Record: 23-9
RPI: 98
BPI: 130
Conference: Southland Conference
How They Qualified: Southland Conference Tournament Champions
It literally took winning the Southland Conference Tournament, but the Northwestern State Demons are going dancing in the NCAA Tournament. This is their first appearance since 2006 and third under head coach, Mike McConathy.
Does the name McConathy sound familiar, because it should. Well, it kind of should — as his father, John, was the fifth overall selection in the 1951 draft. Really folks, that is all I got on Northwestern State basketball history.
What You Need to Know:
Leading Scorer: DeQuan Hicks (14.1 ppg)
Leading Rebounder: James Hulbin (5.9 rpg)
Leading Passer: Jalan West (5.3 apg)
Bad Losses: Nicholls State,
Good Wins: Louisiana Tech, Stephen F. Austin (twice)
There is some pretty good talent on this Northwestern State team. James Hublin is a tweener, who can spread the floor out on offense a little bit and head out behind the arc from time to time. DeQuan Hicks leads the team in scoring, although, his minutes per game got sporadic for various reasons throughout the season. Also, keep an eye out for freshman, Jalan West. West is listed as 5’10, but is likely closer to 5’8. However, that does not stop the young man from being productive and exciting to watch on the court.
Oh, and when you are filling out your brackets, you probably should not have them advancing to far. Northwestern State didn’t do a lot of damage in a pretty weak conference this season. You shouldn’t expect them to keep overachieving against much better competition.
The Northwestern State Demons are dancing!
Joe is a Senior Writer for Rant Sports. For the love of Sam Cassell, follow Joe on the mean streets of Twitter @JosephNardone