#2 / 2 Northwest Missouri State (15-2, 7-2 MIAA) at Fort Hays State (12-5, 5-3 MIAA) Saturday, January 20 - 4 pm Hays, Kan. - Gross Memorial Coliseum

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Fort Hays State will face Northwest Missouri State inside Gross Memorial Coliseum for the first time since the 2013-14 season on Saturday (Jan. 20) at 4 pm, following the women's game at 2 pm. The Bearcats are the defending NCAA Division II national champion and bring a No. 2 national ranking into the contest, now with a record of 15-2 overall, 7-2 in the MIAA after a loss at Nebraska-Kearney on Thursday evening. The Tigers enter at 12-5 overall, 5-3 in the MIAA.
 
Northwest Missouri State held the No. 1 national ranking in the first five NABC Top 25 regular season polls before dropping to No. 4 on January 9 after a loss at Missouri Southern. The Bearcats moved back up to No. 2 on January 16, but took their second loss of the year on Thursday at Nebraska-Kearney while Fort Hays State picked up a win over Missouri Western.
 
The Bearcats have not made the trip to Hays since 2013-14 due to the structure of the schedule released by the MIAA office the last three years. FHSU will be looking to end a six-game losing streak to Northwest Missouri State and holds a 4-3 mark against the Bearcats inside Gross Memorial Coliseum since joining the MIAA in 2006-07. The Bearcats won the last meeting between the teams in Hays. Last year's meeting went to the Bearcats, 82-72, in Maryville when the Bearcats were No. 1 in the nation.
 
History has been on the side of the Tigers in games against the NABC No. 2 ranked team inside Gross Memorial Coliseum. The Tigers are 2-0 against No. 2 ranked teams at home since joining NCAA Division II in 1991-92. That includes an 89-75 win over No. 2 ranked Nebraska-Kearney in 2002-03 and an 86-76 win over No. 2 ranked Metro State in 2004-05. The Tigers are 5-2 against Top 5 ranked teams at Gross Memorial Coliseum in their NCAA Division II history, winning the first five before dropping their last two. FHSU has not faced a Top 5 team inside the coliseum since the 2009-10 season. FHSU is 1-1 against Top 25 teams so far this year with a win against No. 15 Southwest Minnesota State early in the year on a neutral court and a double overtime loss at No. 9 Colorado School of Mines.
 
The Tigers posted their fifth win of the season when facing a second half deficit on Thursday night. Down by four at halftime, FHSU blitzed past Missouri Western with a 20-2 run to open the second half, fueled by 14 points from Hadley Gillum. He went on to lead the team in scoring with 19. The Tigers allowed just 14 points in the second half and the 42 total points allowed to Missouri Western set a new low for an opponent against FHSU in an MIAA game.
 
The Bearcat offense rallies around the 2017 Division II National Player of the Year, point guard Justin Pitts. The senior averages 21.4 points and 5.4 assists per game this year and this will be his first appearance inside Gross Memorial Coliseum in his four-year career at NWMSU. Pitts has an impressive 2,293 points and 527 assists in his career. The Bearcats have three other players that average double figures in scoring. Forward Chris-Ebou Ndow averages 13.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
 
The Tigers will look to keep their home court win streak alive, currently at 11 games dating back to last season.