B Grade

[GatoLouco]

Northwestern Wildcats​

Grade: B

"An unofficial preseason media poll picked Northwestern to finish 16th out of 18 teams. The Wildcats avoided that projection, finishing in a multiteam tie for 12th place, but that's not the full story: Brooks Barnhizer (17.1 PPG, 8.8 RPG) and Jalen Leach (14.3 PPG), two of the team's top three scorers, missed 26 games combined because of injury. As a result, the Wildcats struggled in a strong Big Ten but still went 17-16 overall, securing a finish of .500 or better for just the 31st time in the program's 120-year history. That's why Chris Collins earned a lengthy extension when the season ended."

Grading how every Big Ten men's basketball team performed in 2024-25

Rutgers' star duo fell short of expectations while Wisconsin's John Tonje helped the Badgers surpass theirs.

www.espn.com

 

[EagerFan]

Minnesota's low-level NIL investment made it challenging to thrive in the current landscape.

Dylan Harper (19.4 PPG) and Ace Bailey (17.6 PPG, 7.2 RPG) were projected top-three picks in the 2025 NBA draft all season. They were paid millions to change the face of Rutgers basketball, but the Knights instead finished 11th in the Big Ten

But a seven-figure sum for the 2024 Mountain West Player of the Year couldn't lift the Huskies from the bottom of the Big Ten.

Maybe there's more to it than the NIL spend?

I always wish these report card editions were given more 'page length' and better than a paragraph a team.