# 2016–17 Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball team represented Northwestern University in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Chris Collins. They were members of the Big Ten Conference and played their home games at Welsh-Ryan Arena. They finished the season 24–12, 10–8 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for fifth place. In the Big Ten tournament, they defeated Rutgers and Maryland before losing to Wisconsin in the semifinals. They received the school's first ever bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 8 seed in the West region. In the First Round, they defeated No. 9-seeded Vanderbilt before losing to No. 1-seeded Gonzaga in the Second Round.

## Previous season

The Wildcats finished the 2015–16 season with a record 20–12, 8–10 in Big Ten play to finish in ninth place. They lost to Michigan in the second round of the Big Ten tournament.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Joey van Zegeren | 1 | F | 6'10" | 235 | RS Senior | Hoogeveen, Netherlands | Graduated |
| Tre Demps | 14 | G | 6'2" | 198 | RS Senior | San Antonio, TX | Graduated |
| Alex Olah | 22 | C | 7'0" | 270 | Senior | Timișoara, Romania | Graduated |

### Recruiting classes
#### 2016 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Barret Benson C | Darien, IL | Hinsdale South | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 240 lb (110 kg) | Jul 6, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 79 ||||||
| Rapolas Ivanauskas SF | Barrington, IL | Barrington | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Apr 18, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 79 ||||||
| Isiah Brown PG | Lynnwood, WA | Lakeside | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 155 lb (70 kg) | May 31, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 75 ||||||
| 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: "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 4, 2015. ||||||

#### 2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2017 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Anthony Gaines SG | New Hampton, New Hampshire | New Hampton School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Sep 27, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 79 |||||||
| 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: "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 4, 2015. |||||||

## Roster

Sanjay Lumpkin and Bryant McIntosh were named captain.

## Schedule and results
### Season notes

The team had a winning record in conference play for the first time since the 1967–68 Wildcats went 8–6. The 10 conference wins was the most since the 1932–33 Wildcats. The team was ranked in the AP Poll for the first time since the 2009–10 team. The team's buzzer-beating 21st victory on March 1 against Michigan established a new school record for wins in a season. The team earned the school's first NCAA tournament bid in school history, becoming the last team from a major conference to achieve the feat.
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Nov 4, 2016* 7:00 pm, BTN+ | | Illinois–Springfield | W 89–52 | | 18 – Brown | 6 – McIntosh | 5 – McIntosh | Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, IL |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| Nov 11, 2016* 7:00 pm, BTN+ | | Mississippi Valley State | W 94–63 | 1–0 | 18 – Law | 8 – Lumpkin | 4 – 3 Tied | Welsh-Ryan Arena (6,056) Evanston, IL |
| Nov 14, 2016* 8:00 pm, BTN | | Eastern Washington Legends Classic | W 86–72 | 2–0 | 26 – Law | 6 – Lindsey | 7 – McIntosh | Welsh-Ryan Arena (5,604) Evanston, IL |
| Nov 16, 2016* 6:00 pm, FS1 | | at Butler Gavitt Tipoff Games | L 68–70 | 2–1 | 17 – Law | 7 – Lindsey | 5 – McIntosh | Hinkle Fieldhouse (7,858) Indianapolis, IN |
| Nov 21, 2016* 8:30 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. No. 22 Texas Legends Classic semifinals | W 77–58 | 3–1 | 20 – McIntosh | 11 – Pardon | 5 – McIntosh | Barclays Center (6,780) Brooklyn, NY |
| Nov 22, 2016* 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Notre Dame Legends Classic championship | L 66–70 | 3–2 | 17 – Lindsey | 7 – Pardon | 4 – McIntosh | Barclays Center (5,711) Brooklyn, NY |
| Nov 25, 2016* 2:00 pm, BTN+ | | Bryant Legends Classic | W 86–66 | 4–2 | 22 – Law | 10 – Pardon | 6 – Lindsey | Welsh-Ryan Arena (6,322) Evanston, IL |
| Nov 28, 2016* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Wake Forest ACC–Big Ten Challenge | W 65–58 | 5–2 | 23 – McIntosh | 7 – Lumpkin | 4 – Lindsey | Welsh-Ryan Arena (6,386) Evanston, IL |
| Dec 3, 2016* 6:00 pm, BTN | | DePaul | W 80–64 | 6–2 | 19 – Lindsey | 10 – Lumpkin | 7 – Lindsey | Welsh-Ryan Arena (6,751) Evanston, IL |
| Dec 11, 2016* 6:00 pm, BTN | | New Orleans | W 83–49 | 7–2 | 18 – Taphorn | 9 – Skelly | 7 – McIntosh | Welsh-Ryan Arena (6,635) Evanston, IL |
| Dec 14, 2016* 6:00 pm, BTN | | Chicago State | W 68–64 | 8–2 | 18 – Law | 12 – Lumpkin | 7 – McIntosh | Welsh-Ryan Arena (5,723) Evanston, IL |
| Dec 17, 2016* 6:00 pm, BTN | | vs. Dayton State Farm Chicago Legends | W 67–64 | 9–2 | 14 – Lumpkin | 14 – Lumpkin | 5 – McIntosh | United Center Chicago, IL |
| Dec 20, 2016* 7:00 pm, BTN+ | | IUPUI | W 87–65 | 10–2 | 19 – Skelly | 13 – Lumpkin | 9 – McIntosh | Welsh-Ryan Arena (6,452) Evanston, IL |
| Dec 22, 2016* 7:00 pm, BTN+ | | Houston Baptist | W 72–63 | 11–2 | 19 – Lindsey | 9 – Lumpkin | 6 – McIntosh | Welsh-Ryan Arena (6,372) Evanston, IL |
| Big Ten regular season |||||||||
| Dec 27, 2016 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Penn State | W 87–77 | 12–2 (1–0) | 31 – Lindsey | 12 – Law | 8 – McIntosh | Bryce Jordan Center (5,811) University Park, PA |
| Dec 30, 2016 5:00 pm, BTN | | at Michigan State | L 52–61 | 12–3 (1–1) | 16 – Law | 9 – Law | 5 – McIntosh | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 5, 2017 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Minnesota | L 66–70 | 12–4 (1–2) | 21 – McIntosh | 8 – Law | 5 – McIntosh | Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,215) Evanston, IL |
| Jan 8, 2017 1:15 pm, BTN | | at Nebraska | W 74–66 | 13–4 (2–2) | 19 – Lindsey | 5 – Law | 4 – McIntosh | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,053) Lincoln, NE |
| Jan 12, 2017 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Rutgers | W 69–60 | 14–4 (3–2) | 23 – Law | 11 – Pardon | 4 – McIntosh | Louis Brown Athletic Center (3,723) Piscataway, NJ |
| Jan 15, 2017 6:30 pm, BTN | | Iowa | W 89–54 | 15–4 (4–2) | 22 – Lindsey | 9 – Pardon | 10 – McIntosh | Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,732) Evanston, IL |
| Jan 22, 2017 12:00 pm, BTN | | at Ohio State | W 74–72 | 16–4 (5–2) | 21 – Lindsey | 11 – Lumpkin | 4 – Pardon | Value City Arena (13,369) Columbus, OH |
| Jan 26, 2017 7:00 pm, BTN | | Nebraska | W 73–61 | 17–4 (6–2) | 20 – Law | 22 – Pardon | 9 – McIntosh | Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,108) Evanston, IL |
| Jan 29, 2017 5:30 pm, BTN | | Indiana | W 68–55 | 18–4 (7–2) | 21 – McIntosh | 12 – Law | 8 – McIntosh | Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117) Evanston, IL |
| Feb 1, 2017 7:30 pm, BTN | No. 25 | at No. 23 Purdue | L 59–80 | 18–5 (7–3) | 22 – McIntosh | 7 – Lumpkin | 4 – McIntosh | Mackey Arena (14,804) West Lafayette, IN |
| Feb 7, 2017 7:00 pm, BTN | | Illinois | L 61–68 | 18–6 (7–4) | 21 – McIntosh | 9 – Law | 4 – McIntosh | Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,614) Evanston, IL |
| Feb 12, 2017 5:30 pm, BTN | | at No. 7 Wisconsin | W 66–59 | 19–6 (8–4) | 25 – McIntosh | 8 – Pardon | 7 – McIntosh | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Feb 15, 2017 6:00 pm, BTN | | No. 23 Maryland | L 64–74 | 19–7 (8–5) | 19 – Brown | 8 – Law | 6 – McIntosh | Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,007) Evanston, IL |
| Feb 18, 2017 5:00 pm, ESPNU | | Rutgers | W 69–65 | 20–7 (9–5) | 18 – McIntosh | 8 – Pardon | 6 – McIntosh | Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117) Evanston, IL |
| Feb 21, 2017 7:00 pm, BTN | | at Illinois | L 50–66 | 20–8 (9–6) | 16 – McIntosh | 12 – Pardon | 3 – McIntosh | State Farm Center (11,206) Champaign, IL |
| Feb 25, 2017 7:00 pm, BTN | | at Indiana | L 62–63 | 20–9 (9–7) | 22 – McIntosh | 10 – Pardon | 2 – McIntosh | Assembly Hall (17,222) Bloomington, IN |
| Mar 1, 2017 6:00 pm, BTN | | Michigan | W 67–65 | 21–9 (10–7) | 18 – Law | 8 – Pardon | 5 – McIntosh | Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117) Evanston, IL |
| Mar 5, 2017 3:30 pm, CBS | | No. 16 Purdue | L 65–69 | 21–10 (10–8) | 25 – McIntosh | 7 – Lumpkin | 6 – McIntosh | Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117) Evanston, IL |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| Mar 9, 2017 8:30 pm, ESPN2 | (6) | vs. (14) Rutgers Second Round | W 83–61 | 22–10 | 16 – Law | 8 – Pardon | 4 – Law | Verizon Center (12,408) Washington, D.C. |
| Mar 10, 2017 8:55 pm, BTN | (6) | vs. (3) No. 25 Maryland Quarterfinals | W 72–64 | 23–10 | 17 – 2 Tied | 8 – Pardon | 6 – McIntosh | Verizon Center (15,624) Washington, D.C. |
| Mar 11, 2017 2:30 pm, CBS | (6) | vs. (2) No. 24 Wisconsin Semifinals | L 48–76 | 23–11 | 16 – Lindsey | 7 – Pardon | 1 – 5 Tied | Verizon Center (13,984) Washington, D.C. |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| Mar 16, 2017* 3:30 pm, TBS | (8 W) | vs. (9 W) Vanderbilt First Round | W 68–66 | 24–11 | 25 – McIntosh | 11 – Pardon | 3 – McIntosh | Vivint Smart Home Arena (16,952) Salt Lake City, UT |
| Mar 18, 2017* 4:15 pm, CBS | (8 W) | vs. (1 W) No. 2 Gonzaga Second Round | L 73–79 | 24–12 | 20 – McIntosh | 8 – Law | 7 – McIntosh | Vivint Smart Home Arena (18,565) Salt Lake City, UT |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West Region. All times are in Central Time Source. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | — | RV | RV | 25 | RV | RV | RV | — | — | RV | Not released |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | |
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

## Honors

McIntosh was named to the All-Big Ten second team by the coaches and the media. Scottie Lindsey was named to the third team by the coaches and honorable mention by the media. Vic Law was selected to the All-Big Ten Defensive team. McIntosh was one of ten Big Ten players honored as All-District selections by the United States Basketball Writers Association.