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The No. 14 ranked FHSU men's basketball team hosts Nebraska-Omaha on Friday at Gross Memorial Coliseum. The Tigers look to stay unbeaten on the year, entering at 7-0, 1-0 MIAA. Game time is set for 7:30 pm, following the women's contest at 5:30 pm. Fort Hays State is one home win away from its 500th at Gross Memorial Coliseum.

In the 38-year history of Gross Memorial Coliseum, built in 1973, the Tigers are 499-92 all-time at the building. That is a winning percentage of .844. Since joining NCAA Division II in 1991, the Tigers are 265-39 (.872) at GMC. In his 10 years at the helm, starting in 2001, the Tigers are 122-21 under head coach Mark Johnson at the coliseum.

Fort Hays State jumped up four spots in the national rankings this week to No. 14, the ranking it held in the final poll last season. Fort Hays State is 3-0 this year since entering the top 25.

Nebraska-Omaha presents a stiff challenge to Fort Hays State's unblemished record. The Mavericks were the MIAA Tournament champions last year and made the South Central Regional along with the Tigers. The Tigers barely scraped by the Mavericks in Hays last year, winning 82-80 on a last second shot by Dominique Jones to break a tie in regulation. 

The Mavericks return a healthy portion of their team from last year, including Preseason All-American Tyler Bullock, who averages 18.6 points per game. Bullock and Dominique Jones of FHSU were the only two Preseason All-American selections from the MIAA by The Sporting News. He went off for 32 points against the Tigers in Hays last year, scoring 19 in the second half. Jeff Martin also returns, who hit five 3-point field goals against FHSU in Hays last year, helping the Mavericks to a 7-of-10 shooting performance beyond the arc in the second half of that tight thriller.

The Tigers have been dominant in the post so far this year with the senior tandem of Ken Bowman and Dijon Smith. Bowman is shooting a team-best 70.5 percent from the field, ranks third on the team in scoring (12.3 ppg) and leads the team in rebounding (7.4 rpg). Smith is second on the team in field goal percentage (66.7 percent) and ranks second on the team in scoring at 13.0 points per game. Over the last two games, the tandem shot a combined 24-of-28 (85.7%). Smith tied his career high in points against Lincoln with 20 in the conference opener, while Bowman had his first double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Dominique Jones continues to lead the Tigers in scoring at 19.3 points per game. He has reached double figures in all games this year. He currently ranks fourth in the conference in scoring. He ranks second in the conference in assists per game, averaging 5.7.

Corbin Kuntzsch continues his solid all-around play, averaging 11.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game. He has the top shooting percentage among FHSU guards, hitting at a 50 percent clip from the field and 42.9 percent clip from beyond the 3-point line. He is shooting 83.3 percent from the free-throw line.

Moses Dayee and Karron McKenzie are the top scorers off the bench for the Tigers at 8.9 and 8.7 points per game respectively. Ben Congiusta tied his career high in points Wednesday against Lincoln with 14, hitting four 3-point field goals. He shot over 50 percent beyond the arc over the last two games.

This is a crucial game for the Tigers, since they head on a very tough road trip to close out December. They have games at Washburn and Missouri Western next week, then at Northwest Missouri State the week after.