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By David Boyce  |  Northwest vs. Washburn  |  Thursday, March 5  |  Noon  |  Municipal Auditorium  |  Kansas City, Mo.
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MARYVILLE, Mo. - Amid the celebration of winning the MIAA men's basketball regular-season title, Northwest Missouri State senior Grant Cozad already started focusing on the immediate future.
 
"We have to have a short term memory when it comes to that," Cozad said. "We enjoy it that short period of time and move on and continue our focus on our next game."
 
The Bearcats, Cozad said, have bigger things to play for. Cozad and senior Matt Wallace have never won a MIAA tournament title.
 
Two seasons ago, Northwest came tantalizing close, losing in overtime to Central Missouri in the championship game, despite playing without two key players in the title game.
 
The last time the Bearcats left Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City with the championship trophy was the 2007-08 season.
 
"It has been a long time," Cozad said. "Our goal is to win the tournament. The last win is in the back of our minds. We will be focused on Washburn."
 
The way Wallace sees it, Northwest will come into the noon quarterfinal game on Thursday at Municipal Auditorium as the underdog.
 
It doesn't matter that the Bearcats are riding a nine-game winning streak into the conference tournament or that they are the No. 1 seed with a gaudy 22-5 and 15-4 record compared to Washburn's  16-15 and 10-9 mark.
 
What matters is the Ichabods handed Northwest its only conference home loss on Jan. 10.
 
"We are looking forward to getting back at them," Wallace said.
 
The Bearcats were on an amazing roll when they took on Washburn. Northwest was coming off three straight, blowout conference victories, winning by 21 at Central Oklahoma, 24 at Northeastern State and 32 at home against Nebraska-Kearney.
 
Northwest jumped to a 26-15 lead in the first half against Washburn and appeared headed for another one-sided win. And then, perhaps for the only time in 2015, the Bearcats lost focus. They trailed 29-28 at halftime and never got on track, falling 70-64.
 
"They got us at home," Cozad said. "We did not play very well in that game. That is going to help motivate us throughout this week going into Thursday, to have that edge and get after it."
 
Only after the quarterfinal game is over will the Bearcats start thinking about the next game. Washburn has their full attention.
 
"We have been focusing on some of their tendencies in practice," Cozad said. "We will watch some film in the upcoming two days and really hone in on what they are doing and what we need to focus on to keep them in check throughout the game."
 
Wallace said Northwest coach Ben McCollum has done an excellent job of keeping the players focused on the task at hand.
 
"He lets us know what we need to do," Wallace said. "Our preparation for games during the week is probably the best this year. Coach Mac is just great at what he does."
 
Most likely, no matter what the Bearcats do in the MIAA Tournament, they have probably already done enough to earn their second straight trip to the NCAA Division II tournament.
 
"There is uncertainty," Wallace said. "You don't know for sure if you are going to regional. Might as well play hard and win the conference tournament so you know you will go to regional for sure."
 
Winning the conference tournament title in historic Municipal Auditorium is a great thrill for any team. Yearly, the tournament produces high-quality play and stunning upsets. There was a stretch when the No. 8 seed knocked off the No. 1 seed in back-to-back years.
 
"It is a great atmosphere," Cozad said. "We have fans coming from everywhere, all over the state to watch us play in this tournament and so do the other teams. It makes for a great atmosphere and a great experience for everyone, especially the new guys. It is going to be an awesome experience for them.
 
"We are playing close to home for me. I have a lot of family and friends coming in. That is also a perk. I am looking forward to it a lot."
 
For the Bearcats, Thursday is the most important game of the tournament.
 
"Our mindset is each game is championship game," Cozad said. "We want to treat it like one no matter who we are playing. Night in and night out, anybody can beat anybody. That is our mindset. The first round game is our championship game and move on from there."