Fresh off last season’s magical NCAA Tournament season, the optimism surrounding next year’s Northwestern basketball team is sky-high, and for good reason. The team will return four out of five starters and over 85 percent of its scoring. And while you have to take offseason projections with a degree of skepticism, Northwestern’s appearance in several “way-too-early” Top 25 lists gives you a general idea of the national optimism and hype around the team.
Given how much talent is coming back for the Wildcats, 2017-18 will be a critical year for the development of the program.