Northwest Missouri State head men’s basketball coach Ben McCollum has been named the HoopDirt.com Division II national coach of the week.

McCollum, who captured the 2016-17 HoopDirt.com National Coach of the Year award, has led Northwest Missouri State to a stellar start to the season. The Bearcats opened the season by defeating both teams from the NCAA D-II championship game last year. They beat last year’s runner up Northern State 72-70 in overtime on Nov. 3, then defending champion No. 13 Ferris State 100-86 the following day.

After that, McCollum’s team won three straight blowout games to move to 5-0 on the season and take the No. 2 spot in the D2SIDA poll. The Bearcats will begin the MIAA Basketball Challenge on Monday against Illinois-Springfield.

— Northwest Athletics —