Fort Hays State men’s basketball opens MIAA play on Thursday (Dec. 4) against defending national champion and No. 6 ranked Central Missouri. Game time is set for 7:30 pm at Gross Memorial Coliseum. The Tigers enter the game at 4-2 overall, while the Mules are a perfect 7-0 on the season.
Fort Hays State enters the game on a four-game win streak after three wins over Kansas NAIA schools at home and a win over Division II foe Newman University on the road. The Tigers are looking for their fourth-straight win over Central Missouri at home.
Central Missouri is the only MIAA school in the top 25 currently, while Fort Hays State and Northwest Missouri State are receiving votes. The defending national champion moved up from No. 10 in the first regular season poll to No. 6 this week. The Mules were picked first in the MIAA Coaches Preseason Poll, while Fort Hays State was picked second. This will be the only meeting between the schools in the regular season this year.
Fort Hays State has won the last three meetings with Central Missouri in Hays, which includes the 2012-13, 2011-12, and 2010-11 seasons. At least one of the teams were ranked in two of those three meetings, so this will be the third time in the last four meetings in Hays one of the teams is ranked. Central Missouri was No. 25 in the nation in 2011-12 and Fort Hays State won that game 67-66 on a last second tip-in by Karron McKenzie. Fort Hays State was No. 5 in the nation in 2010-11 and won handily 83-59.
Central Missouri’s last win in Hays occurred during the 2009-10 season by a score of 79-63, when both teams were ranked in the top 10, UCM at No. 3 and FHSU at No. 10. The Mules got revenge after the Tigers had knocked them from the No. 1 ranking in the nation earlier in the season in Warrensburg, which happens to be the last time FHSU won in Warrensburg. Both teams own three-game win streaks against each other on their home floors currently.
Point guards are a strong point for each team. Fort Hays State’s Craig Nicholson leads FHSU at 16.3 points and 6.0 assists per game, while Rakeem Dickerson leads UCM at 15.1 points and 5.7 assists per game. Dickerson was named the MIAA Men’s Basketball Athlete of the Week on Monday for his efforts over Thanksgiving week. He had a Sprint Center record 41 points in an overtime win over Quincy University.
Central Missouri survived a pair of overtime scares last week, the one-overtime win over Quincy in Kansas City and a triple overtime win over Arkansas-Fort Smith at home. The Mules backed that up with a win over Tabor College (Kan.) on Sunday.
Fort Hays State and Central Missouri are two of the winningest programs all-time in NCAA Division II. The two schools are among the eight at the NCAA Division II level with 1,500 or more wins all-time, UCM with 1,622 and FHSU with 1,510.
Jake Stoppel currently leads FHSU in rebounding, averaging 7.2 per game. The Tigers have nine players averaging better than six points per game. Dom Samac leads the pack behind Nicholson in scoring at 9.2 points per game, while Royce Williams adds 8.8 points per game.
The Tigers lead the MIAA as a team in several stat categories so far this year, including scoring margin (+20.2), field goal percentage defense (.384), rebounding offense (39.3), rebounding margin (+7.7), assists (18.3), assist/turnover ratio (2.0), and defensive rebound percentage (.768).
Prior to Thursday’s game, 250 black FHSU Game Day shirts will be handed out to fans, who are encouraged to wear black as part of the night’s “Blackout the Coliseum” promotion. Even if you do not get here early enough to get a shirt, please still wear black tomorrow as you help cheer on your Tigers against the defending national champion!