Northwest Missouri, Truman men’s basketball teams headed to NCAA Division II Elite 8

The Northwest Missouri Bearcats won the Division II men’s basketball championship in 2017 and 2019 but didn’t get a chance to win another last season when the coronavirus pandemic forced the NCAA Tournament to be canceled.

After overcoming a 12-point deficit Tuesday night, their largest of the season, the Bearcats are three wins away from another national title.

Northwest beat top-seeded and host Northern State 91-86 in overtime in the Central Regional championship game in Aberdeen, South Dakota.

MIAA player of the year Trevor Hudgins sent the game to overtime with a three-pointer at the end of regulation and scored a team-high 29 points. Byron Alexander of Staley was voted the regional’s most outstanding player after scoring 21 points. Ryan Hawkins added 19 points with nine rebounds for the Bearcats, joining Hudgins and Alexander on the all-regional team.

“You probably won’t see a better college basketball game this year,” Northwest coach Ben McCollum said. “We got a little lucky and came away with a big win. I can’t say enough about the heart of our kids. We were not done and we kept battling. It was fun.”

Northwest advances to the Elite Eight, which will be played March 24-27 in Evansville, Indiana. The Bearcats are the No. 2 seed and will play No. 7 West Liberty at 6 p.m. on the 24th.

Truman State, the top seed in the Midwest Regional, also won on Tuesday night and is headed to its first Elite Eight since 1999. The Bulldogs beat No. 2 seed Michigan Tech 65-62 in Evansville.

Cade McKnight scored 21 points for the Bulldogs, including the go-ahead layup with 3 seconds to play.

The Bulldogs are the No. 6 seed in the Elite Eight and play No. 3 Flagler at 8:45 p.m. on March 24. The winner of that game plays the Northwest-West Liberty winner in a national semifinal at 8:45 p.m. March 25.

The other side of the bracket is led by top-seeded West Texas A&M.

The national championship game is 11 a.m. March 27.

Women’s Elite Eight

Central Missouri is the No. 5 seed in the women’s Elite Eight in Columbus, Ohio and will play fourth-seeded Belmont Abbey in a national quarterfinal at 7:45 p.m. March 23. The winner faces either No. 1 Lubbock Christian or eighth-seeded Daemen at 7:45 p.m. March 24 in the semifinals.

Drury is the No. 3 seed and plays No. 6 Charleston (West Virginia) at 11 a.m. on the 23rd. If the Panthers win, they’d face either No. 2 seed Lander or No. 7 Azuza Pacific at 5 p.m. on the 24th.

The national title game is scheduled for 7 p.m. March 26.

This story was originally published March 17, 2021 at 9:32 AM.