Even the advanced stat nerds are bullish on Northwestern heading into the season. Suits us, right? College basketball advanced stat guru Ken Pomeroy just released his 2017-18 preseason rankings, and he has Northwestern as the No. 18 team in the nation. Northwestern has never been ranked this highly heading into a season. Northwestern hasn’t been ranked this high on KenPom.com ever, let alone in preseason (last year Northwestern ended the season at No. 38).
The efficiency numbers really like Northwestern, apparently. Northwestern is returning four of its starters and most of its bench from a team that made the Round of 32 last season.