FHSU Sports Information
Fort Hays State will face defending national champion Northwest Missouri State on Saturday in Maryville at Bearcat Arena. Northwest Missouri enters its only regular season meeting with FHSU holding the No. 2 national ranking in both the NABC and D2SIDA Top 25 Polls for a third straight year. The Tigers enter at 7-10 overall, 1-8 in the MIAA, while the Bearcats are 17-1 overall, 7-1 in the MIAA.
You can hear the game on KJLS (103.3-FM) LISTEN LIVE
The Bearcats will meet the Tigers just once in the regular season for the seventh straight year, which dates back to the 2013-14 season. Northwest Missouri State has won seven in a row against the Tigers since then, which includes an MIAA Tournament semifinal matchup in 2015-16. The last time the teams met twice in the regular season during the 2012-13 season, the Tigers won both meetings home and away. This is the fourth straight year the Bearcats enter their meeting with the Tigers holding a Top-2 national ranking. The trend started in 2016-17 when the Bearcats held the No. 1 ranking in a 10-point win over the Tigers in Maryville. The last two years in Hays, the Bearcats entered as the No. 2 team in the nation and won by five (2017-18) and 12 points (2018-19). The Bearcats won national titles in two of the last three seasons, going 35-1 in 2016-17 and 38-0 in 2018-19.
Northwest Missouri is 10-0 at home so far this year and brings a 27-game home court win streak into Saturday, which is the nation's second-longest streak at home behind West Texas A&M's 36 in a row. The Bearcats are the nation's top 3-point shooting team by percentage, successful at a 43.6 percent clip for the season. Point guard Trevor Hudgins is the nation's second-best individual 3-point shooter, hitting at a 51.6 percent clip.
Fort Hays State is looking for its first win over a ranked team in a true road contest since December 17, 2015, when it defeated a No. 15/17 ranked Central Missouri team in Warrensburg 69-68. The Tigers have lost four straight to NABC ranked teams and five straight to D2SIDA ranked teams in true road games since.
Jared Vitztum continues to lead the Tigers in scoring and rebounding, averaging 13.2 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Devin Davis and Jake Hutchings also average better than 10 points per game.
Ryan Hawkins leads NWMSU at 22.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Hudgins averages 18 points and 6 assists per game.