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The Fort Hays State men's basketball team plays its final games of the regular season slate this week on the road, starting at Pittsburg State on Wednesday evening. The games this week have big regional implications for the Tigers, trying to state their case for a bid to the South Central Regional of the NCAA Tournament.

The Tigers enter Wednesday's play just one game ahead of Washburn and Nebraska-Omaha in the MIAA standings. One more win for the Tigers would allow them to finish no worse than a tie for second in the MIAA regular season. A win also would lock down the No. 2 seed at the conference tournament, since the Tigers defeated both Washburn and Nebraska-Omaha twice in the regular season. 

The only way for FHSU to win a share of the MIAA regular season title would be to win both games this week and have Missouri Southern lose twice. Missouri Southern can lock up the MIAA regular season crown with one more win, as they host Nebraska-Omaha and Northwest Missouri State this week.

The Tigers are currently No. 3 in the NCAA South Central Region Rankings, but could possibly drop a bit this week after the loss to Missouri Southern this past week. The Tigers still have work to do to be an undeniable at-large selection to the regional. Three automatic bids will be handed out to conference tournament champions, leaving just five at-large bids. Eight teams qualify for both the MIAA and Lone Star Conference Tournaments, while four teams qualify for the Heartland Conference Tournament.

Fort Hays State defeated Pittsburg State earlier this year by a score of 78-71 in Hays. The Tigers are looking for their third straight win in Pittsburg on Wednesday, where they have claimed wins each of the last two years.

Dominique Jones leads the Tigers in scoring at 17.3 points per game and ranks seventh in the MIAA. He leads the MIAA and ranks fourth nationally in assists per game (6.5).

Dijon Smith is second on the team in scoring at 14.9 points per game and ranks second in the MIAA in field goal percentage (.651). He leads the MIAA in blocked shots per game (1.5).

Ken Bowman is third on the team in scoring at 11.2 points per game. He ranks second on the team in rebounds at 5.9 per game and ranks third in the MIAA in blocked shots per game (1.3). Bowman also shoots a high percentage, hitting at a .641 clip.

Corbin Kuntzsch needs just one more basket to break his tie for 12th on the all-time scoring list at FHSU with Nate Rollins. He has 1,135 points in his career. He is averaging 10.6 points per game and is third on the team in rebounds at 5.8 per game.

Karron McKenzie and Moses Dayee are the top scorers off the bench for FHSU at 7.5 and 7.4 points per game respectively. Dayee is second on the team in 3-point field goals made (48) and McKenzie is the team leader in free-throw percentage (.826, 57-of-69).

Ben Congiusta shot 71.4 percent (5-of-7) from beyond the arc the last two games and ranks fifth in the MIAA in 3-point field goal percentage (.406). He is third on the team in 3-point field goals made (43) and averages 6.4 points per game.

Matt Simmons continues as the top rebounder on the team, averaging 6.5 per game. He had 13 against Missouri Southern, his sixth game of 10 or more rebounds this year. He chips in 4.6 points per game as well.

Eric Ray is the top scorer for Pittsburg State at 12.0 points per game. He is the only Gorilla averaging double figures on the season. PSU dropped five of its last six games.