The ESPN basketball blog mentions NU as a Big 10 team "trending up"; "it's not outlandish to think Northwestern will be a viable, competitive, mid-pack team in the league. And for the Wildcats, that's a big trend up." Whilst the blogger isn't accurate about NU being a cellar dweller (PSU has been more so than NU), at least Collins and crew are getting some preseason props.
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/108017/early-look-sizing-up-the-big-ten
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/108017/early-look-sizing-up-the-big-ten