Complete Bearcat Basketball Game Notes (PDF)

Friday., Nov. 1 | 5:30 p.m. | Civic Arena | St. Joseph, Mo.
No. 1 Northwest vs. No. 22 Daemen 
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Saturday., Nov. 2 | 5:30 p.m. | Civic Arena | St. Joseph, Mo.
No. 1 Northwest vs. No. 9 Southern Nazarene
WATCH | LISTEN | STATS

NORTHWEST BEGINS TITLE DEFENSE IN ST. JOSEPH
The Northwest Missouri State University men's basketball team will officially begin its season Friday and Saturday in the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, Presented by Hillyard.
    The Bearcats will match up vs. No. 22-ranked Daemen College on Friday at 5:30 p.m. Northwest will then take on No. 9-ranked Southern Nazarene University on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
    Both of Northwest's matchups will be streamed on The MIAA Network and broadcast live on the Bearcat Radio Network.

Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic (St. Joseph Civic Arena)

Friday., Nov. 1
1 pm Davenport vs. USC Aiken
3:15 pm West Texas A&M vs. Lincoln Memorial
5:30 pm Northwest Missouri State vs. Daemen
7:45 pm Missouri Western vs. Southern Nazarene

Saturday., Nov. 2
1 pm Davenport vs. Lincoln Memorial
3:15 pm West Texas A&M vs. USC Aiken
5:30 pm Northwest Missouri State vs. Southern Nazarene
7:45 pm Missouri Western vs. Daemen

MATCHUP NOTES
Friday will mark the first meeting between Northwest and Daemen on the hardwood. Northwest and SNU only meeting came in the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament last season in Maryville on March 17. Northwest scored a 70-59 victory en route to the national championship.

LAST YEAR'S MVP
Sophomore guard Trevor Hudgins captured the MVP honors in last year's Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic.
    Hudgins led the Bearcats to a pair of wins over Northern State and No. 13 Ferris State in 2018.
    Hudgins averaged 25.5 points, 5.5 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals in the two games.

PRESEASON NO. 1
Defending national champion Northwest Missouri State is atop the NABC/Division II pre-season for the second time in three years. Northwest is the only school to hold the top ranking in the pre-season poll after winning a national title over the last eight years.

NORTHWEST GOES TOE TO TOE WITH DUKE BLUE DEVILS
The defending NCAA Division II national champions gave the Duke Blue Devils everything they could and delighted the Bearcat contingent who trekked to Cameron Indoor Stadium with a strong finish in a 69-63 exhibition game loss.

HUDGINS BUSTS OUT FOR 27
Trevor Hudgins scored a game-high 27 points against the No. 4-ranked Duke Blue Devils.
    Hudgins went 9-of-18 from the floor, including 7-of-13 from three-point range against Duke. He also handed out a team-high four assists.

HAWK HANGS WITH DUKE
Junior forward Ryan Hawkins put up 16 points and nine rebounds against the Duke Blue Devils. He also caught the eye of Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski.
    "The kid, Hawkins is a good player too," Krzyzewski said in the postgame press press conference.

THREE-BALL
Northwest drained 15-of-34 three-point shots against Duke. Meanwhile, the Bearcats limited the Blue Devils to 2-of-16 shooting from beyond the three-point arc.

100 WINS OVER LAST THREE SEASONS
Northwest has been playing on a different level the past three seasons. The Bearcats have posted a record of 100-5 since the start of the 2016-17 season. Northwest went 35-1 in 2016-17 and won the national title. The Bearcats went 27-4 in 2017-18, before going 38-0 and winning their second national crown in 2018-19.

FIFTH ALL-TIME PERFECT DIVISION II SEASON
Northwest became only the fifth NCAA Division II basketball program to complete a perfect regular season and capture the national title. Northwest went 38-0 and won the program's second national championship.

Div. II Undefeated Champions
Northwest Mo. St. (38-0), 2018-19
Findlay (36-0), 2008-09
Fort Hays State (34-0),  1995-96
Cal State Bakersfield (33-0), 1992-93
Evansville (29-0) 1964-65

20+ WINS IN 8 STRAIGHT SEASONS
Northwest is one of five NCAA Division II teams in the nation to have won 20 or more games in eight consecutive seasons. Northwest (8), Bellarmine (11), Indiana Pa. (11), Lincoln Memorial (10) and West Liberty (15) have each surpassed the 20-win mark in at least eight straight seasons.

SCHOOL RECORD FOR WINS
The Bearcats set the MIAA record for wins (38) in a season in 2018-19.
    Northwest and Ferris State own the NCAA Division II single-season record for wins. Ferris State recorded 38 victories in the 2017-18 season.

19 NCAA TOURNAMENTS
Northwest has earned 19 NCAA Tournament appearances with a recod of 29-20. Northwest has served as the NCAA Central Region host in 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19.
    Northwest has made four Elite Eight appearances (2001-02, 2003-04, 2016-17, 2018-19).

AMONG THE BEST
In 2018-19, Northwest ranked No. 1 in the nation in scoring margin (+20.7) and in turnovers per game (7.8).
    Northwest ranked No. 2 in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.78) and total 3-point field goals made (404).
    The Bearcats ranked No. 3 in and scoring defense (61.7).

SHOOTING IT WELL
Northwest has shot 50 percent or better from the field in 22 of its 38 games. Northwest has also shot 50 percent or better in six road games and on five neutral courts.

MIAA REIGN CONTINUES
In 2018-19, Northwest became the first school in MIAA history to win six consecutive MIAA regular season titles. The Bearcats also became the first MIAA program to win four consecutive league tournament titles in 2018-19.

PRESEASON POLLS
Northwest has been picked to win the preseason MIAA coaches and media polls.

2019-20 MIAA Media Poll
1.     Northwest Missouri (19) - 279
2.     Missouri Southern (1) - 259
3.     Washburn - 238
4.     Fort Hays State - 198
5.     Pittsburg State - 183
6.     Lincoln - 156
7.     Central Missouri - 140
8.     Emporia State - 123
9.     Missouri Western - 120
10.    Newman - 103
11.    Rogers State - 102
12.    Northeastern State - 88
13.     Nebraska-Kearney - 64
14.    Central Oklahoma - 46

2019-20 MIAA Coaches Poll
1.     Northwest Missouri (13) - 169
2.     Missouri Southern (1) - 157
3.     Washburn - 131
4.     Fort Hays State - 124
5.     Northeastern State - 99
6.     Central Missouri - 96
7.     Lincoln - 93
8.       Pittsburg State - 92
9.    Rogers State - 68
10.    Emporia State - 66
11.    Newman - 61
12.     Missouri Western - 58
13.     Central Oklahoma - 44
14.    Nebraska-Kearney - 16

TREV TOPS BEARCAT FROSH SCORING LIST
Point guard Trevor Hudgins scored more points as a freshman than any previous freshman player in the history of Bearcat basketball and the MIAA.
    Hudgins scored 700 points, besting the previous freshman mark of 482 points by Northwest's Justin Pitts in the 2014-15 season.

HAWK TOPS MIAA IN STEALS
Hawkins led the MIAA in steals (83). His 83 steals ranked No. 7 in the nation and was the second-best single-season total in Bearcat history.

Northwest Steals in a Season
1.     Scott Fleming (2001)    97
2.    Ryan Hawkins (2019)    83
3.    Benji Burke (1990)    80
4.    Scott Fleming (2002)    78
5.    Scott Fleming (2000)    74
6.    Gerald Harris (1988)    70
7.    Mose Howard (2006)    69
    Kelvin Parker (2006)    69
9.    Shakey Harrington (1998)    67
10.    Orlando Johnson (1993)    66

HAWK SETS SINGLE-SEASON REBOUNDING MARK
Forward Ryan Hawkins set the Northwest single-season rebounding record with 339. Hawkins surpassed the mark of 305 set by Don Sears in the 1967-68 season.
    Hawkins ranked No. 3 in the MIAA in rebounding (8.9 rpg). He ranked No. 5 in the nation in total rebounds. He ranks No. 22 in the nation in defensive rebounds per game (7.03).
    
Northwest Rebounds in a Season
1.    Ryan Hawkins (2019)    339
2.     Don Sears (1968)    305
3.    Byron Jackson (2004)    272
4.    Russ Miller (1980)    248
5.    Joe Hurst (1986)    246
6.    Joe Hurst (1984)    238
7.    Hunter Henry (2009)    235
8.    Hunter Henry (2007)    234
9.    Hunter Henry (2008)    233
10.    Bo Pitts (1990)    225

WELTY'S THREE-POINT PRECISION
Ryan Welty is the nation's active career leader in three-point field goal percentage. Welty has made 51.0 percent of his three-point shots (184-of-362).
    Welty ranks No. 2 among three-point accuracy shooters in all NCAA Divisions trailing Nick Penny (Carroll, Wis.; NCAA Div. III), who has made 51.8 percent of his career three-point shots (116-224).

NCAA II Active Career Leaders - 3-Point FG Pct.
1. Ryan Welty (Northwest Missouri)        .508
2. Mikkel Kolstand (Nova Southeastern)    .492
3. Dan Largey (Stonehill)            .476
4. Anthony Lee (Kutztown)            .468
5. Ronnie Silva (Adelphi)            .467

WELTY CLIMBS NORTHWEST'S 3-POINT CHART
Ryan Welty has made 184 career 3-pointers to rank No. 5 on Northwest's all-time 3-pointers made chart.

Northwest 3-Pointers Made in a Career
1.     Zach Schneider (2013-17)        370
2.    Justin Pitts (2014-18)        271
3.    Austin Meyer (2003-06)        215
4.    Conner Crooker (2013-16)        205
5.    Ryan Welty (2016-pres.)        184
6.    Scott Fleming (2000-03)        173
7.    DeShaun Cooper (2009-14)    170
8.    Joey Witthus (2017-pres.)        168
9.    Louis Jones (1987-89)        156
10.    Kelvin Parker (2001-04)        148

MCCOLLUM RANKS NO. 6 IN WIN PERCENTAGE
Northwest head coach Ben McCollum ranks No. 6 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 241-75 (.763 winning percentage) as he begins his 11th season at the helm of the Northwest program.

NCAA Div. II Head Coach Win Percentage (Min. 10 yrs.)
1. Jim Crutchfield (Nova Southeastern)    .844 (405-75, 15 yrs.)
2. Josh Schertz (Lincoln Memorial)    .817 (286-64, 11 yrs.)
3. Scott Davenport (Bellarmine)    .773 (344-101, 14 yrs.)
4. Burt Paddock (Davenport)    .769 (286-86, 11 yrs.)
5. Jeff Young (Walsh)    .766 (356-109, 18 yrs.)
6. Ben McCollum (Northwest Mo. St.)    .763 (241-75, 10 yrs.)
7. Mike Jones (Mississippi College)    .760 (330-104, 16 yrs.)
8. Ken Ammann (Concordia, Calif.)    .759 (465-148, 18 yrs.)
9. Rodney Watson (Southern Indiana)    .756 (229-74, 10 yrs.)
10. Joe Lombardi (Indiana, Pa.)    .753 (305-100, 13 yrs.)
Source: NCAA Statistics

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.