# 2018–19 Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball team represented Northwestern University in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by sixth-year head coach Chris Collins as members of the Big Ten Conference. They played their home games at the newly renovated Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Illinois. The Wildcats finished the 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.

## Previous season

The Wildcats finished the 2017–18 season 15–17, 6–12 in Big Ten play to finish in 10th place. They lost in the second round of the Big Ten tournament to Penn State.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Isiah Brown | 12 | G | 6'2" | 190 | Sophomore | Seattle, WA | Transferred to Grand Canyon |
| Rapolas Ivanauskas | 14 | F | 6'9" | 230 | RS Freshman | Barrington, IL | Transferred to Colgate |
| Scottie Lindsey | 20 | G/F | 6'5" | 210 | Senior | Hillsdale, IL | Graduated |
| Bryant McIntosh | 30 | G | 6'3" | 200 | Senior | New Castle, IN | Graduated |
| Gavin Skelly | 44 | F | 6'8" | 235 | Senior | Westlake, OH | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Ryan Taylor | 14 | G | 6'6" | 195 | RS Senior | Gary, IN | Evansville |

### 2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Pete Nance SF | Richfield, OH | Revere High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jun 29, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Ryan Young PF | Stewartsville, NJ | Bethlehem Catholic High School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Aug 23, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Miller Kopp SF | Houston, TX | Houston Christian High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Sep 21, 2017 |
| Recruiting 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: "2018 Northwestern Commits". Rivals.com. "2018 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 |||||||||
| November 2, 2018* 7:00 pm, BTN+ | | McKendree | W 83–44 | – | 14 – Law | 8 – Nance | 6 – Turner | Welsh–Ryan Arena (7,039) Evanston, IL |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 8, 2018* 7:00 pm, BTN | | New Orleans | W 82–52 | 1–0 | 20 – Taylor | 11 – Pardon | 5 – Law | Welsh–Ryan Arena (6,747) Evanston, IL |
| November 12, 2018* 7:00 pm, BTN+ | | American | W 63–51 | 2–0 | 26 – Law | 18 – Pardon | 4 – Pardon | Welsh–Ryan Arena (6,018) Evanston, IL |
| November 16, 2018* 6:00 pm, ESPNews | | Binghamton | W 84–52 | 3–0 | 13 – Turner | 14 – Benson | 4 – Turner | Welsh–Ryan Arena (7,039) Evanston, IL |
| November 22, 2018* 3:30 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Fresno State Wooden Legacy quarterfinals | L 59–78 | 3–1 | 13 – Law | 7 – Pardon | 5 – Law | Titan Gym (4,000) Fullerton, CA |
| November 23, 2018* 3:30 pm, ESPNU | | vs. La Salle Wooden Legacy | W 91–74 | 4–1 | 21 – Tied | 8 – Tied | 5 – Taylor | Titan Gym Fullerton, CA |
| November 25, 2018* 1:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Utah Wooden Legacy 5th place game | W 79–57 | 5–1 | 19 – Law | 6 – Law | 3 – Pardon | Titan Gym Fullerton, CA |
| November 28, 2018* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Georgia Tech ACC–Big Ten Challenge | W 67–61 | 6–1 | 20 – Taylor | 10 – Pardon | 4 – Law | Welsh–Ryan Arena (6,378) Evanston, IL |
| December 1, 2018 4:00 pm, BTN | | at Indiana | L 66–68 | 6–2 (0–1) | 24 – Pardon | 10 – Pardon | 3 – Turner | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) Bloomington, IN |
| December 4, 2018 8:00 pm, BTN | | No. 5 Michigan | L 60–62 | 6–3 (0–2) | 20 – Pardon | 7 – Law | 5 – Turner | Welsh–Ryan Arena (7,039) Evanston, IL |
| December 8, 2018* 11:00 am, BTN | | DePaul | W 75–68 | 7–3 | 25 – Law | 8 – Pardon | 7 – Gaines | Welsh–Ryan Arena (7,039) Evanston, IL |
| December 17, 2018* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Chicago State | W 88–46 | 8–3 | 17 – Law | 7 – Pardon | 5 – Greer | Welsh–Ryan Arena (5,954) Evanston, IL |
| December 21, 2018* 8:00 pm, BTN | | Oklahoma | L 69–76 $^{OT}$ | 8–4 | 23 – Law | 8 – Law | 6 – Gaines | Welsh–Ryan Arena (7,039) Evanston, IL |
| December 30, 2018* 4:00 pm, BTN+ | | Columbia | W 75–54 | 9–4 | 21 – Tied | 10 – Pardon | 5 – Law | Welsh–Ryan Arena (6,714) Evanston, IL |
| January 2, 2019 7:30 pm, BTN | | at No. 8 Michigan State | L 55–81 | 9–5 (0–3) | 19 – Pardon | 7 – Benson | 4 – Law | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| January 6, 2019 12:00 pm, BTN | | Illinois | W 68–66 | 10–5 (1–3) | 13 – Law | 10 – Law | 4 – Turner | Welsh–Ryan Arena (7,039) Evanston, IL |
| January 9, 2019 8:00 pm, BTN | | Iowa | L 63–73 | 10–6 (1–4) | 13 – Tied | 10 – Law | 6 – Turner | Welsh–Ryan Arena (7,039) Evanston, IL |
| January 13, 2019 6:30 pm, BTN | | at No. 2 Michigan | L 60–80 | 10–7 (1–5) | 20 – Pardon | 10 – Gaines | 6 – Turner | Crisler Center (12,707) Ann Arbor, MI |
| January 18, 2019 6:00 pm, BTN | | at Rutgers | W 65–57 | 11–7 (2–5) | 17 – Pardon | 7 – Pardon | 5 – Law | Louis Brown Athletic Center (5,459) Piscataway, NJ |
| January 22, 2019 8:00 pm, BTN | | Indiana | W 73–66 | 12–7 (3–5) | 21 – Falzon | 7 – Tied | 6 – Tied | Welsh–Ryan Arena (7,039) Evanston, IL |
| January 26, 2019 1:15 pm, BTN | | at Wisconsin | L 46–62 | 12–8 (3–6) | 8 – Tied | 11 – Tied | 3 – Gaines | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| January 29, 2019 5:30 pm, FS1 | | at No. 21 Maryland | L 52–70 | 12–9 (3–7) | 18 – Gaines | 7 – Tied | 2 – Tied | Xfinity Center (15,310) College Park, MD |
| February 4, 2019 7:00 pm, FS1 | | Penn State | L 52–59 | 12–10 (3–8) | 18 – Pardon | 10 – Law | 6 – Law | Welsh–Ryan Arena (6,541) Evanston, IL |
| February 10, 2019 5:30 pm, BTN | | at No. 20 Iowa | L 79–80 | 12–11 (3–9) | 24 – Law | 10 – Law | 3 – Tied | Carver-Hawkeye Arena (11,888) Iowa City, IA |
| February 13, 2019 6:00 pm, BTN | | Rutgers | L 56–59 | 12–12 (3–10) | 17 – Law | 6 – Gaines | 4 – Tied | Welsh–Ryan Arena (6,474) Evanston, IL |
| February 16, 2019 7:30 pm, BTN | | at Nebraska | L 50–59 | 12–13 (3–11) | 15 – Law | 12 – Pardon | 3 – Pardon | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,927) Lincoln, NE |
| February 20, 2019 7:30 pm, BTN | | at Ohio State | L 49–63 | 12–14 (3–12) | 10 – Law | 9 – Pardon | 2 – Tied | Value City Arena (12,032) Columbus, OH |
| February 23, 2019 7:30 pm, BTN | | No. 22 Wisconsin | L 64–69 | 12–15 (3–13) | 24 – Law | 5 – Gaines | 6 – Law | Welsh–Ryan Arena (7,039) Evanston, IL |
| February 28, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Minnesota | L 50–62 | 12–16 (3–14) | 16 – Pardon | 13 – Pardon | 7 – Law | Welsh–Ryan Arena (6,869) Evanston, IL |
| March 3, 2019 5:30 pm, BTN | | at Illinois | L 76–81 | 12–17 (3–15) | 16 – Pardon | 9 – Pardon | 4 – Gaines | State Farm Center (13,924) Champaign, IL |
| March 6, 2019 8:00 pm, BTN | | Ohio State | W 68–50 | 13–17 (4–15) | 20 – Pardon | 13 – Pardon | 4 – Kopp | Welsh–Ryan Arena (6,534) Evanston, IL |
| March 9, 2019 1:30 pm, BTN | | No. 11 Purdue | L 57–70 | 13–18 (4–16) | 14 – Turner | 7 – Law | 3 – Tied | Welsh–Ryan Arena (7,039) Evanston, IL |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| March 13, 2019 8:00 pm, BTN | (14) | vs. (11) Illinois First round | L 69–74 $^{OT}$ | 13–19 | 20 – Turner | 9 – Gaines | 5 – Turner | United Center (16,473) Chicago, IL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||