By Jason Pugh, Northwestern State Associate Athletic Director for Media Relations; featured photo by Chris Reich, NSU Photographic Services
WACO, Texas – The Northwestern State men’s basketball team opens its 2026-27 season with the momentum built from an exhibition victory.
When the Demons take the Foster Pavilion floor at 8:30 p.m. Monday on ESPN+, they will do so against a Baylor team that is feeling the same way.
Northwestern carries with it a 62-60 win against North Texas in the Demons’ lone exhibition game of the preseason while the Bears knocked off preseason No. 1 Florida, 82-76, and No. 3 Illinois, 95-91, in their exhibitions.
“Baylor’s a phenomenal team,” fourth-year head coach Rick Cabrera said. “They’ve had two great exhibitions, beating Illinois and Florida. They’ve got really, really good guards. They’ve got good post players who know their role, but our guys, I only have one form of language when I’m talking to our players. We’re going into every game to win.”
The Demons enter the 2026-27 season with 11 newcomers on their 14-person roster.
Despite the high level of turnover, Cabrera said already he has seen positive signs with regards to team chemistry throughout the offseason and preseason.
“We’ve got 11 new guys, but we’ve got a really close-knit group of new guys,” he said. “They have welcomed each other with open arms. It has made our job as coaches easier. They’re very coachable young men, who are very physical, talented and aggressive. They get after it after every practice.
“This is the start of year four (at Northwestern). I really liked my Year 2 team, but I really love this team coming up. Since June up to the two scrimmages and the exhibition, they have done everything we’ve asked and more.”
What the Demons also have is a deeper roster for Cabrera and his staff.
Northwestern grabbed its exhibition win at North Texas while playing without senior guard Izzy Miles, its leading returning scorer (10.5 points per game) from a season ago.
“Izzy has been our best player in the summer and the fall, but we have depth,” Cabrera said. “We have a second group that can step in and be starters just as much. Do we need (Miles) back? Absolutely. When he’s going to come back, I don’t know. He’s getting better every day, but we’ve got good players.”
A pair of newcomers – junior guard Kai Simpson and sophomore forward Isaiah Vick – ignited the offense at North Texas, combining for 37 points.
Simpson’s second-chance floater provided the winning points after North Texas erased an 11-point Demon lead in the closing minutes.
In addition to watching Simpson and Vick shine in their first taste of Division I competition, the finish gave Cabrera and the Demons plenty of positivity ahead of the season opener.
“We preach that a lot of our games are going to be close under four minutes,” Cabrera said. “We have to learn how to win under four minutes. We ran a play and Kordrick (Turner) goes and gets a big offensive rebound in traffic, and he throws the ball out. I had a timeout, and in that moment of live play with the clock ticking, I was going to call it and I wasn’t going to call it.
“I didn’t want them to be able to reset their defense, so we didn’t call it. Kai made a play because of his talent, not because of coaching. The ability to win a game brought some joy and happiness to our team.”