Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Sat., Jan. 19  | at Missouri Western | 7:30 p.m. | St. Joseph, Mo. (MWSU Fieldhouse)
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NO. 2 NORTHWEST TRAVELS TO MISSOURI WESTERN
The No. 2-ranked Northwest Missouri State men's basketball team (16-0 overall, 6-0 MIAA) will look to extend the nation's longest win streak with a Saturday road tilt at Missouri Western. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m. at the MWSU Fieldhouse.

TWO UNDEFEATEDS REMAIN
Northwest (16-0 overall) and Bellarmine (14-0) are the only two remaining undefeated teams in the nation.

Current Overall Win Streaks
1. Northwest Missouri State    16
2. Bellarmine            14
3. Colorado School of Mines    11
4. Queens (NY)            10
5. Morehouse            9
    Point Loma            9

MISSOURI WESTERN
The Griffons are 8-9 overall and 2-4 in MIAA play. Missouri Western is only 1-5 at home this season under first-year head coach Sundance Wicks.
    Missouri Western picked up both of its MIAA wins at Central Oklahoma (W, 85-80) and at Northeastern State (W, 71-70).
    The Griffons are led in scoring by Lavon Hightower (18.8 ppg).

ALL-TIME SERIES
Northwest holds a 52-35 lead in the all-time series vs. Missouri Western. Northwest has won 11 consecutive games in the series.
    The Bearcats have won 16 of the last 17 matchups overall, including five straight wins in St. Joseph.
    Northwest head coach Ben McCollum is 16-2 vs. the Griffons.

BEARCATS COMFORTABLE IN ST. JOSEPH
Northwest is 4-0 in games played in St. Joseph this season. The Bearcats opened the season with four wins at the Civic Arena.

BEARCATS WIN AT A HIGH RATE
Northwest has posted a remarkable record of 78-5 (.940 win percentage) over the past three seasons. Northwest went 35-1 in 2016-17, 27-4 in 2017-18 and is 16-0 in 2018-19.

LAST 75 MIAA GAMES
Northwest is 68-7 in its last 75 MIAA games, dating back to the middle of the 2014-15 season, with six of those setbacks coming on the road.
    In that stretch, Northwest is 37-1 in Bearcat Arena in MIAA matchups.

NORTHWEST AT NO. 59 IN MASSEY RATINGS
Northwest is ranked No. 59 among all NCAA collegiate basketball teams in the the Massey Ratings (www.MasseyRatings.com as of Jan. 16).
    Northwest is the highest rated NCAA Div. II team and the highest rated team among all colleges and universities in the state of Missouri.

THREE BEARCATS NAMED TO BEVO FRANCIS WATCH LIST
Small College Basketball is excited to announce its first Watch List for the Bevo Francis Award of 2019 consisting of 100 of the finest men's basketball players in the country who compete in the affiliations of NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA Division I, NAIA Division II, USCAA and NCCAA.
    Senior Joey Witthus (Chanhassen, Minnesota), sophomore Ryan Hawkins (Atlantic, Iowa) and redshirt freshman Trevor Hudgins (Manhattan, Kansas) represent Northwest Missouri State University on the top-100 watch list.
    This marks the fourth season of the Bevo Francis Award, as the award was previously given to Dominez Burnett of Davenport (Mich.) in 2016, Justin Pitts of Northwest Missouri State in 2017 and Emanuel Terry of Lincoln Memorial last season.

WITTHUS EARNS MIAA PLAYER OF WEEK STATUS
Joey Witthus has been named the MIAA men's basketball player of the week.
    Witthus averaged 29.0 points per game, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in leading Northwest to a pair of home wins over Emporia State and nationally-ranked Washburn. 
    Against Emporia State, Witthus notched his third 30-point game of the season with 32 points. Witthus scored 16 consecutive points in the second half to turn a six-point game into a 15-point advantage for the Bearcats. Witthus went 11-of-22 from the field and drained five triples to go along with three rebounds, three assists and a steal. Witthus went 5-of-5 from the free throw stripe.
    On Saturday against Washburn, Witthus scored a game-high 26 points. Witthus was 7-of-15 from the field that included four buried treys. Witthus was 8-of-9 at the free throw line. He added five rebounds, three assists and two steals in the win to push the Bearcats win streak to 16 in a row.
    Witthus shot 48.6 percent from the field, 40.9 percent from three-point range and 92.9 percent from the free throw line.

WITTHUS IN MIAA ACTION
Senior forward Joey Witthus has upped his scoring average to 22.0 points per game in MIAA play.
    Witthus is tied with Missouri Southern's Elyjay Clark for the MIAA lead in three-pointers made in league play with 19.
    Witthus ranks only behind teammate Ryan Hawkins (95.5 - 21-of-22) in MIAA free throw percentage by making 91.2 percent (31-of-34).

BEST IN THE NATION
Northwest ranks No. 1 in the nation in four stat categories: assist-to-turnover ratio (2.07), scoring margin (+24.5), three-point field goal percentage (44.8%), turnovers per game (7.6).
    The Bearcats also rank No. 2 in the nation in turnover margin (+7.4) and three-point field goals made (197).

CENTRAL REGION RANKINGS
Northwest holds down the top spot in the D2SIDA Central Region rankings that were released on Jan. 8. Northwest owns all six first-place votes in the region.

D2SIDA CENTRAL REGION
1.   Northwest Missouri State
2.   Northern State
3.   Washburn
4.   Missouri Southern
5.   Wayne State
6.   Southern Nazarene
7.   Sioux Falls
8.   Minnesota State
9.   Southern Arkansas
10. Pittsburg State

BEARCATS RANKED NO. 2
Northwest is ranked No. 2 in the nation in both Division II top 25 polls.
    Bellarmine is ranked No. 1 with 16 first-place votes in the NABC poll. Bellarmine is ranked No. 1 with 12 first-place votes in the D2SIDA poll.
    Northwest is receiving four first-place votes in D2SIDA's top 25.
HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE
Northwest has enjoyed a tremendous home-court advantage in the last six-plus seasons in Bearcat Arena. Northwest has put together a mark of 82-5 in Bearcat Arena over its last 87 home games. The Bearcats are 9-0 at home this year.

Northwest in Bearcat Arena (since 2012-13)
2012-13 - 12-3
2013-14 - 12-1
2014-15 - 13-2
2015-16 - 13-0
2016-17 - 18-0
2017-18 - 12-2
2018-19 - 9-0

BEARCATS ARE WINNING ON THE ROAD TOO
Northwest ran its road winning streak to seven in a row with a pair of triumphs at Northeastern State (W, 105-70) and at Central Oklahoma (W, 78-67).
    Northwest's seven-game road win streak ranks No. 3 in the nation.

Current Road Win Streaks
1. Bellarmine - 10
2. Morehouse - 8
3. Northwest Missouri State - 7
    Lee - 7
    Queens (NY) - 7
    Fairmont State - 7

20 3-POINTERS FOR NORTHWEST STARTERS
Each of the five starters in the Bearcat lineup has drained at least 26 three-pointers this season.
    Joey Witthus (52), Ryan Hawkins (48), Ryan Welty (33), Trevor Hudgins (26) and Diego Bernard (26) have all drained at least 26 or more three-pointers this year.

HUDGINS IS SCORING, DISHING
Redshirt freshman Trevor Hudgins ranks No. 2 in the nation among freshman scorers at 18.4 points per game. Only Walsh's JT Shumate is averaging more as a freshman at 18.9 points per game.
    Hudgins leads the MIAA in assists per game (6.2). He ranks No. 2 in the MIAA and No. 5 in the nation in turnover-to-assist ratio (3.54).

HAWKINS DOUBLES UP
Sophomore forward Ryan Hawkins has collected a team-best seven double-doubles. Hawkins has reached double figures in rebounds in eight games. Hawkins earned his seventh double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds vs. Washburn.

HAWK TOPS MIAA IN STEALS
Hawkins leads the MIAA in steals (40) and ranks No. 2 in rebounding (9.8 rpg). His 40 steals ranks No. 9 in the nation.
    Hawkins ranks No. 4 in the nation in defensive rebounds per game (7.88). He ranks No. 9 in the nation in total rebounds (157).
    Hawk ranks No. 3 in the MIAA in FG percentage (59.9).

SINGLE-GAME LEADER IN MIAA
Ryan Hawkins holds the MIAA single-game lead in rebounds (18) and steals (6) this season.

HAWK IN MIAA PLAY
Ryan Hawkins is averaging 18.5 points per game and shooting 59.7 percent from the field through six MIAA games. Hawkins has made 37-of-69 field goal attempts (including 16-of-39 three-pointers), while being 21-of-22 at the free throw line. Hawkins has registered a team-best 16 steals.

DIEGO OFF THE BENCH
Freshman guard Diego Bernard has provided a spark off the bench. Bernard is averaging 12.5 points per game and has reached double-figure scoring in 12 straight contests.
    Bernard tied his career-high with four three-pointers in Northwest's 79-59 win over Emporia State last Wednesday.

REALLY GOOD FROM DEEP
Northwest ranks No. 1 in the nation three-point field goal percentage (44.8 percent). Northwest ranks No. 2 in the nation with 197 made 3-pointers.
    Northwest possesses two of the top three-point percentage shooters in the MIAA. Joey Witthus ranks No. 2 in the league at 48.1 percent (52-of-108), while Ryan Hawkins ranks No. 3 in the MIAA at 46.2 percent (48-of-104).

ALWAYS DEFENSIVE
Northwest ranks No. 1 in the MIAA in scoring defense by giving up only 63.4 points per game. The Bearcats rank No. 10 in the nation in scoring defense.

SHOOTING IT WELL
The Bearcats are shooting 52.8 percent from the floor, which ranks No. 4 in the nation. The Bearcats shot a season-best 64.3 percent in a 105-70 win at Northeastern State (Jan. 3).

WITTHUS FOR THREE
Senior Joey Witthus has drained 247 career three-pointers to ranks No. 7 among the Division II active career leaders.
    Witthus made 137 three-pointers in his first two collegiate seasons at Minnesota State, Mankato. Witthus has made 110 triples in time at Northwest.

NCAA Active Career Leaders - 3-Pointers
1. Jarrett Brodbeck (Regis)        334
2. Jack Laffey (Adelphi)        298
3. Sawyer Glick (Emporia State)    271
4. Jason Jolly (Fairmont State)    267
5. Kenny Hairston (Limestone)    255
6. Jonathan Lawton (Fla. Southern)    253
7. Joey Witthus (Northwest Missouri)    247
8. Elyjah Clark (Missouri Southern)    246
9. Drew Geubert (Sioux Falls)        240
    Ryan Boulter (Merrimack)        240

WELTY'S THREE-POINT PRECISION
Junior Ryan Welty is the nation's active career leader in three-point field goal percentage. Welty has made 53.2 percent of his three-point shots (140-of-263).

NCAA Active Career Leaders - 3-Point FG Pct.
1. Ryan Welty (Northwest Missouri)    .532
2. Adam Bonk (Wisconsin-Parkside)    .478
3. Dan Largey (Stonehill)        .476
4. Anthony Lee (Kutztown)        .475
5. Ryan Hoyng (Ohio Dominican)    .469

MCCOLLUM WINS AT A HIGH RATE
Northwest head coach Ben McCollum ranks No. 9 among active NCAA Division II coaches in winning percentage with a minimum of 10 years as a head coach.
    McCollum has guided the Bearcats to a mark of 219-75 (.745 winning percentage) in his 10th season at the helm of the program.

NCAA Div. II Head Coach Win Percentage (Min. 10 yrs.)
1. Jim Crutchfield (Nova Southeastern)    .844 (389-72, 15 yrs.)
2. Josh Schertz (Lincoln Memorial)    .824 (276-59, 11 yrs.)
3. Scott Davenport (Bellarmine)    .775 (330-96, 14 yrs.)
4. Burt Paddock (Davenport)    .764 (272-84, 11 yrs.)
5. Jeff Young (Walsh)    .762 (342-107, 18 yrs.)
6. Ken Ammann (Concordia, Calif.)    .760 (453-143, 18 yrs.)
7. Rodney Watson (Southern Indiana)    .756 (214-69, 10 yrs.)
8. Joe Lombardi (Indiana, Pa.)    .747 (289-98, 13 yrs.)
9. Ben McCollum (Northwest Mo. St.)    .745 (219-75, 10 yrs.)
10. Greg Zimmerman (Alderson Broaddus)    .723 (384-174, 18 yrs.)    

30-POINT GAMES
Senior Joey Witthus scored 30-plus points in back-to-back games on Jan. 5 at Central Oklahoma and Jan. 9 vs. Emporia State. Witthus scored a career-high 34 points at Central Oklahoma and followed that up with 32 points vs. Emporia State.
    Witthus is the first Bearcat to do that since Justin Pitts tallied three straight 30-point games in 2016. Pitts went for 38 vs. Minnesota State (3/13/2016), 34 vs. Augustana (3/15/2016) and 31 vs. Upper Iowa (10/11/2016).

Northwest's 30-Point Games in 2018-19
34, Joey Witthus at Central Oklahoma (1/5/19)
33, Joey Witthus vs. Ill.-Springfield (11/19/18)
32, Joey Witthus vs. Emporia State (1/9/18)
31, Ryan Hawkins at Northeastern State (1/3/19)

HAWKINS NAMED MIAA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Northwest Missouri State University sophomore Ryan Hawkins has been named the MIAA co-player of the week. Hawkins shared the honor with Lincoln's Terrance Smith.
    Hawkins (Atlantic, Iowa) averaged 26.0 points per game, 4.3 steals per game and shot 66.7 percent from the field (including 52.2 percent from 3-point range) in a trio of Northwest Missouri State victories.
    Hawkins went for a career-high 31 points on 10-of-13 shooting (5-of-7 3-point FGs) in a 105-70 win at Northeastern State. Hawkins added five steals and a block while also draining all six of his free throw attempts in the Bearcats's road victory.
    He scored 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting and chipped in with eight rebounds and two steals in a 78-67 road triumph at Central Oklahoma.
    Hawkins posted a then-career-high 29 points, eight rebounds, six steals and a block in a 108-58 victory over Simpson on Dec. 30. Hawkins went 11-of-16 from the field, including 5-of-8 from three-point range against the Storm.

100-POINT MARK
Northwest has reached 100 points four times this season - the first time since 1999-2000 that Northwest has scored 100 or more points four times in the same season.
    Northwest has scored 100 or more points nine times under head coach Ben McCollum.

100-Point Games under McCollum
105-55 vs. Manhattan Christian (11/16/09)
104-67 vs. Graceland (11/28/09)
105-59 vs. Waldord (12/16/13)
104-69 at Southwest Baptist (1/16/14)
103-58 vs. Missouri Valley (12/13/16)
100-86 vs. Ferris State (11/3/18)
100-66 vs. Midland (12/1/18)
108-58 vs. Simpson (12/30/18)
105-70 at Northeastern State (1/3/19)

16 STRAIGHT DECEMBER WINS
Northwest has won its last 16 games in the month of December. Northwest was 5-0 in December in both the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons.
    The Bearcats won their last game in December in the 2015-16 season. Northwest's last loss in the month of December came Dec. 20, 2015, at Lindenwood (L, 68-52).

NORTHWEST WITH 25 ASSISTS VS DUSTDEVILS
Northwest was credited with 25 assists in its 85-46 win over Texas A&M-International. It was the most assists by a Bearcat team since it put up 25 assists vs. Baker on Nov. 24, 2009.

25+ Assists since 2000
27 vs. Manhattan Christian (Dec. 8, 2001)
27 vs. Central Missouri (Feb. 6, 2002)
27 vs. University of Saint Mary (Nov. 15, 2005)
26 vs. Calvary Bible College (Dec. 5, 2002)
25 vs. William Woods (Dec. 17, 2008)
25 vs. Baker (Nov. 24, 2009)
25 vs. Texas A&M-International (Dec. 18, 2018)

HUDGINS TAKES MVP HONORS
Redshirt freshman guard Trevor Hudgins (Manhattan, Kansas) earned MVP honors after leading the Bearcats to a pair of wins over Northern State and No. 13 Ferris State in the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic. Hudgins averaged 25.5 points, 5.5 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals in the two games.

CAN'T MISS 'CATS
Northwest began the Ferris State contest by making its first 10 three-point field goals. The Bearcats finished the game having drained 14 triples against the Bulldogs.

GETTING TO THE LINE
Northwest made 20 free throws in each of its first two games this season.
    The Bearcats went 20-of-28 against Northern State. Northwest followed that up with 20-of-23 at the line vs. Ferris State.

BRING ON THE BEST
The Bearcats began this season with wins over both teams that took part in the 2018 NCAA Division II national championship. Ferris State defeated Northern State in the title game in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Ferris State had won 27 consecutive games before falling to Northwest.


WORKING OVERTIME
Northwest opened the season with a 72-70 overtime win over Northern State. The Bearcats are 7-3 all-time under head coach Ben McCollum in overtime games.

NEUTRAL SITE STREAK IS ALIVE AND WELL
Northwest has won 26 straight games at neutral sites, including this past Monday's 85-66 win over Illinois-Springfield.
    Northwest has opened this season with five neutral site wins.The Bearcats were 7-0 in 2017-18 and 8-0 in 2016-17 on neutral site courts. The Bearcats won their final six neutral site games in 2015-16 following a season-opening 76-72 loss to Upper Iowa in St. Joseph on Nov. 13, 2015.

NOVEMBER BRINGS WINS
Northwest has won its last 22 straight games it has played in the month of November. Northwest was a 7-0 in the month of November in 2017-18. The Bearcats were a perfect 7-0 in November in its run to the national championship in the 2016-17 season.
    Northwest's last loss in November came Nov. 19, 2015 at Augustana. The Vikings scored a 79-77 win over the Bearcats in Sioux Falls, S.D.

20 OR MORE WINS IN 7 STRAIGHT SEASONS
Northwest is one of five teams in the nation to have won 20 or more games in seven consecutive seasons. Northwest, Bellarmine, Indiana (Pa.), Lincoln Memorial and West Liberty have each surpassed the 20-win mark in each of the last seven years.

PRESEASON POLLS
Northwest was tabbed to win the preseason MIAA poll by the members of the media. The coaches MIAA preseason poll had Northwest in the No. 2 spot behind Missouri Southern.

2018-19 MIAA Media Poll
1.     Northwest Missouri (6) - 262
2.     Missouri Southern (10) - 261
3.     Washburn (3) - 237
4.     Central Missouri - 225
5.     Pittsburg State (1) - 212
6.     Fort Hays State (1) - 208
7.     Central Oklahoma - 163
8.     Lindenwood - 150
9.     Nebraska Kearney - 123
10.     Lincoln - 119
11.     Emporia State - 79
12.     Missouri Western - 66
    Southwest Baptist - 66
14.     Northeastern State - 35

2018-19 MIAA Coaches Poll
1.     Missouri Southern (6) - 157
2.     Northwest Missouri (7) - 155
3.     Washburn (1) - 132
4.     Central Missouri - 128
5.     Central Oklahoma - 118
        Pittsburg State - 118
7.     Fort Hays State - 104
8.     Lindenwood - 87
9.     Lincoln - 68
10.     Nebraska Kearney - 66
11.     Emporia State - 47
12.     Northeastern State - 40
13.     Southwest Baptist - 30
14.     Missouri Western - 24

MIAA TITLE DEFENSE
Northwest has won five consecutive MIAA regular season titles under 10th-year head coach Ben McCollum. Missouri State under the direction of head coach Bill Thomas is the only other program to have won five straight MIAA regular titles (1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970).
    McCollum has also guided the Bearcats to three straight MIAA tournament championships. Southeast Missouri State also won three consecutive MIAA tournament titles in 1985, 1986 and 1987. No MIAA school has ever won four straight tourney crowns.

18 NCAA TOURNAMENTS
Northwest has earned 18 NCAA Tournament appearances with a record of 23-20. Northwest has served as the NCAA Central Region host in 2016-17 and 2017-18.
    Northwest has made three Elite Eight appearances (2001-02, 2003-04, 2016-17).
    The Bearcats captured the program's first national championships in the 2016-17 season.

2019 MIAA TOURNAMENT
The MIAA Basketball post-season tournament will be held in Kansas City for the 17th consecutive season. For the first time, the field in Kansas City will include 10 men's and 10 women's teams and will be played over 5 days, March 6-10, 2019.  The winners of both the men's and women's tournament will receive the automatic qualifier to the NCAA tournament.

PRESS CONFERENCE TUESDAY AT PIZZA RANCH
Northwest head coach Ben McCollum will be available each Tuesday from Noon - 1 p.m. for a press conference at the Maryville Pizza Ranch.