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News Brief

Feb. 5, 2019MARYVILLE, Mo.

Northwest continues turning heads with historic offense

(Photo courtesy Northwest Athletics)

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For the second time in three seasons, Northwest Missouri State men's basketball is turning heads with 21 consecutive wins and the top spot in the NABC Coaches Poll.

But the impact of what the Bearcats are accomplishing reaches deeper than just wins and losses.

Will Warren, a contributor to Fox Sports Knoxville and a graduate of the University of Tennessee, stumbled onto Northwest as he was sifting through the top offenses from all levels of college basketball.

"At the time I had first checked, the distance between them and second was the distance between second and ninth," Warren said. "They were clearly far ahead of the pack, so I just had to find out more about this team and try to answer the question 'what are they doing so well that's setting them this far ahead?'"

Warren studies college basketball analytics and uses a database called Synergy to see trends and scout teams across the country.

He says the Bearcats' production through 21 games has them ranked as the most efficient offense college basketball has seen in the last 14 years.

The NCAA Division I record for points per possession over the last 20 years is 1.23. Northwest is well ahead of that mark at 1.32 points per possession this season.

And while Northwest leads the MIAA with 88.2 points per game, it's the way that they're scoring that sets them apart.

"I find myself really fascinated by this offense because they don't play hyperfast transition basketball, so it's largely a half court offense," Warren said. "And to me it looks like, better than anyone else in America this year, they've solved half court basketball."

High-quality shots combine with head coach Ben McCollum's stellar defense allowing an MIAA-low 64.3 points per game is a recipe for success.

"Over 87-percent of the Northwest Missouri shots are layups, dunks or threes, which in Division I, that would be the fifth highest rate among all teams. If you're getting that many good shots and you're playing that level of good defense, it's not a surprise to me that they're undefeated."

You can view more stats and insight from Warren on Northwest Missouri State and other college basketball teams on Twitter under the handle @gyratestats.