How does Northwestern turn its non-conference schedule from a hindrance to a help?
There are a lot of factors that make a team an NCAA Tournament team. Northwestern's 2016 team didn't check enough of the requisite boxes to be considered a contender for the Big Dance.
Most importantly, the Wildcats just didn't have the requisite talent to make the Tournament. That aspect is largely undebatable. But the second issue, something that Chris Collins and Jim Phillips could have rectified whether or not Vic Law's shoulder was healthy, was its non-conference schedule.
When it was announced in its entirety last June, it immediately appeared to be loaded with cupcakes and completely against the selection committee's trend of siding with teams that challenged themselves outside of conference play.