Fort Hays State opens the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at noon as it faces 19th-ranked Missouri Southern in Mankato, Minnesota at the Taylor Center. The Tigers enter the tournament as the No. 6 seed in the Central Regional, carrying a record of 22-7 overall, while Missouri Southern is the No. 3 seed and holds a record of 24-5 overall.
This is the sixth NCAA Tournament appearance for Fort Hays State under head coach
Mark Johnson, now in his 13th season guiding the Tigers. The last appearance was in 2010-11, when the Tigers were the No. 4 seed in the South Central Regional in Edmond, Okla., hosted by Central Oklahoma. The Tigers made the regional semifinal that year, defeating West Texas A&M in the opening round before falling to top seed and regional host Central Oklahoma.
Three MIAA schools grace the FHSU side of the regional bracket as potential semifinal opponents are either No. 2 seed Central Missouri or No. 7 seed Arkansas Tech. On the top side of the bracket, No. 1 seed Minnesota State faces No. 8 seed Harding and No. 4 seed Winona State faces No. 5 seed Northwest Missouri State.
Fort Hays State returns to Minnesota, where it started the 2013-14 season with a pair of wins over Southwest Minnesota State and Upper Iowa in Marshall, Minn. The Tigers used that start to go a perfect 9-0 in non-conference play during the regular season.
The Tigers defeated Missouri Southern earlier this year 76-67 in Joplin in the only meeting of the regular season. That win helped FHSU bounce back from an 0-3 start in conference play and it started a 10-game win streak - Fort Hays State's longest of the season.
Missouri Southern enters the game on a nine-game win streak and they jumped back into the national rankings after receiving votes for several weeks. The Lions won the MIAA Championship Tournament as the No. 3 seed, defeating Nebraska-Kearney, Northwest Missouri State, and Central Oklahoma.
Craig Nicholson enters the tournament leading the Tigers at 17.3 points and 7.3 assists per game. Nicholson earned a unanimous All-MIAA First Team selection and was selected to the Daktronics All-Central Region First Team. He has reached double figures in scoring 24 times this year and double figures in assists five times. He has four double-doubles in points and assists this season.
Dwayne Brunson is averaging 16.5 points and a team-best 7.8 rebounds per game. He has eight double-doubles this year in points and rebounds and has reached double figures in scoring 24 times as well.
Carson Konrade, the nation's second-best 3-point shooter by percentage (49.4 percent, 80-of-162), averages 13.0 points per game.
