NJ |
| February 12, 2020 8:00 p.m., BTN | | Michigan | L 54–79 | 6–17 (1–12) | 12 – Jones | 8 – Young | 4 – Tied | Welsh–Ryan Arena (6,054) Evanston, IL |
| February 15, 2020 11:00 a.m., BTN | | at No. 13 Penn State | L 61–77 | 6–18 (1–13) | 12 – Tied | 7 – Tied | 4 – Kopp | Bryce Jordan Center (14,402) University Park, PA |
| February 18, 2020 7:00 p.m., BTN | | at No. 7 Maryland | L 67–76 | 6–19 (1–14) | 17 – Young | 8 – Young | 3 – Tied | Xfinity Center (15,486) College Park, MD |
| February 23, 2020 2:00 p.m., BTN | | Minnesota | L 57–83 | 6–20 (1–15) | 11 – Nance | 5 – Kopp | 6 – Spencer | Welsh–Ryan Arena (5,815) Evanston, IL |
| February 27, 2020 7:00 p.m., BTN | | Illinois | L 66–74 | 6–21 (1–16) | 18 – Spencer | 7 – Nance | 3 – Spencer | Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,039) Evanston, IL |
| March 1, 2020 3:15 p.m., BTN | | at Nebraska | W 81–76 | 7–21 (2–16) | 21 – Kopp | 14 – Nance | 7 – Buie | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,842) Lincoln, NE |
| March 4, 2020 8:00 p.m., BTN | | at No. 24 Wisconsin | L 48–63 | 7–22 (2–17) | 14 – Nance | 8 – Spencer | 7 – Spencer | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| March 7, 2020 3:00 p.m., BTN | | No. 20 Penn State | W 80–69 | 8–22 (3–17) | 21 – Kopp | 8 – Young | 6 – Spencer | Welsh–Ryan Arena (6,084) Evanston, IL |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| March 11, 2020 5:00 pm, BTN | (13) | vs. (12) Minnesota First Round | L 57–74 | 8–23 | 15 – Nance | 8 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Bankers Life Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||
Source