MORE ON NU BASKETBALL: Media Days Notebook
One of the pillars of Northwestern's run to the NCAA Tournament last season was its swarming defense.
The Wildcats jumped from 198th in points allowed per game in 2021-22, to 23rd in 2022-23. Now, with the season right around the corner, the question is if they can sustain that success without graduated Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Year Chase Audige.
Head coach Chris Collins knows how important Audige was to last year's team, a team that ranked ninth nationally in turnover margin, and he knows it will take a village to replace him this season.
"You can't have one person give you what Chase gave you," he said. "He had a knack for deflections and steals with his activity on that end. There's a reason he got Co-DPOY, he's a special talent.
"I do think that a lot of things we do schematically can continue to be a real strength for our team."
Audige may have moved on to the professional ranks -- he's currently on an Exhibit 10 deal with the Washington Wizards -- but assistant coach and defensive guru Chris Lowery is back for his second season on Northwestern's staff, and he's on the same page as Collins.
"The biggest thing is that we have [our system] installed," Lowery said. "We have enough guys coming back who know what we're doing.
"Obviously, when you lose a guy like Chase who was the best in the league, one of the best in the country, that hurts. But our principles and how we approach things will still be solid."
The coaches know that Audige was a singular talent, but they also know that Northwestern's defense is a cohesive whole, built on swarming and switching, not putting guys on an island or eliminating a star one-on-one.
"I think that was our formula last year," Collins said. "We became a very good team-defensive unit, and then we had good guards. So when you play good defense, you keep yourself in striking distance."
The players at Big Ten Media Days matched the confidence from their coaches. They know that the scheme is proven, and it's on them to ingrain it in new players and create the chemistry that strangled opponent offenses again this season.
"In practice, there's the mindset of no softness," senior guard Ty Berry said. "We don't call any fouls, everything we do has to be tough and grimy.
"We've instilled that right since we started practice with transfers and our young guys. If you're not [bringing that mentality], then we sub you out. We've set the tone early. They know this is how we're going to play and our identity on defense."
Northwestern's identity is built upon trapping, switching and rotating interchangeably. Collins said he expects the team to play plenty of small ball, built on the experienced foundation of guards Boo Buie, Brooks Barnhizer and Berry.
"I think it's been really key because we've all been on the same team for three years now," Barnhizer said. "When we've had everybody at practice, we've worked really well in four-guard lineups. We know how each other plays, and we know their strengths."
Buie, a first-team All-Big Ten guard last season who is known for his offense, emphasized Barnhizer's point. The trio has so far used their experience and potential to help bring new guards like transfers Justin Mullins and Ryan Langborg up to speed at the top of the defense.
"The hardest part is understanding our principles and learning our ways," Buie said. "That's our job as the older guys on the team. It's instilling information into their brains and helping them pick up things faster.
"We're the coaches on the court, in a sense."
With the competitive edge and collaborative mindset starting from their trio of established guards, Northwestern expects their defense to be right where it left off: elite.
