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The No. 5 ranked Tigers face the defending MIAA Champion, Central Missouri, on Wednesday evening at Gross Memorial Coliseum in Hays. The Tigers are 11-1 overall and 5-1 in the MIAA, while the Mules are 8-4 overall and 3-3 in the MIAA. The Tigers are looking to snap a two-game losing streak to the Mules, which included a setback in Hays last year when both teams were ranked in the top 10 nationally.
Central Missouri and Fort Hays State have built a competitive rivalry the past few years as two of the top basketball programs in the MIAA. The Tigers knocked off the Mules by 10 points in the first meeting last year in Warrensburg, when the Mules were undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the nation. Central Missouri got its revenge in Hays later in the season in front of a packed crowd at Gross Memorial Coliseum, winning by 16 points. The Mules won the final match-up of the season in the semifinals of the South Central Regional in the NCAA Tournament, defeating the Tigers by seven.
The Mules and Tigers were picked as the top two teams in the MIAA media and coaches polls this year. The coaches put FHSU at No. 1 and UCM at No. 2, while the media chose UCM at No. 1 and FHSU at No. 2. Central Missouri started the year in the national rankings, but dropped out on December 7 and have not returned since.
This will be the start of five consecutive quality opponents for the Tigers. The next five opponents for FHSU currently own winning records. This will be a big game for the Tigers, before they head on a difficult two-game road swing to Southwest Baptist (7-5, 4-2 MIAA) and Missouri Southern (9-1, 5-1 MIAA). Missouri Southern was No. 19 in the national rankings last week, but fell out this week after suffering their first setback of the season.
Dominique Jones continues to lead the Tigers in scoring, upping his average to 17.3 points per game after a 23-point performance against Truman on Monday. He also leads FHSU and the MIAA in assists at 6.2 per game.
The big-man combination of Dijon Smith and Ken Bowman rank second and third on the team in scoring at 12.8 and 12.6 points per game respectively. Bowman is shooting 67.5 percent from the field this year to lead the team, followed closely by Smith at 67.4 percent. Bowman leads the team in rebounds, averaging 6.7 per game.
Corbin Kuntzsch needs just five more points for 1,000 in his career at Fort Hays State. He is the fourth-leading scorer on the team at 11.3 points per game. He ranks third in rebounds at 6.1 per game and fourth in assists at 2.3 per game.
Moses Dayee comes off the bench to average 9.5 points per game, the fifth-best scoring average on the team. He leads the team in 3-point field goals made with 27, followed by Jones with 25. Dayee is hitting at a 42.2 percent clip beyond the arc. Kuntzsch is the team leader in 3-point field goal percentage, hiiting 45.2 percent of his shots beyond the arc.
The Tigers have three of the top 10 free-throw shooters in the conference, which includes Kuntzsch at 85.7 percent (36-of-42), Jones at 84 percent (42-of-50) and Karron McKenzie at 83.8 percent (31-of-37).
Central Missouri is led in scoring by junior transfer forward Boo Hunter at 16.5 points per game. Three other Mules average double figures in Bryce Brunz (11.8), Tyrone Young (11.6), and Ryan Harris (10.4).
