Northwestern Receives Major March Madness Prediction in 2026

The Wildcats are ranked No. 39 in this early offseason rankings.

Mar 8, 2025; College Park, Maryland, USA; Northwestern Wildcats forward Nick Martinelli (2) handles the ball during the first half against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images | Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

Northwestern is getting some respect from Jon Rothstein in his first offseason edition of the ROTHSTEIN 45. The CBS Sports college basketball reporter has the Wildcats listed at No. 39 in the country, a projection that would place them squarely within the NCAA Tournament field.

Rothstein is clearly high on the Big Ten as a whole. Within the conference, he has Northwestern as the No. 11 team in his rankings, slotted in just behind Nebraska and a few slots shy of USC.

His projected starting lineup and bench do not include recently acquired transfer guard Jayden Reid or junior guard Jordan Clayton. He lists K.J. Windham, Angelo Ciaravino, Justin Mullins, Blake Smith and Nick Martinelli as the starting five.

In reality, Chris Collins could go a number of different ways with this lineup next season. Freshman Tre Singleton could certainly work his way into starting minutes. Reid will likely be a factor somewhere, and Clayton looked like a player who deserved minutes late last season.

The Wildcats also have two scholarship spots open for potential transfers, at least one of which could be a center. Northwestern is lacking big bodies after Matthew Nicholson and Keenan Fitzmorris both ran out of eligibility.

Rothstein has all five freshmen on the bench in his projection, Northwestern's best recruiting class to date. It will be interesting to see how Collins deploys Singleton, Jake West, Tyler Kropp, Cade Bennerman and Phoenix Gill as the season goes on.

Northwestern's coach showed a willingness to give freshmen minutes last year with Windham and Ciaravino, but this is a much bigger class. It remains to be seen which of the five will be able to carve out a role in year one.

Martinelli has also declared for the NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility. Rothstein projects him to be back for his senior season, but that's still up in the air.

Rothstein updates his projections daily throughout the offseason, according to a note at the top of his rankings. Northwestern will likely move around as the roster starts to take shape and other teams continue to improve through the portal.