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 #OABAAB