By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
Here we go again! For the second-straight season a No. 2 ranked Northwest Missouri State team comes to Gross Memorial Coliseum to face a Fort Hays State squad unbeaten at home on Saturday (Jan. 26). Plenty will be on the line as the MIAA-leading Bearcats take on the second-place Tigers at 4 pm, which follows the women’s contest at 2 pm. The Tigers enter at 13-5 overall, 7-2 in the MIAA, while the Bearcats are 18-0 overall, 8-0 in the MIAA.
What’s at stake?
- Northwest Missouri State is undefeated so far this year at 18-0 overall and 8-0 in the MIAA.
- The Bearcats are 4-0 in true road games this year, all in MIAA play, but the Tigers will be the first above .600 win percentage team (FHSU is .722) the Bearcats play in a true road game so far this season. All the teams NWMSU has defeated on the road so far this year are sub-.500 in MIAA play at this point.
- Fort Hays State is unbeaten at home so far this year at 11-0.
- The Bearcats ranked No. 2 in both the NABC and D2SIDA Media Polls when they handed FHSU its first home loss last season on January 20. FHSU was 10-0 at home before that loss. The Bearcats are No. 2 in both polls again this year entering the meeting.
- Fort Hays State enters on a 15-game home winning streak that dates back to last season. It is the 8th longest home court win streak currently in the Division II and longest current streak in the MIAA.
- Fort Hays State looks to snap a 7-game losing streak to the Bearcats that dates back to the 2012-13 season.
- This is the only regular season meeting between the teams this year.
Promotions
Promotions: Wear pink in support of breast cancer awareness
Styles Dance Performances at both halftimes
Education Appreciation – All teachers at USD 489, TMP, and Fort Hays will receive (1) free ticket
Mascot Night- Victor E. Tiger and his mascot buddies hang out in the Coliseum for pictures, high fives, and to show off their dance moves
Game Sponsor: Cancer Council of Ellis County
National Anthem: New Beginnings Preschool
Student Section Theme: Pink Out
Fort Hays State is coming off an 84-74 win over Missouri Western in Hays on Thursday night. The win moved FHSU into a second-place tie in the MIAA standings with Pittsburg State, both at 7-2. Brady Werth led the Tigers with 21 points, his seventh game reaching the 20-point mark this season. Marcus Cooper had 15 points, Aaron Nicholson had 13, and Kyler Kinnamon chipped in 10 to round out Tiger scorers in double figures.
Northwest Missouri State is coming off an 85-57 win at Nebraska-Kearney on Thursday night. The Bearcats are winning MIAA contests by an average of 20.8 points per game this year, but their closest games have been to teams currently over .500 in the MIAA standings. Northwest Missouri defeated Lincoln (currently 5-3 in the MIAA) by seven and Washburn (currently 6-2) by eight. Five of Northwest Missouri’s eight wins in MIAA play so far have been by 20 or more points.
History has been in the Tigers’ favor in games against the NABC No. 2 ranked team inside Gross Memorial Coliseum. The Tigers are 2-1 against No. 2 ranked teams at home since joining NCAA Division II in 1991-92. That includes an 89-75 win over Nebraska-Kearney in 2002-03 and an 86-76 win over Metro State in 2004-05. The one loss was last year to Northwest Missouri State. The Tigers are 5-3 against Top 5 ranked teams at Gross Memorial Coliseum in their NCAA Division II history, winning the first five before dropping their last three. Central Missouri was the last Top 5 ranked team that lost inside Gross Memorial Coliseum, back on February 7, 2007.
Saturday’s game will feature two of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation. Northwest Missouri is the national leader at 43.9 percent, while FHSU is 22nd at 40.4 percent. Fort Hays State has six players that have made at least 15 three-point field goals on the season, led by Nicholson’s 37. Northwest Missouri has at least five players with 25 makes on the season from long range, led by Joey Witthus’ 54 and Ryan Hawkins’ 53. All five of those players for NWMSU are shooting over 40 percent beyond the arc. All five of the projected Bearcat starters shoot over 50 percent from the field on the season.