Northwestern basketball is a legitimate top-25 team now. Seriously.

Northwestern basketball waited 78 years for the breakthrough that finally came last season, an exhilarating run that led to the program’s first ever NCAA tournament appearance and a weight lifted from its shoulders.

In the process, Northwestern shed its identity. This is no longer the power conference program synonymous with the most dubious streak in the sport. Now Chris Collins and his team are looking to create a new one.

The Wildcats return every key member from last season. They have a two-way wing in Vic Law, a steady senior point guard in Bryant McIntosh and burgeoning big man in Dererk Pardon. Making the NCAA tournament isn’t a prayer anymore, it’s a firm expectation. This is a team that could conceivably compete for the Big Ten title.

This season is all about sustainability for Northwestern, the idea that last season was no fluke and instead the start of something bigger. That only happens if this team avoids a letdown and builds on its progress.

If Northwestern is really on its way to building a consistent winner, this season is just as important as the last one.

PG Bryant McIntosh, senior

SG Scottie Lindsey, senior

SF Vic Law, RS junior

PF Aaron Falzon, RS sophomore

C Dererk Pardon, junior

Key reserves: PG Isiah Brown (sophomore), C Barret Benson (sophomore), PF Rapolas Ivanauskas (RS freshman), PF Gavin Skelly (senior), G Jordan Ash (junior)

Northwestern finished 24-12 and made the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. Once there, the Wildcats outlasted Vanderbilt with a wild ending and gave eventual national runner-up Gonzaga everything it could handle in the round of 32.

Northwestern fans probably still aren’t over this missed goaltending call and the subsequent technical foul given to coach Collins that turned the tide of the biggest game in program history.

But hey: Last year was the best season Northwestern basketball has ever had, and it should only get better.

You know it. Her son Charlie Hall will be a junior walk-on.

Bryant McIntosh is the engine, Scottie Lindsey is the best pure scorer, but Vic Law is the man. The highest-rated recruit in Northwestern history, Law averaged 12.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game last year while shooting 40 percent from three-point range.

If Law can continue to develop as a secondary playmaker, he’ll have a shot to make the NBA as a 3-and-D guy. Northwestern hasn’t had a player drafted since Evan Eschmeyer in 1999.

Experience and balance. The only rotation players missing from last year are Sanjay Lumpkin and Nathan Taphorn. The team’s four best players are back and there’s reason to believe sophomores Isaiah Brown and Barrett Benson are ready to be more consistent contributors.

This is where I’ll also vouch for Pardon, who I believe is one of the more underrated bigs in the country. At 6’8, 235 pounds, and with a 7’3 wingspan, he’s a feared rebounder and shot blocker who also hit 61 percent of his attempts from the field last season.

Shooting. McIntosh (30.7 percent) isn’t much of a threat from deep, and neither was Lindsey (32.2 percent) last year. Law’s shooting numbers were a pleasant surprise and he can’t afford to fall back down to Earth there. The hope is that Aaron Falzon, who missed last season with knee injury, can give the Wildcats some shooting out of the four.

Just wanted to watch Northwestern’s Hail Mary buzzer-beater against Michigan one last time.

That’s the play that clinched the first NCAA tournament berth in program history. I was there and still can’t believe it actually happened.