By MAYAN PAZ
Tiger Media Network
The MIAA basketball season is winding down, and FHSU men’s basketball is back on the road for a pair of in-state road games, which will be important for them in the battle for second place in the MIAA standings. The Tigers (15-7, 8-5) are now in fourth place in the MIAA, one game behind Pittsburg State in second. However, was listed second in the initial KPI standings release. KPI standings will be used to determine MIAA Tournament seeding.
The first game out of the two will be against Emporia State (8-15, 5-9), a team FHSU beat by 25 points when the teams played in early January. However, ESU has won four of its six last games and will provide a more difficult challenge to the Tigers this time around.
FHSU Head Coach Mark Johnson is ready for a different challenge.
“When we played them here, they were really struggling. They were missing their second-leading scorer. I don’t know how many they’ve won, but I would assume they’ve won about probably three of the last four or five,” Johnson said. “So, it will be a challenging game on the road. All road games are hard, but we’re playing a much different team this time around.”
FHSU point guard Kaleb Hammeke said that in the MIAA, there are no easy games, and even when playing teams from the bottom of the table, there is no guarantee that the game will easily go to the Tigers.
“You’ve got to respect every team you play. So we’ll know we have to be ready to play, especially on the road,” Hammeke said.
The Saturday game against Newman (13-10, 6-8) will also be a challenge, with only one day of recovery between the games. Hammeke said that the trainers are providing them with everything they need to recover between games. FHSU and Emporia were originally scheduled to play yesterday; however, the games were pushed back a day due to inclement weather in the state.
Every game now is crucial for the MIAA seeding battles. FHSU has five games left in the regular season and will pay attention to what is going on elsewhere.
Johnson said this is the time for the team to establish goals and focus on the battle for second place.
“We will talk about that before Emporia. We really don’t set goals when the season starts. Our goal is to work hard, be tough, and do things right every single day. Then, with about three weeks to go and six games to go, you have things you have to plan out,” he said. “So I think now we’ll talk about opportunities and goals, and I think now we’ll really start locking in about it, and again, think one at a time. But we have to push here and try to get second place.”
Johnson said earning a high seed in the MIAA post-season tournament aslo has implications for NCAA post-season play.
“Obviously, no one’s catching Washburn,” Johnson said. “You get second place, which gets you an opportunity to be in maybe a possible at-large bid at the NCAA tournament.”
Hammeke also said the team now aims to get to the national tournament, which means that they can’t afford any more losses going forward.
“We just know we have to win games to make the NCAA tournament, and every game we win gives us a better chance to make the tournament,” Hammeke said. “So, every game’s big, and like coach said to us, hopefully, last week will be playing for something special.”
FHSU and Emporia will tip off at 7:30 p.m. tonight, while the Tigers and Jets will play at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.