The right to host a first-round MIAA Tournament home game is on the line for the Tigers on Saturday. Fort Hays State must win and also have Washburn lose to Pittsburg State in Topeka on Saturday night in order to claim the No. 8 seed and host a first-round game. A Washburn win or FHSU loss would drop FHSU to the No. 9 seed, and the Tigers would have to go on the road to Washburn on Monday in the opening round.
This game is also a must win for Northeastern State to even make the MIAA Tournament. NSU is currently in 13th in the MIAA standings, just a half game back of Emporia State. If the RiverHawks win, they would tie the Hornets and get into the tournament since they have the head-to-head tiebreak. ESU would be knocked out of the tournament with an NSU win.
In Topeka, the Ichabods are not the only team playing for postseason positioning. Pittsburg State needs to win in order to secure a bye to the quarterfinals of the MIAA Tournament. A loss for the Gorillas could drop them into an unfavorable tiebreak situation, pending results of other games around the conference. Washburn and Pittsburg State play at 7 pm on Saturday evening.
The Tigers are looking to shake off a 76-69 overtime loss at Central Oklahoma on Thursday. FHSU forced overtime, but scored only four points in the extra period, settling for a season split with the Bronchos. The Tigers are looking for a regular season sweep of the RiverHawks Saturday after defeating them 77-49 in Hays earlier this year.
Dom Samac leads active FHSU players in scoring at 11.0 points per game, followed by Achoki Moikobu at 10.1 points per game. James Fleming has reached double figures in six straight contests and averages 9.8 points per game, while Royce Williams is close behind at 9.7 per game.