Game #1
Northeastern State at Northwestern Oklahoma 
Friday, Nov. 8 at 7:15 p.m. | Alva, Okla. 

Game #2
vs. UMary
Saturday, Nov. 9 at 2:15 p.m. | Alva, Okla. 

• Northeastern State opens its third season under the leadership of Mark Downey with his first trip to Northwestern Oklahoma in Alva.
• RiverHawks were picked fifth in the MIAA Coaches Poll in the preseason, while the media voted them to finish in 12th. 
• NSU returns three starters and leading scorer Caleb Smith for his senior season.  Smith was an All-MIAA selection after averaging 16.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game as a junior.
• The RiverHawks also return All-MIAA selection, Josh Ihek to the floor after averaging 6.3 points and 4.5 rebounds a game.  He also had 41 blocks. 
• NSU had a six-game improvement in season two under Coach Downey with 14 overall wins. 
• Eight of NSU's first 12 contests will be inside the Event Center. 
• Coach Downey is 1-1 against Northwestern Oklahoma and he has not faced UMary in his coaching career.  He has not faced a team out of the Northern Sun as a head coach.

• One of the longest running series in program history with the first meeting coming in the 1927-28 season.
• Old NAIA District IX rival that halted in the late 1990s with NSU's move the NCAA. 
• Over 70 meetings between the two programs. 
• Last NSU win in Alva was in 2012.

• Voted to finish in 11th in the Great American Conference. 
• Rangers return ten letterwinners and all five starters to the floor.
• Jack Peck is the returning leading scorer to NWOSU, averaging 13.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game last season.  Peck came off the bench and had 17 points against NSU in their meeting one year ago.
• Roster holds a senior class of six with six juniors.
• Rangers' Head Coach Vinay Patel had a coaching stop at Rogers State for the 2014-15 season and worked under NSU graduate Justin Barkley.

• First meeting between the two programs.
• NSU's first meeting with a team out of the NSIC since the 2013 Central Regional (Winona State

• Picked to finish in 14th in the NSIC and was voted seventh in the North Division of their league.
• Returns 12 players and three starters from last season. 
• Junior Point Guard Jaylan White was named an NSIC Player to Watch after averaging a team-high 13.8 points per game.  He was among the league leaders in free throw percentage (.826).
• Defense allowed 70.9 points per game last season, which was third-best in the Northern Sun. 
• Homegrown team with three transfers on roster and five from Bismarck.

• The RiverHawks couldn't carry over a hot month of January where they went 6-2, with six of those wins coming in a row.  Cupid broke NSU's heart in February, with NSU dropping six of their final eight games of the regular season. 
• Head Coach Mark Downey picked up HoopDirt.com NCAA Division II Coach of the Week Honors during the six-game win streak.
• NSU's eight conference wins were enough to get them into the MIAA Tournament for the first time under Mark Downey.  The RiverHawks led Emporia State as many as ten points in the first half and for nearly 32-minutes but lost 72-68.
• Northeastern State finished tied for eighth place in the MIAA standings.The 14 wins in 2018-19 season are more than the total of the prior two seasons combined, and best win total since the 2013-14 season..