Northwestern looking to contend in Big Ten with overhauled roster under Collins

It's a new-look Northwestern team with 11 newcomers and three returning players for coach Chris Collins' 14th year at the school. The Wildcats are hoping to go back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2023-24 season. Nick Martinelli's departure leaves a giant hole in the starting lineup, but Collins added some size and experience through the portal. Jack Karasinski and Luke McEldon are among eight new transfer players.

Jake West is back after a promising freshman season. The 6-foot-3 guard started the final 17 of his 33 games in his first year with the Wildcats. He averaged 5.3 points and 2.8 assists in 22 minutes per game. Angelo Ciaravino also is expected to take on a more prominent role this year. The 6-6 guard averaged 6.3 points and 3.9 rebounds in 33 games last season with Northwestern, including 18 starts. ... Karasinski led Bellarmine with an Atlantic Sun-best 21.7 points per game last season. But life in the rough-and-tumble Big Ten is a different level.

Martinelli led the Big Ten in scoring each of the previous two years, averaging 23 points and 6.2 rebounds in his final season at Northwestern. He was a second-round pick in the NBA draft. ... Tre Singleton, Arrinten Page and Jayden Reid departed Northwestern via the transfer portal. Singleton went to Iowa State, Page left for Providence and Reid went to Memphis. Page (10.2 points), Reid (10.1) and Singleton (7.6) were Northwestern's top scorers behind Martinelli last year. ... McEldon is expected to provide some low-post scoring. The 6-10 forward averaged 11.7 points on 64.5% shooting last season for Mount Saint Mary's.

Northwestern has a tough three-game stretch in early December, hosting Wisconsin for its Big Ten opener before playing BYU in Salt Lake City and making a trip to Michigan. It also has a challenging three-game homestand against UCLA (Feb. 24), Nebraska (Feb. 27) and Michigan State (March 2) late in the season. The Wildcats host Illinois on Jan. 13 and visit the Illini on Feb. 16.

Freshman forward Elijah Eschmeyer is following in the footsteps of his parents, Kristina and Evan, who both played for Northwestern. Elijah's twin sister, Alexandra, plays for Stanford. ... The Wildcats made 216 3-pointers last season, ranking 17th in the 18-team Big Ten. ... Dylan Williams, a 5-11 guard, transferred to Northwestern from Penn. Williams' brother, Tyler, is the director of basketball operations at Binghamton, and the Wildcats host the Bearcats for their season opener on Nov. 2.

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