TAHLEQUAH – Two of the top shooting teams in the nation will face each other Saturday, with Northeastern State traveling to (6/4) Northwest Missouri.

The Bearcats hold the top spot nationally, shooting 54.6 from the field; Northeastern State is seventh at 52.3 percent.  

Northeastern State (6-3, 3-2 MIAA) has been idle since thumping Rogers State 78-57 on Dec. 17 inside the NSU Event Center.   Christian Cook turned in his fourth 20-point performance of the year with a team-high 21 points against the Hillcats.  Northwest Missouri (11-1, 4-1 MIAA) won 22 consecutive games before having a 74-65 setback at Emporia State. 

Cook leads the RiverHawks in scoring this season with 17.9 points per game and needs seven to reach 750 in his career.  At the free throw line, Cook is one of the best in the nation, shooting 95.8 percent.  Dillon Bailey has 14.0 points per outing, and Rashad Perkins averages 13.9 points per game. 

Northeastern State has played the same starting lineup in all nine games this season. 

Northwest Missouri has limited teams to 60.2 points per game this season, the ninth lowest nationally in NCAA D-II men's basketball.  They have limited themselves to 11 turnovers per game, which is the lowest in the MIAA this season. 

Northeastern State is 1-13 when facing Northwest Missouri and 0-6 in Maryville.

Tip-off Saturday is slated for 3:30 p.m. fans can watch the game online on The MIAA Network at TheMIAANetwork.com/nsugoriverhawks.