A look at Northwest Missouri State basketball's gonzo winning streak

While Northwest Missouri State's 46-game winning streak came to an end Saturday, Dec. 7 to Central Missouri in upset fashion, it doesn't make it any less impressive. The Bearcats started the season on fire, and are still looking like one of the teams to beat in the 2019-20 season.

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Let's see how the Northwest Missouri State streak matches up in college basketball history and a look at how we got here.

Bearcats basketball: Chasing college basketball history

In order for Northwest Missouri State to have tied Winona State's record of 57 consecutive wins, the Bearcats would have had to play perfectly through their Jan. 25 showdown with Fort Hays State.

That's two months of basketball. 

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That's what make's the longest winning streaks in college basketball all the more impressive. Just two seasons ago, the Ashland women's basketball team made waves by setting the DII consecutive wins mark at 73. That's the fourth-longest in college basketball lore. Here's what the Bearcats are chasing:

• 111 — Connecticut women's basketball (DI): 2014-17
• 88 — UCLA men's basketball (DI): 1971-74
• 81 — Washington (MO) women's basketball (DIII): 1998-2001
• 73 — Ashland women's basketball (DII): 2016-18
• 60 — SUNY Potsdam men's basketball (DIII): 1985-87
• 57 — Winona State men's basketball (DII): 2006-07

Northwest Missouri State win streak: How we got here

The Bearcats' last loss was March 10, 2018, when they fell 60-50 to Minnesota State in the first round of the NCAA DII tournament. It's been all Ws since.

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Northwest Missouri State opened 2018 at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic with a bunch of new faces in the starting lineup and took down the 2018 runners-up Northern State and defending champion Ferris State in two days time. 

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That started a trend. With the Bearcats' most recent sweep in the SCB Hall of Fame Classic — both against top 25 competition — they have won 34 straight games on neutral courts dating back to the 2015-16 season, including all three last season in Evansville, Indiana, to capture their second national championship in three years. 

Some other numbers, you ask? Entering the 2019-20 season, Northwest Missouri State has won 23-consecutive Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association games, 17 straight at home and 15 on the road. The Bearcats hope those numbers continue to grow. 

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Here was how the Bearcats started their run at history.