Northwest Missouri State Athletics

2016-17 Men's Basketball National Champions
The 2016-17 Bearcat men's basketball team captured the program's first NCAA Division II National Championship with a 35-1 record. The Bearcats began the season by winning its first 24 straight games. Following an 88-71 loss at Missouri Southern on Feb. 18 in Joplin, Mo., Northwest ran off 11 consecutive wins to hoist the trophy at the Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. Northwest set a league record with 28 consecutive MIAA victories in the 2016-17 season. The previous MIAA record was 19 set by Northwest in 1931. Northwest claimed the MIAA regular season title with an 18-1 mark. The Bearcats stormed through the MIAA Tournament with wins over Lincoln (80-76), Missouri Southern (67-63) and Central Missouri (69-61). For the first time in school history, Northwest served as the host for the 2017 NCAA Central Region Tournament in Bearcat Arena. Northwest narrowly escaped a first-round scare as it bested Upper Iowa in overtime (79-74). The Bearcats advanced to the Elite Eight with triumphs over Augustana (74-53) and Southwest Minnesota State (55-52). Northwest took down St. Thomas Aquinas (79-70) in the Elite Eight. Northwest downed Lincoln Memorial in the national semifinals, 79-67. The Bearcats recorded a 71-61 victory against Fairmont State in the national title game. Head coach Ben McCollum was named the NABC National Coach of the Year. Junior guard Justin Pitts was honored as the NABC National Player of the Year and the Bevo Francis Award winner. Zach Schneider captured second-team all-MIAA honors, while Chris-Ebou Ndow landed third-team all-MIAA accolades. Anthony Woods and D'Vante Mosby were all-MIAA honorable mention selections.
 
2016-17 MBB Roster
Brett Dougherty
Tyler Dougherty
Kirk Finley
Grant Graham
Ryan Hawkins
Xavier Kurth
Daric Laing
D'Vante Mosby
Chris-Ebou Ndow
Justin Pitts
Zach Schneider
Dray Starzl
Ryan Welty
Anthony Woods
Head Coach: Ben McCollum
Assistant Coaches: Austin Meyer, Andy Peterson
Graduate Assistant: Christian Phelps
Student Manager/Assistant: Cole Quick, Andrew Wright
Athletic Trainer: Nick Peters